Flex offers students different choices. For each class session, you may have all of your students face-to-face, all using Zoom, all of them online, or any combination thereof. Why should we consider these scenarios? This is important to keep on top of mind when designing your activities, assignments, and assessments. Everything you do should be designed to support learning, regardless of whether the student is engaging in class physically or digitally that day or later on.
It is essential to provide resources and training for students to participate in all modalities. To the greatest extent possible, course materials and activities should be made accessible and usable for everyone without the need for adaptation or specialized design. Physical accessibility requirements are typically visible and very-well documented. Information and communication technologies have also helped mitigate physical barriers for students. However, technology can also raise new obstacles for students.
Digital content such as images and web pages must be screen-reader friendly. When you are not familiar with making digital content accessible, the process might seem overwhelming. Often, it is easier to incrementally implement digital accessibility, and you will find that it is not as bad as it sounds. Most of the work will be done for you automatically; you just need to review a few things:
- All content being entered to the Canvas Rich Content Editor should be checked with the integrated Accessibility Checker; the checker will guide you through the process.
- Document files being uploaded (e.g. Word) should meet accessibility guidelines. Subsequently, Ally can be utilized for converting uploaded documents into other usable formats, including .mp3 audio files. While Ally is an accessibility checker, it also provides alternative file types for students.
- When video and audio recordings are provided to students, they should include transcripts or captions. If a live event is recorded, then captions must be made available in the video. When you use Zoom or upload a video to mymedia, closed captions will automatically be generated for you.
Designing asynchronous online learning first helps you maintain consistency in the course and realize the needs. This proactive approach is not only regarded as a good practice, but it also improves student success, persistence, and retention. People are different, and some students believe they have a particular learning style. Multiple options and representations increases the likelihood that students will find a suitable medium to express themselves. Giving equitable access for all ensures that diverse participants are valued as respected members of the learning community.
