In-Person:
- Ask the instructor for any accessibility needs that need to be met when scheduling the session
- This can be as simple as an email asking if there are accessibility needs that you should be aware of
- Provide all teaching materials in advance for students, when possible
- Provide teaching materials in alternate formats, if requested
- Set clear expectations for the outcomes of the class and how students can participate
- Include a slide with an agenda and/or learning outcomes at the start of the session
- This helps students know what to expect from the session and can structure their learning within that session
- Face the direction of the students when speaking
- This improves audibility and facilitates lipreading
- Repeat any questions or comments that are made by students
- Use a microphone for larger classes
- This includes using the microphone while presenting, and passing the microphone to student during questions
- Verbally explain any images or diagrams on the screen
- Point to, or highlight, specific aspects of the image or diagram, if discussing in further detail
- Provide frequent pauses for students to catch up with their notetaking
- During pauses, ask if any one has questions about what has been covered so far
- Provide opportunities for students to contact you and follow up outside of class
- This can include providing your email, phone, etc. on introductory/closing slides and verbally describing your contact information
- This provides students with opportunities to ask questions and/or request additional materials
Videos:
- Caption everything
- Include a transcript with description, especially if the audio does not match what is on the screen
- Utilize accessible colour contrasts
- Create slides that are as simple as possible so that your audio represents what is on the screen
- Include information on how resources can be accessed for different learner needs
- Incorporate text font and size that is accessible to screen and text readers
Synchronous Remote Teaching
- Ask the instructor for any accessibility needs that need to be met as you are scheduling the session
- Provide clear expectations for the outcomes of the class and how students can participate
- Identify specific tools or functions that are available for students to use during the session
- Position the camera so that students can clearly see your face
- This facilitates lipreading
- Read aloud any questions or comments that are typed into the chat or Q&A functions
- Provide a transcript, when possible
- Utilize real-time captioning
Teaching Materials:
- Create materials that are as simple as possible so content is easy to follow
- Avoid large blocks of text and cluttering a page/slide with too much simultaneous content
- Include alternate texts for images, graphics, tables etc.
- This is what is read by a screen reader when it comes across an image
- It should be descriptive enough to make clear what that image is
- See this WebAIM page on alternative text
- Utilize accessible colour contrasts
- Include PDFs with Optical Character Recognition for screen readers
- Incorporate text font and size that is accessible to screen and text readers
- Use style elements, such as headings, to organize the structure of the document
- Avoid providing links that say 'click here'
- Instead, provide a link that describes the content of the destination