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Accessibility within digital materials - beginner basics — Oct. 31, 2024

What do you consider when you create a digital material or a piece of computer information? Have you thought about the challenges that different people may have in accessing digital media and information?

With how frequently we communicate and obtain information on the internet, it is important to acknowledge that not everyone has equitable digital accessibility. In their article, Chris Mays defined digital accessibility as “the practice of designing digital content and technologies in a way that they can be accessed, understood, and used by as many people as possible, including those with disabilities.” Digital accessibility includes thoughtfulness on how an individual can navigate digital content if visually impaired, see contrasting colors if color blind, and understand video and audio content if deaf or hard of hearing.

Digital accessibility is not limited to social media platforms. Educators and researchers also have to be considerate of individuals’ abilities to access, obtain, and digest information from a digital platform. To allow all individuals to access your digital content for your classroom or research dissemination, consider the following suggestions:

  • Use large font sizes and readable font styles throughout.

  • Provide alternate text and image descriptions for figures and images.

  • Add captions and transcripts for video and audio media. Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint have functions to turn captions on while teaching.

  • Use colorblind friendly color palettes and color contrast in text and images.

  • Ask students if they’d prefer printed or digital copies of homeworks and other assignments.

  • When you have the means, publish your articles open-access, to make research results freely accessible to all.

For more information, see the following resources:

CU Boulder Resources on Digital Accessibility

Mays’ article in Userway. Link.

Pembleton’s article on digital accessibility in the classroom. Link.

Bong & Chen’s review article on increasing faculty’s digital accessibility awareness. Link.

Lazar’s article on digital accessibility during the pandemic and beyond. Link.

Color contrast and palette checkers for figure publications. Online and built-in soft proofing options

Financial support from CU libraries for open access publishing. Link.
 

Best regards,

The CEAE JEDI Committee