As you design your syllabi and courses, please consider these choices. These changes can contribute to a more accessible and inclusive learning experience for all students.
DRC Syllabus statement should be included on all syllabi.
Captioned videos
- Includes lecture capture, pre-recorded videos and third party videos. When requesting streaming videos from the UA Library, request captioned versions.
- If instructors are scanning and saving documents as PDF, Optical Character Recognition should be performed. This changes the PDF from an image-only, inaccessible document into a file that can be accessed with assistive technologies and mobile devices.
- If instructors are using documents that they scanned and saved as PDF in previous semesters, the library database should be re-checked as many journals have now posted accessible versions of their articles.
E-Text versions of textbooks
- Work with DRC, UA Bookstore and publishers to ensure that the electronic version of the text is accessible for assistive technologies and possibly mobile devices
Pre-packaged/third-party software used for homework solutions, assignments, etc.
- Work with DRC and vendors to ensure product is accessible
PowerPoint files
- Make sure to use the pre-loaded templates in the PowerPoint software (i.e. don’t use a blank slide and insert text boxes to add text – rather use one of the pre-designed templates)
- Post the PowerPoint files rather than converting them to PDF documents.
- Allows students to print files in formats where many slides are printed on one page
- Students using assistive technologies can access the text
- For charts/graphs – consider following the textbook example where you describe the concept of the chart/graph and what it is displaying, along with the chart/graph
- You capture your description in text format so non-visual learners can read the details and understand the concept
- You post the chart/graph for visual learners
D2L
- Exams should not be “locked down” which prevents use of assistive technology for accessing the exam. There is an option that doesn’t allow copying/pasting – this should not be checked
- Consider expanding amount of time allowed on an exam
- Eliminates need to specify extended time allowances for students with disabilities (Currently, modification to an exam time has to be changed on each individual exam, for each individual student with time extension as an accommodation)
- See http://drc.arizona.edu/faculty-staff/exam-accommodations#Why or talk to DRC for more information
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