All academic courses contain digital content, whether they are taught in-person or online or a little bit of both. This means that as content creators, faculty must do their best to ensure that the course content they are building is accessible to all students.
There’s a lot to learn about creating new digital content accessible digital and remediating existing content that is not yet accessible. And this website is a great place to start your accessibility journey. Here you’ll find loads of documentation to guide you in best practices for making course content accessible. As you explore this website, you’ll also find opportunities for training, understand services available to you, and submit help requests when needed.
What is digital accessibility?
Digital accessibility means that we are using design techniques and tools to make our content available to students with many characteristics. Some may be unable to see or have low vision. Some may be deaf or hard of hearing. Some may have a reading or learning disability, like dyslexia. Some may have a physical disability, limited mobility, or limited fine motor skills. Others may be using a mobile device, have limited internet connections, or limited time and ability to focus. Making our content accessible benefits everyone!
Accessibility is about people.
The target audience for course content is always our students. Accessible digital content is helpful for all students, but it is essential for students with disabilities who use assistive technologies. We are responsible for ensuring that all qualified students of all abilities can fully participate in academic life at UW.
Best Practice: Proactive design
Whenever possible, proactively design new digital resources to be accessible from the start. Doing so alleviates the burden for students with disabilities who may fall behind while they wait for accessible resources to be made available to through the accommodations process.
What if I don’t know how to make content accessible?
Start by exploring this website to learn about accessibility best practices you can implement into your course content: