8 How Do I Make My OER Accessible?

Access Is Not the Same as Accessibility

One of the primary goals of OER is to remove barriers for students. Making a resource free and easy to access is an important part of that work, but access and accessibility are not the same thing.

Regardless of whether you create your OER in Pressbooks, LibreTexts, Word, or another platform, accessibility is largely determined by the choices you make as you design and develop the resource.

The platform can provide accessible features and tools to help you identify problems, but it cannot make every accessibility decision for you.

Accessibility Is Built Into the Choices You Make

Accessibility is most effective when it is part of the design process rather than something you try to repair immediately before publication.

Many of the decisions that determine whether students can use your OER are decisions you are already making as you create it:

• How will you organize the content?
• How will you use headings to communicate that organization?
• What text will you use for links?
• What images, diagrams, charts, and other visuals will you include?
• How will you communicate the meaning of those visuals to someone who cannot see them?
• Will you use color to communicate information?
• How will you structure tables?
• Will videos include captions?
• Will students need to use additional documents, media, or interactive content?; and
• Will the organization and design remain consistent throughout the resource?

These are not separate accessibility tasks. They are part of designing the book.

Consider the Formats Your Students Will Use

Your OER may be available to students in more than one format. Different formats can give students useful choices about how they read and interact with the resource.

If you are using Palomar Pressbooks, for example, your primary resource may be the webbook, but you can also make downloadable versions available:

• Webbook: the online version of the book that students read in a web browser;
• Digital PDF: a PDF designed for electronic use that can include features such as descriptive hyperlinks;
• PDF for print: a version designed to be printed, where information such as web addresses can be displayed because a printed hyperlink cannot be clicked; and
• EPUB: an e-reader format that students can use with compatible e-reading apps and devices.

Review the Structure of Your Resource

A clear structure helps students understand the organization of your content and allows assistive technologies to interpret and navigate it.

As you review your OER, check that you have:

• meaningful chapter and page titles;
• headings that follow a logical hierarchy;
• actual heading styles rather than text that has simply been made larger or bold;
• lists created with the appropriate list tools rather than manually typed bullets or numbers;
• a logical reading order;
• consistent organization across chapters; and
• clear navigation between important parts of the resource.

Make Your Links Meaningful

Link text should describe where the link will take the student rather than relying on vague phrases such as “click here,” “read more,” or a long web address.

For example, Creative Commons License Information tells the student much more than click here.

The format also matters. In a digital resource, descriptive link text helps students understand the destination before following the link. In a resource designed for print, the actual web address may also need to be visible so the destination is still available when the link can no longer be clicked.

Make Images and Visual Information Accessible

Images can explain ideas, provide examples, display data, or make complex information easier to understand. When an image communicates information, students who cannot see the image need another way to access its meaning.

Review the images in your OER and consider:

• whether meaningful images have appropriate alternative text;
• whether decorative images can be identified as decorative;
• whether charts, graphs, diagrams, and other complex visuals provide access to the information they communicate;
• whether important information is embedded only within an image;
• whether text and important visual elements have sufficient contrast; and
• whether meaning is communicated in ways other than color alone.

Review Tables, Math, and Other Complex Content

Some types of content require additional attention because their meaning depends heavily on visual structure.

When using tables:

• use tables to present data rather than to control the visual layout of a page;
• identify headers appropriately;
• keep the structure as simple as the content allows; and
• make sure the relationships between information remain understandable when the table is navigated with assistive technology.

Mathematical notation, scientific content, complex diagrams, and other specialized materials may require additional accessibility techniques. These are good places to ask ATRC for assistance when you are unsure how to provide equivalent access to the information.

Make Audio, Video, and Interactive Content Accessible

If your OER includes multimedia or interactive elements, those materials are also part of the learning experience and need to be accessible.

Review whether:

• videos have accurate captions;
• audio content has an appropriate text alternative;
• important visual information in a video is also communicated to students who cannot see it;
• embedded media can be operated accessibly; and
• interactive activities can be used by students who navigate with a keyboard or assistive technology.

Embedding a resource created somewhere else does not automatically make it accessible. If students need to use it to learn or demonstrate their learning, include it in your accessibility review.

Don’t Forget the Files You Link From Your OER

Your webbook may be accessible while something you ask students to open from the book is not.

Review any additional materials you provide, including:

• PDFs;
• Word documents;
• PowerPoint presentations;
• worksheets and handouts;
• readings;
• forms; and
• other downloadable materials.

Use Accessibility Checkers, But Don’t Stop There

Accessibility checkers can help you identify many common problems and should be part of your review process. They can save time by directing your attention to content that may need to be fixed.

However, an accessibility checker cannot determine whether every design decision you made actually works for students.

For example, a checker may be able to determine that an image has alternative text, but it may not be able to determine whether that alternative text communicates what a student needs to understand from the image. A checker may recognize that headings exist without fully understanding whether those headings accurately represent the organization of your content.

Use automated checking to find problems. Use human judgment to determine whether the resource actually works.

If You’re Using Palomar Pressbooks, Use the Accessibility Checker

Palomar Pressbooks includes a built-in accessibility checker that can help you identify accessibility problems in your book.

Make the checker part of your normal development process rather than waiting until the entire book is finished. Checking chapters as you build and revise them can help prevent the same problem from being repeated throughout the book.

Learn More About Accessibility and Universal Design

This chapter gives you a practical accessibility review for your OER, but accessibility involves more than a checklist. Understanding the principles behind accessible design can help you make better decisions while creating books, course materials, Canvas content, documents, presentations, media, and other learning resources.

Get Another Set of Eyes on It

You do not need to become an accessibility specialist in order to create an accessible OER. Part of building your own publishing team is knowing when to bring in someone with additional expertise.

ATRC can help with accessibility questions and Pressbooks. You can also work with an Instructional Designer when accessibility intersects with organization, course design, and the overall student learning experience.

Additional support can be especially useful when your resource includes complex tables, mathematics, scientific notation, interactive content, complicated diagrams, multimedia, or other materials that are difficult to evaluate on your own.

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