{"id":87,"date":"2025-07-26T17:43:48","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T17:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/studentsuccess\/?post_type=chapter&p=87"},"modified":"2025-11-11T20:30:57","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:30:57","slug":"accessibility","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/studentsuccess\/chapter\/accessibility\/","title":{"raw":"Course Accessibility","rendered":"Course Accessibility"},"content":{"raw":"

Course Accessibility<\/h2>\r\nInstructors are required to ensure their course content is accessible. Our learning materials must meet the various needs of all our students. This includes but is not limited to websites, reading materials, and videos.\u00a0If you encounter any accessibility issues in your course(s) and\/or the materials presented to you, please reach out to your instructors as soon as possible so that they may work to address the issue. Assistive technology needs can be met with the Access Technology Center<\/a>.\r\n\r\n
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For Students:\u00a0 How to Contribute to the Course Accessibility with Accessible Discussion Posts<\/h2>\r\nHave you considered how a classmate with different vision, hearing, or physical abilities can participate in the online classroom?\u00a0 Their ability to participate is highly tied to the way the course is designed.\u00a0 It is helpful if each student also takes steps to make their contributions to the course accessible for others.\u00a0 What does this mean?\u00a0 Here are some steps you can take to make your discussion posts accessible:\r\n

Use Headings<\/h3>\r\nWhen creating a discussion post, begin with a Heading that provides a title for your post.\r\n\r\nTo add a Heading, use the button on the Rich Content Editor (RCE) that allows you to tell the system what kind of text format you want.\u00a0 You will use \"paragraph\" for most of your writing; however, choose \"Heading 2\" to add a heading to your post.\u00a0 You will use Heading 2 for all of your top-level headings, and if you have a subsection, you can use a \"Heading 3\".\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_163\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"899\"]\"Heading Heading option using the Canvas rich content editor.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nLearn more:\u00a0 WebAIM Headings<\/a>\r\n

Use Descriptive Links<\/h3>\r\nWhen adding links to a post, use what are called descriptive links.\u00a0 This is when the text that is linked tells people where the link will take them.\u00a0 We want to avoid generic links, like \"click here\" or \"website\".\r\n\r\nTo add a descriptive link, first type in the text, then highlight the text, then choose the button in the Canvas RCE for \"links.\"\u00a0 For visual users, the button looks like a chain.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_162\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1178\"]\"Descriptive Descriptive link option using the Canvas rich content editor.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nLearn More:\u00a0 WebAIM Links and Hypertext<\/a>\r\n

Use Lists<\/h3>\r\nIf you are adding text that is intended to be a list, be sure it is formatted as a list.\u00a0 This means you want to avoid just adding a dash and then entering your text, and instead use the button in the Canvas RCE that allows you to create either an unordered list, which is better known as a bulleted list, or select an ordered list, which is a numeric list.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_166\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"726\"]\"List List option using the Canvas rich content editor.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nLearn more:\u00a0 WebAIM Lists<\/a>\r\n

Use Color Carefully<\/h3>\r\nColor is great, but we need to be careful in the way we use color. \u00a0Black text on a white background has the strongest color contrast and is the easiest for people to see.\u00a0 If you change the background color, choose to highlight your text, or change the font color, be sure there is still a strong contrast between the text and the background color. For example, if you have black text and then use the Canvas RCE to put a red highlight on the text, it will probably be hard for someone to see the black text.\r\n\r\nThe other aspect of color to be mindful of is how different people see colors.\u00a0 For example, for some people, red and green look the same. We want to make sure that colors are not the only method of conveying important information.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_161\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1072\"]\"Color Color selection using the Canvas rich content editor.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nLearn more: WebAIM Color Contrast<\/a> and\u00a0 WebAIM Color Blindness<\/a>\r\n

Use Image Descriptions (Alt text)<\/h3>\r\nWhen adding images, it is important to provide a description of the image for those who cannot see the image; this is called providing alternative text.\r\n\r\nWhen using the Canvas RCE, first select the image upload button.\u00a0 You will then be prompted to upload the image, and you will also be given the opportunity to add \"Alt Text,\" which is where you describe the image.\u00a0 If your image is included just because it is pretty and doesn't have any meaning, you can mark it as decorative.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_165\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1432\"]\"Image Image upload optino using the Canvas rich content editor.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nLearn More: WebAIM Alt Text<\/a>\r\n

Using Video or Audio?\u00a0 Use Captions<\/h3>\r\nHow often do you choose to turn the sound off on social media or web videos and instead rely on the captions?\u00a0 Research shows that even those who can hear, choose captions.\u00a0 If you choose to post a discussion as an audio or video file, be sure to add accurate captions to ensure that all of your classmates can learn from you.\u00a0 The best way to do this is to use Canvas Studio.\u00a0 In Canvas Studio, you can record videos and add captions.\r\n\r\nLearn more:\r\n