Digital Accessibility Checklist
The Center for Digital Learning and Instruction has compiled this digital accessibility checklist to help ensure that your Blackboard content meets federal accessibility requirements.
For help or guidance about any items listed here, contact the CDLI at 325-942-2853 or CDLI@angelo.edu.
Text and Links
Text should be written and formatted in a way that is easy to read and understand.
Text and Links Details
- All text appears in a font size of at least 12 pt.
- Only San Serif fonts were used throughout the content.
- All bulleted or ordered lists were designated using the editor toolbar.
- Text is not underlined unless it is a hyperlink.
- Hyperlinks use descriptive text to provide meaning and context for links. (Links are not designated with text such as “read more” or “click here.”)
- Text is used for hyperlinks rather than URLs.
- Text formatting (shape, color, and styling) are not used exclusively to convey information. Example: If you have a list of projects, and some were declared winners, you cannot use only bold text to identify winners. You would also need to write “winner.”
Headings
Use Headings properly and in a logical order that facilitates comprehension of the content.
Headings Details
- Headings have been created using heading styles.
- A logical heading structure has been used so that subheadings have been designated and nested appropriately.
Images
Use images responsibly and provide text alternatives when required to convey meaning.
Images Details
- Images do not blink, flash or use sparkling animation.
- All pictures, charts, and graphs that contain information or data also have alternate text or a text description that conveys the same information.
- Images of text have been avoided except where a particular presentation of text as images is essential to the information being conveyed.
Documents
Use acceptable document formats and ensure that documents have been created with accessibility in mind.
Documents Details
- Scanned PDFs are not used.
- Proper heading styles and structure have been used throughout all documents.
- PowerPoint presentations have been created using templates.
- Accessibility checks in programs such as Word and PowerPoint indicate that content follows your intended reading order.
- Documents (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.) are formatted and saved as HTML or PDF accessible.
Tables
Tables of data should be built in a way that is readable by assistive technology.
Tables Details
- Tables are used for tabular data, not for layout purposes.
- Complex tables with merged or split cells have been broken down into smaller simple tables.
- Tables include properly identified column and/or row headings.
Navigation
Make sure users can easily find and access your content regardless of what device they are using.
Navigation Details
- Course can be navigated with only a keyboard.
- Navigation menu items are consistent on each web page.
Colors
Use colors in a way that is easy for users to see and distinguish between visual elements.
Colors Details
- Text and background color have sufficient contrast on all documents and web pages.
- These color combinations are avoided: red/black, red/green, and blue/yellow.
- Color alone is not used to indicate meaning. Example: You could not have a list of items and say that the items in red are overdue.
Multimedia
Provide text alternatives for the audio in your multimedia files.
Multimedia Details
- All audio content includes transcripts.
- All videos include synchronized captions.
Check Your Work
Here are a few checks you can do to ensure your information is digitally accessible.
Check Your Work Details
- Try navigating your course with your keyboard. Can you do everything you would need to do as a student? Watch this keyboard accessibility video for more information.
- Download a browser extension that will run an accessibility check. WebAIM’s WAVE tool works in Blackboard using Chrome or Firefox.
- For Microsoft Word documents, select “Check Accessibility” to generate a report about the accessibility of your document. Google the version of Word that you are using to get instructions for accessing the tool. Watch this Productivity/Accessibility video from the Office of the Texas Governor for more info.
- For PowerPoint presentations, select the “Outline” view to see the reading order of the text from your PowerPoint. (Using the pre-made PowerPoint templates typically ensures proper reading order.)
- Try to highlight some text within your PDF documents. If it highlights, you’ll also want to see the Adobe Accessibility Report to ensure that the reading order in your document is correct.
- Select the HTML view in your editor toolbar in Blackboard and check the semantic structure of your content. Are all of your headings appropriately identified?
- Use a tool like the Paciello Group’s Colour Contrast Analyser to ensure that you have sufficient contrast between your text and background.
- Call the Center for Digital Learning and Instruction to get another person to double-check your work.
Checklist items are derived from Section 504 and Section 508 of the United States Rehabilitation Act, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, WCAG 2.0 requirements, Office of Civil Rights rulings involving online education, and principles outlined by the National Center on Universal Design for Learning.
Compliance Requirements
Courses at colleges and universities are required to follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 at Level AA compliance. Read the World Wide Web Consortium’s WCAG 2 at a Glance information to learn more about the guidelines and how to put them into context within your courses.
WebAIM’s WCAG 2.0 Checklist
Web Accessibility In Mind (WebAIM) has created this WCAG 2.0 Checklist with recommendations for implementing web principles and techniques for WCAG 2.0 conformance.
Universal Design for Learning
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides the strategy for implementing digital accessibility concepts in your courses.
CAST
CAST is a nonprofit education research and development organization that focuses on UDL and makes resources publicly available.
DO-IT Center
The DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) Center promotes awareness and accessibility and offers extensive resources about UDL and digital accessibility.