Skip to Main Content

Open Education (OE) Guide: OERs Accessibility

Guide to Open Educational Resources

Best Practices

Checklist for Accessibility Toolkit 

(Source: BC Open Textbook Accessibility Toolkit)

Organizing Content

  • Content is organized under headings and subheadings.

  • Headings and subheadings are used sequentially (e.g. Heading 1, heading 2, etc).

Images

  • Images that convey information include Alternative Text (alt-text) descriptions of the image's content or function.

  • Graphs, Charts, and Maps also include contextual or supporting details in the text surrounding the image.

  • Images do not rely on color to convey information.

  • Images that are purely decorative contain empty alternative text descriptions. (Descriptive text is unnecessary if the image doesn't convey contextual content information).

Tables

  • Tables include row and column headers.

  • Tables include title or caption.

  • Table does not have merged or split cells.

  • Table has adequate cell padding.

Weblinks

  • The weblink is meaningful in context, does not use generic text such as "click here" or "read more".

  • Weblinks do not open in new windows or tabs.

  • If weblink must open in a new window, a textual reference is included in the link information.

Multimedia

  • A transcript has been made available for multimedia resource that includes audio narration or instruction.

Transcript includes

  1. Speaker's name
  2. All speech
  3. Relevant descriptions of speech
  4. Descriptions of relevant non-speech audio
  5. Headings and subheadings
  • Captions of all speech content and relevant non-speech content are included in the multimedia resource that includes audio synchronized with a video presentation.
  • Audio descriptions of contextual visuals (graphs, charts, etc) are included in the multimedia resource.

Formulas

  • Formulas have been created using MathML.
  • Formulas are images with alternative text descriptions, if MathML is not an option.

Font Size

  • Font Size is 12 point or higher for body text.

  • Font size is 9 point or higher for footnotes or end notes.

  • Font size can be zoomed to 200%.

 

Accessibility of OERs

Accessibility Considerations

  • OERs must meet same accessibility criteria as traditional course materials.

Ways to Check Accessibility of OERs

  • Utilize accessibility checker if available.

    • Powerpoint and Word both have a built in accessibility checker available. 

    • Check webpages for accessibility using the WAVE tool by WebAIM. 

    • Check PDFs for accessibility using Adobe Acrobat Professional. Learn more from WebAIM's PDF Accessibility.

  • Test the source using reading support software, Immersive Reader (available on Microsoft programs and Canvas) or using a screen reader. JAWS os available on campus computers. For more information on how to use different screen readers, see the following information from WebAIM:

What if Source if not Accessible?

Steps to take:

1. Contact the author to ask if there might be an accessible alternative. If there is no alternative available, proceed to step 2.

2. Does the copyright of the OER allow for modification? If no, then the source cannot be made accessible unless there is permission from the author. If the source can be modified, proceed to step 3.

3. If the source can be modified to meet accessibility guidelines, refer to the following for assistance: