It Takes a Team:
Building Capacity for Web
Accessibility
Christine Scherer
Northwestern University
School of Professional Studies – Distance Learning
Who Am I?
• Content Specialist at the School of Professional Studies (SPS)
Distance Learning since January 2014.
• Accessibility reviewer, copy editor, copyright monitor, web
content author, social media manager, faculty and staff trainer…
• Presented on web accessibility at several local conferences.
Who Are You?
• What departments are you from?
• How much do you know about web accessibility?
• Who manages web accessibility in online courses at your
institution?
Overview
• Background
• The Old Way
• Breaking Point
• Building Knowledge
• Reviewing for Accessibility
• Sharing Knowledge
• It Takes a Team
• Questions
Background
Northwestern University & SPS
• Northwestern University
• Campuses in Evanston, Chicago, and Dohar.
• Enrollment of 21,000 students.
• 12 schools and colleges.
• School of Professional Studies
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Focus on Adult Students and Continuing Education.
Enrollment of approximately 2,000 students.
Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees, certificates and non-degree courses.
7 fully online Master’s degrees and 9 fully online certificates.
Distance Learning Department
• Design and build online courses for SPS and other university partners.
• Average of 12 new or revised online courses developed each quarter.
• Learning Designers focus on curriculum, pedagogy, and course content.
• Instructional Technologists focus on learning technology such as video,
graphics, audio recordings, and web apps.
The Old Way
Course Development
• Original Content Specialist role: copyright and writing style
review.
• No accessibility considerations.
• Videos without captions.
• Images without alt text.
• No keyboard navigation support.
Common Problems in Higher Ed
• Blackboard accessibility survey1.
• 21 million content items across 700,000 course sites.
• Survey examined not just videos, but PDFs, images, presentations, etc.
• Slight and slow improvements in document accessibility.
Blackboard Images and Alt Text, 2012 & 2017
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
2012
2017
Images Without Alt Text
Images With Alt Text
The Students We Missed
• Adult students and online students are both more likely to also
be disabled students.
• Many disabled students prefer online education.
• Greater flexibility to manage their disability and spend their energy.
• Flexible schedules and easily available information.
• No set class times mean no absences.
“The Luxury of Not Revealing”
• Online classes give students with disabilities a choice in sharing
their disability with classmates and faculty.
• “I feel like online classes put me on a more level playing field
with my classmates.”
70%
of online students with disabilities
do not disclose their disability.
Breaking Point
What Happened?
• New director who wanted us to start focusing on accessibility,
but…
• Process didn’t support accessibility reviews.
• Breaking point: Spring Quarter, 2015. Or, “What Happens When
Your Content Specialist Has Finally Had Enough.”
Building Knowledge
First Steps into a Larger World
• Self-directed training on accessibility and WCAG 2.0.
• Webaim.org.
• University of Washington DO-IT.
• Webinars through 3Play Media and Online Learning
Consortium.
• Minimal contact with DSS Office (AccessibleNU).
Reviewing for Accessibility
LMS Limits
• Learning Management System (LMS) is Canvas.
• Accessibility support built in.
• Limited ability for staff to make structural changes.
• POUR Standards
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Perceivable
Operable
Understandable
Robust
Headings & Links
• Headings
• Properly ordered headings.
HEADING ONE <H1>
Heading Two <h2>
Heading Three <h3>
Heading Four <h4>
Paragraph <p>
• Unique and descriptive links
• No “click here” or “Visit http://dl.sps.northwestern.edu/accessibilitycourse-design/.”
• Instead: “Visit the Northwestern Distance Learning Accessibility page.”
Tables & White Space
• Tables
• Proper coding of column and row headers.
• Avoid blank cells.
• Headings and white space to break up content.
Alternative Text
• Context is key.
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What information do students need to take from the image?
Decorative images and icons (usually) don’t need alt text.
Images that convey academic information do.
How would you describe this if you couldn’t use the image?
• “grph4_mod2_ver3.png” is not alt text.
Alternative Text: Complex Images
• Maps, charts, graphs, diagrams, etc.
Alternative Text
Color Use
• High color contrast is best for all
students.
• Avoid colorblind-unfriendly color
combinations.
• Don’t use color as the only indicator
of information.
Captions & Transcripts
• Captions on video, transcripts for audio.
• Scripting is key!
• External sources need captions and transcripts, too.
• Low quality or no captions or transcript?
• Check to see if an accessible version is available with the owner or the
library.
• Is a similar, accessible resource available? Can one be made?
• Last option: third-party transcripts.
Course Resources
• Accessible PDFs and ebooks.
• How accessible is the textbook?
Learning Technologies
• Educational apps, plug-ins, learning technology integrations
(LTIs).
• Good design practice to include a variety of tools and
interactions, but…
• Many of these tools don’t meet our accessibility standards.
Writing for Accessibility
• Write out dates.
• Full stops at the end of sentences (especially in lists).
• Avoid spatial instructions.
Accessible Content
• Avoid ableist language and stereotypes.
• Warn faculty about potential content problems.
Sharing Knowledge
Developing Resources
• SPS Distance Learning Website – Accessibility Resources
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What is web accessibility?
Why is web accessibility important?
How do I make my writing accessible?
How do I make my images accessible?
How do I make my audio and video accessible?
How do I format an accessible web page?
How do I make my course resources accessible?
• Blogging for Accessibility
Training Faculty & Staff
• Faculty Training
• Individual meetings for crash-course training.
• Eventually evolved into a module in our Course Design Workshop.
• Staff Training
• Some formal presentations and training.
• Mostly ad-hoc, in-the-moment feedback.
• Learn by doing!
It Takes a Team
Start at the Beginning
• Build accessibility into online courses from the very start.
• Constant part of the collaboration and conversation.
Raising Awareness
• Faculty don’t need to be accessibility experts—they just need to
remember that it exists.
• Learning designers and instructional technologists have more
information and can handle common faculty questions.
• I get the complex, tricky, and/or new issues.
The New Way
• Faculty learn about accessibility before design starts.
• Staff have a strong awareness of accessibility.
• Build accessibility into the course from the beginning.
• Handle many common issues on their own.
• Bring new, unusual, or challenging issues to me.
• Accessibility reviews start earlier and cover images, video,
audio, formatting, resources, and writing.
Takeaways & Strategies
• Who is responsible for accessibility? Start building connections.
• Build in time for accessibility from the very start of course
development.
• Don’t put all the accessibility requirements on one person.
• Raise awareness of accessibility and disability support.
Onward & Upward
• Always room to improve and do better.
• Future Goals:
• Better vetting of new technology.
• Making student-created projects and assignments accessible.
Questions?
References
1. Straumsheim, C. (May 18, 2017). Data show small improvements in
accessibility of course materials. Retrieved from insiderhighered.com.
2. Verdinelli, S. and Kutner, D. (2015). Persistence Factors Among Online
Graduate Students With Disabilities. Journal of Diversity in Higher
Education, 9(4), 353-368.
3. Roberts, J., Crittenden, L., and Crittenden, J. (2011). Students with
disabilities and online learning: A cross-institutional study of perceived
satisfaction with accessibility compliance and service. Internet and
Higher Education, 14, 242-250.