Accessibility

Alt text for images

All images relevant to the course content will need alternative (‘alt’) text and potentially long descriptions so that any of your learners relying on a screen reader will be able to find out what is included in the image.

It is also helpful for when images cannot be loaded due to data or bandwidth restrictions.

Alt text should typically be up to 750 characters (including spaces). How much detail you go into depends on what your learners need to know. If you're showing them a graph to show how a trend increases steadily over time, you only need to say that. If it's important that your learners know a percentage for each year, for example, then you need to include that detail. Any text should be written word-for-word and any data should be described fully.

Note that decorative images – that is, images that do not have any learning benefit – do not need alt text. 

Your content's structure

Why is content structure needed?

A logical heading structure with descriptive headings helps everyone to read and understand the content on a web page. Headings show how content should be organised on the page just like a table of contents. This helps screen reader users to navigate content and find the information they need. People with cognitive and reading disabilities find it easier to read content when it is broken down into logical sections with descriptive headings.

How to structure your content effectively

All text should be formatted consistently so that pages of content do not look messy and hard to read. This happens if a variety of fonts, text sizes and font colours are copied into a page from various sources. Use formatting styles or edit the text in HTML mode as good accessibility practice. Screen reader software will use the HTML formatting when navigating and reading a page out loud.

Copying and pasting text from other software such as Microsoft Word carries over some hidden formatting code that might not be compatible with Moodle. The following practice will help you avoid issues related to this and provide more consistently formatted text and tables:

• Copy and paste text into a text editor (such as Notepad) to strip out any hidden code. Then copy and paste the text from the text editor into a Moodle book. Reformat the text if necessary, using the Moodle formatting tools – or switch to HTML editing mode if you are comfortable editing in HTML.
• You must use heading, paragraph and list styles consistently in the Moodle formatting tools. If you’re in HTML editing mode, note that large, medium and small headings are tagged <h3></h3>, <h4></h4> and <h5></h5>; paragraphs are tagged <p></p>, and bullet lists are tagged <ul></ul> at the start and end with each item in the list tagged <li></li>. To help with accessibility, do not ‘skip’ heading levels – that is, don’t go from a heading tagged <h3></h3> straight to a heading tagged <h5></h5>.
• If you have written your content in Word and want to import it into a Moodle book, you can do this if you have applied heading and paragraph styles consistently in Word. Elsewhere in this guide you can find notes on importing text from Microsoft Word. 
• Ensure all tables use HTML styles and keep the tables simple. It is better to have a series of simple tables that explain how information and ideas are organised than one large and complicated table, which could hinder interpretation and not display well – especially if the learner is accessing your course on a mobile device. Avoid inserting tables as images, because these will be unreadable to screen reader software and difficult to describe in an image's alt text.

Link text

Why do we need link text?

Links always need clear and meaningful text so that everyone can understand where the link will take them.

People who use screen readers will often list links separately from the page. They need to have links that make sense when read out of context. Links that are worded ‘Click here’ or ‘Read more’ don’t provide any information on the purpose or destination of the link.

People who use screen magnifiers also need descriptive link text. They can’t easily read the surrounding text and will rely on link text being clear and informative.

How to write meaningful link text

Usually, the best way to write your meaningful text is to look at the name of the page you’re linking to.

For example, if you were to add a link to The Open University’s website, you might embed your link under the words The Open University’s website.

Transcripts and subtitles on video and audio

All learners can find alternative formats useful, depending on the context in which they are learning. For example, transcripts can help them to follow a video or a piece of audio and make notes more easily.

Transcripts and subtitles make video and audio files more accessible to people with visual and hearing impairments. Video editing software has the functionality to add subtitles and captions. These should also be included in the transcript. If there are key visual elements not described in the audio of a video, you should include visual descriptions: W3C guidance on writing descriptive transcripts will help you do this. 

Video and audio files with a music soundtrack playing while a voice is speaking may not be accessible for everyone. It is harder to absorb spoken information through a continuous musical soundtrack, especially if the music is loud. If you are creating new video or audio for your course, use background music sparingly so that it enhances rather than overwhelms the message being conveyed.

Find out more about how to add captions and transcripts in the sections on embedding a video, adding an audio file and adding a transcript.