A simple internet search for ’accessibility guidelines’ returns millions of results. So, where might you start when planning to make your teaching more accessible?

Accessibility guidelines for online education overlap considerably with more general guidelines for accessible online content. It’s therefore advised that you don’t limit your search to only education-related guidelines. If you want to cover all aspects of your teaching, the resources provided by the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative are particularly comprehensive. WCAG 2 at a Glance gives an overview that could be a good starting point. The page summarises the W3C overall premise that content should be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.

Perceivable

• Provide text alternatives for non-text content.
• Provide captions and other alternatives for multimedia.
• Create content that can be presented in different ways, including by assistive technologies, without losing meaning.
• Make it easier for users to see and hear content.

Operable

• Make all functionality available from a keyboard.
• Give users enough time to read and use content.
• Do not use content that causes seizures or physical reactions.
• Help users navigate and find content.
• Make it easier to use inputs other than keyboard.

Understandable

• Make text readable and understandable.
• Make content appear and operate in predictable ways.
• Help users avoid and correct mistakes.

Robust

• Maximize compatibility with current and future user tools.

The overview page also links to more specific guidance about particular aspects of online content.

Some of the guidance from the Web Accessibility Initiative, WAI, is intended for software designers and online platform developers. However, the WAI Design and Develop Overview section is of particular relevance to online educators. Again, this section provides links to many guidelines and resources, including tips for writing, designing and developing for online accessibility.

Accessibility guidelines are often organised by resource type, rather than any other factor (such as sector or discipline). For example, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (W3C, 2018) apply to web pages, including interactive web content. In contrast, Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities (Microsoft, 2018) applies specifically to PowerPoint content. You may therefore find it useful to refine your search to focus on a specific aspect of online teaching.

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