Becoming aware of and incorporating just a few design principles is the first step in removing many potential barriers in the web-based materials you create. Providing accessible content is not only useful for students with disabilities, it helps everyone and is just good design! Here are a few introduction to web accessibility resources:
The Art of Accessibility's web site has a showcase of accessible sites. Accessible sites can be beautiful! http://accessites.org/site/category/showcase
The following links provide information on how to make accessible documents using these applications:
Quality Copies for Course Readings 3:32
Using good clean originals for course readings is important for student access to the material--especially those students who use screen readers.
Web Accessibility - through the "eyes" of a screen reader 3:03
View a website the way a person with a vision impairment would - using a screenreader - and understand why "Click Here" is bad policy and why using a Skip Navigation link is good policy.
From Where I Sit
A powerful video series of eight CSU students with disabilities who share their experiences in the college classroom.
The following sites provide more in-depth information about web accessibility:
WAI has created a tutorial on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. This tutorial comprises four sets of slides and can be viewed in total or used to search for a particular reference.
The tutorial's four slide set contain:
"The power of the Web is in its universality.
Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect."
-- Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web.
Last revised:
June 23, 2011
page author: Dr. Patricia Delich