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Best Practices for Developing Accessible Teaching Materials

ILSC Professional Development: Thursday, April 25, 2013Prepared by the ILSC eLearning Working Group,Presented by Courtney Lundrigan & Kim Stymest

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Alternative Formats

This presentation has been created as a (mostly) accessible PowerPoint presentation and is available in alternative formats upon request.

If you experience any barriers to access, please contact Kim Stymest: stymest@yorku.ca. Thank you.

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Introduction

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Accessibility Principles

Respect.

Inclusion.

Equality.

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ADDIE

• Analysis

• Design

• Development

• Implementation

• Evaluation

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General Guidelines (1 of 2)

• Using branded templates

• Use an exact script, free of jargon

• Avoid superfluous information

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General Guidelines (2 of 2)

• Static images;

• Short tutorials;

• Quick and succinct.

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Best Practices (1 of 2)

For Text: • Sans serif font, 14 plus point size,

sentence case, avoid italics or underlining;• Use text formatting tools if available.

For Images:• Provide ALT-text or captions;• Avoid using colour to convey information.

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What is Sans Serif?

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Best Practices (2 of 2)For Audio Resources: • Provide a transcript.

For Video Resources:• Provide captions synchronized with the

video;• Open Captions versus Closed Captions;• Captioning standards.

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PowerPoint Tips

• USE IT!

• Avoid an elaborate slideshow

• Captivate will import notes for captioning!

• Office 2010+ offers an Accessibility Checker

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York Online Resources (1 of 2)• York Accessibility Hub: http://

www.yorku.ca/accessibilityhub/index.htm• Provides tools and resources to understand

accessibility issues and your obligations to help York become more accessible for everyone.

• Faculty Resource Guide for Teaching Students with Disabilities: hthttp://www.yorku.ca/facultyawareness/index.html• Designed to assist faculty and teaching assistants

(TAs) in supporting students with disabilities in their courses.

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York Online Resources (2 of 2)• Branded Resources From York:

http://toolbox.info.yorku.ca • Many resources and templates from York, including

branded PowerPoint templates, a branded video introduction and conclusion in MP4 format, and basic guidelines for web accessibility

• York Graphic Standards: http://www.yorku.ca/yorkweb/standards/documents/YU_GraphicStandards_April_2012.pdf • Guidelines for using the York brand (including

templates and logos)

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Online Resources

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: http://www.w3.org • Requirements and tips for meeting accessibility

requirements for web pages

• Accessibility Evaluation Tools: http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tools/complete• Various resources to assist in identifying accessibility

compliance for online resources

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Further Reading (1 of 2)Bowles-Terry, M., Hensley, K. M., & Janicke Hinchliffe, L. (2010). Best

practices for online video tutorials: A study of student preferences and understanding. Communications in Information Literacy, 4(1), 17-28.

Case, D., & Davidson, R. C. (2011). Accessible online learning. New Directions for Student Services, 134, 47-58.

Cox, C. (2004). From cameras to Camtasia: Streaming media without the stress. Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 9, 3-4.

Karmen, N., Crowther, T., & Wallace, A. (2001). Delivering video-streamed library orientation on the Web. College and Research Libraries News, 62(3), 280-285.

Lee, S., & Burrell, C. (2004). Introduction to streaming video for novices. Library Hi Tech News, 21(2), 20-24.

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Further Reading (2 of 2)Oud, J. (2011). Improving screencast accessibility for people

with disabilities: Guidelines and techniques. Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 16,129–144.

Slebodnik, M., & Riehle, C. F. (2009). Creating online tutorials at your libraries: Software choices and practical Implications. Reference and User Services Quarterly, 49(1), 33-37.

Somoza-Fernández, M., & Abadal, E. (2009). Analysis of web-based tutorials created by academic libraries. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 35(2), 126-131.

University of Strathclyde. (2005). Welcome to the Teachability web site. Retrieved from http://www.teachability.strath.ac.uk/.

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Thank you!

Courtney Lundrigan, LibrarianScott Library clund@yorku.ca

Kim Stymest, LibrarianBronfman Business Library stymest@yorku.ca