Center for Teaching and Learning

Accessibility Lesson Focus

Making courses accessible to all students is a legal requirement for all TCSG courses, and illustrates a commitment to inclusive learning. Blackboard has many tools instructors can use to make courses accessible.

After completing this lesson, the instructor will be able to:

1. Explain why alt text, titles, and descriptions are needed for images and graphics.
2. Explain why headers and paragraph styles should be used to format text.
3. Identify appropriate fonts and colors for presenting information.
4. Explain options for making video and audio files accessible to all students.
5. Understand how to make Microsoft Office files accessible.
6. Demonstrate how to use Ally to make your course more accessible.

NOTE: Test Availability Exceptions can be used to provide student accommodations. This topic will be covered in the Tests and Surveys module. 

Accessibility Resources

Review the following TCSG and Blackboard resources. External resources are provided for additional information and tools. NOTE: All links open in a new window.

TCSG Resources

• Accessibility – Checklist – ADA Compliance in Online Courses
• Accessibility – Handouts – Creating Accessible Handouts (GVTC Best Practices)
• Accessibility - Microsoft Office - Accessibility Checker
• Accessibility - Microsoft Office - Making Files Accessible
• Accessibility - Tools - Color Contrast Analyser
• Course Tools - Accessibility - Blackboard Ally Introduction
• Course Tools - Accessibility - Blackboard Ally Instructor Report Introduction

Blackboard Resources

Disclaimer: All TCSG colleges currently use Blackboard's Original Course View. Some of the features and tools of Blackboard that are discussed in the Blackboard resources may not be available at your college. Check with your POC (Distance Ed Contact) for questions about tool availability.

• Accessibility in Blackboard Learn
• Accessibility at Blackboard
• Ally for LMS Help for Instructors
• Ally Course Accessibility Report (Instructor Report)

External Resources

• Accessibility – Checklist – WCAG 2.0 Level AA
• Color Contrast Checker
• Caption And Description Editing Tool
• Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool
• Keyboard Shortcuts for JAWS

Accessibility Video

This video will demonstrate how to check accessibility in Blackboard using Ally and provide an overview of Alternative Formats.

NOTE: To view the video in full screen, select the Play button. At the bottom of the window, select the YouTube link. The video will open in YouTube in a new tab. Select the full screen button in the bottom-right corner of the video.