Accessible Accessibility: Ways to Teach Remotely, Equitably
Everyone deserves an education. The shift to remote learning hasn’t changed that. While there will always be situations beyond people’s control — for example, what technologies they have access to — adding accessibility to lessons not only benefits students with an immediate need, but also those who might not realize how accessibility can help. Accessibility provides ease of access for all.
Remote Learning versus Online Education
Remote learning, sometimes called “distance learning,” is how many people refer to teaching practices being done during the pivot online. The term “remote learning” implies a move toward a remote classroom, rather than the curriculum itself being recreated using online learning principles. The reality of having to swiftly upend educational processes has resulted in both students and teachers navigating a new, somewhat nebulous, learning space.
Online education often has course materials doled out in a scaffolded, measured way through learning management systems (LMS). By using modular spaces, teachers can present materials methodically. Many online courses provide asynchronous videos, and some online teachers hold synchronized class sessions through video conferences. That said, a deliberate means of presentation and assessment are hallmarks of strong online education design.
Remote learning can be a challenge, given that courses haven’t been designed around specific module pathways. There may be confusion as to how to approach materials, or how to access and interact with them. Small adjustments to accessibility can be a big help.
What Is Accessibility?
Accessibility tools can be found regardless of technology. On the web, the A11Y Project provides accessibility checklists, suggesting that developers verify that color schemes aren’t unclear for people with colorblindness and that screen readers can properly parse webpages. Magnifiers (such as the aptly named Windows Magnifier) make small-text menus easier to read even for those with low vision.
Many of these same tools can be used for students as they’re learning online. Materials that may have once been auxiliary — a PowerPoint from an in-class lecture that lacks alternative text (“alt text”) but was clearly explained in class, for example — are now the sole point of contact between student and content.
While accessibility offices will note students who have a documented need for help, adding accessibility to all courses is a good idea. There will be students with needs who aren’t officially on record as such. Likewise, many accessibility features benefit those without “need.”
Accessible Accessibility
Although there are many ways to introduce accessibility into a course, some better than others, here are a few options that may prove useful for remote learning classes where accessibility might be more ad hoc than integrated.
Offer Asynchrony
If you require that all students log in to a video conferencing platform at the same time in order to participate in class, there will be students unable to join in. These include students with limited bandwidth, where a 1 Mbps upload speed won’t be enough to go on Zoom; students without stable internet, such as those living in places with crumbling infrastructure; students with new caretaking responsibilities; students with low technology supports; and students living in non-ideal situations. If you require synchronous learning, consider ways of reaching these students and modifying lessons so that they can participate.
One way to encourage student participation is to offer asynchronous options. You can use recorded lecture videos (if timing or bandwidth is an issue), audio files paired with transcripts (if low data is an issue) or synchronous meetups as optional options (if scheduling is an issue). Message boards are a perennial tool in online education, and collaborative platforms such as Hypothesis can allow students to interact with online media through remixing and annotation. You could even have students comment in code notebooks for STEM.
Provide Captions and Transcripts
The audio components of remote learning can be a nightmare for some students, particularly if lectures are uncaptioned. Sharing cleaned-up transcripts after video conferences is one option. Google Slides offers computer-generated live captions, which can be buggy but serviceable.
For prerecorded videos, most video platforms offer a way to provide closed captioning, be it through in-built tools or by uploading a caption file. Captioning services can create timed captions, if the option is available. Transcriptions can also be created through apps such as the speech-to-text tool in Google Docs (a lo-fi option that can work surprisingly well) or dedicated transcription tools such as Otter. In particular, Otter offers ways to export both text and audio — good for students with low-bandwidth internet.
Captions and transcripts are helpful for more than just deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Students who use English as a second language or international students might find that the transcripts help them better parse meaning from the audio. Students living in shared spaces might need captions to help them understand lecture videos if they have to watch them at a low volume.
Share Alt Text
With remote learning, many learning materials have a strongly visual component: PowerPoints, videos, etc. Because of this, alt text is vital for low-vision students using screen readers and other assistive technologies.
Imagine a PowerPoint that only includes images, and none of those images have labels. A student trying to look over that week’s presentation would hear their screen reader mention that there are pictures, but that would be it.
For this reason, when creating content — whether it’s a presentation or a page within a school’s LMS — you should try to use clearly defined headings as well as alt text. The headings will provide bookmarks and make it easier for students to navigate content. The alt text provides information about the images, be they charts, illustrations or just decoration. Search for your platform and the words “alt text” for accessibility guides, such as this guide from WebAIM.
A Small Grace
These are just a few ways to add accessibility to lessons. (The aforementioned WebAIM and #a11y can share more.) Simply adding alt text as an image is uploaded can make things a little easier for students.
Given the value of kindness during times of stress — as the case may be while the world deals with isolation — adding accessibility is a high-value task. There’s little downside save for a bit of time in setup, and doing so may help even those students who might otherwise have stayed silent.
In this way, accessibility is a small grace.
About the blogger:
Jesika Brooks
Jesika Brooks is an editor and bookworm with a Master of Library and Information Science degree. She works in the field of higher education as an educational technology librarian, assisting with everything from setting up Learning Management Systems to teaching students how to use edtech tools. A lifelong learner herself, she has always been fascinated by the intersection of education and technology. She edits the Tech-Based Teaching blog (and always wants to hear from new voices!).
