Accessible Is Possible: All about Accessible Text
Welcome to “Accessible Is Possible,” a series of tech tips to help you make learning more accessible for your students. Today will be a brief look at how to ensure your text is accessible.
What Is Accessible Text?
In a previous post, we looked at alt text as an aspect of accessibility. The use of alt text allows students with screen readers equal access to embedded images. But what about the rest of the text? Can words be inaccessible?
When text isn’t made accessible, it becomes hard to navigate. For example, if you opt to just make a heading’s font size bigger instead of using heading tags like Heading 1, Heading 2 and so on, a screen reader won’t see it as a true heading. Likewise, if you’re using a table as decoration rather than as a way of sharing tabular data, a screen reader may get confused — not to mention the student!
Accessible text connects to the idea of the semantic web. By giving content a set role on your page, machines can better understand it. That means that screen readers (or even tools that tweak displays, such as browser extensions) can better share that content with students.
Why Use Accessible Text?
Accessible text — that is, using headings and not using tables willy-nilly — makes content easier to review for students using screen readers. Much like an audiobook, headings allow students to move forward and back in a text, skimming and rereading as needed. It removes a barrier of access.
Accessible text also keeps content tidy. For example, by changing all headings to use heading tags, those headings can be styled with code later on. While this may not make a difference to you now, it might be what stands between you and a headache later! What if you discover that your headings are all a low-contrast color and you need to change them? With a heading tag, you could target them all at once.
Some aspects of text accessibility can do good outside of helping students access materials. For example, while sharing a link with an offhand “Click me!” might seem friendly, it’s unhelpful for both screen readers and cybersecurity. Instead, give a good descriptor of where the link goes (“Click here to view the course syllabus”). A screen reader will pick up those navigational cues, and students might be less likely to click dodgy links.
How to Make Text Accessible
Accessible text follows a common-sense guideline of semantic web design: make sure that you assign all text a role. If text is just body text, then its style is “Normal” or “Body.” If text is used in a heading, then it gets the “Heading” designation. Whether you’re using a learning management system’s text editor or creating a slide presentation, you should see font styles as an option in the editor.
For tables, make sure that they’re necessary. While stacking images in a grid may look decorative, there are better ways to achieve the effect, whether through an image editor or through non-tabular code like divs. If tabular data is necessary, use tags and descriptors where indicated. Tables in documents, for example, need alt text.
Be sure to describe your links. That is, don’t make them vague “click me” or “click here” links. Instead, describe what they are or where they go, and whether they link to a PDF or a website or a video. (Especially for videos, it’s good to know whether there might be sound that could be disruptive before clicking the link.)
Further Resources
Want to explore further?
- WebAIM offers a great breakdown of how to make tables more accessible, not only offering suggestions but providing examples of how bad tables are understood by screen readers
- Explore Access, a resource on accessibility from the University of Arkansas, gives examples and fixes for non-descriptive links in the “Create Meaningful Links” section
- Mozilla’s web documentation on accessibility and HTML is a great resource not only for learning about tables and links, but also for diving deeper into concepts shared in this brief guide
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!).
