The goal of Learn is to provide an accessible platform for students and instructors for equal access to online courses. Find out how you can create and participate in inclusive learning experiences by using the accessibility features in Blackboard.
- Instructional Clarity
- Ally Accessibility Checks
- Meaningful Titles
- Describe Content
- Text Styles
- Table Headers
- Multimedia Captions
- Color Contrast
- Accommodations & Exceptions
Skip to External Resources for Blackboard Ally’s guides on creating accessible digital content.
1. Instructional Clarity
Provide clear instructions or expectations for student success.
Be sure that you provide your students with clear expectations, instructions, and directions for all assignments and tests. Students with cognitive impairments or learning disabilities can have trouble focusing on even simple tasks. Clear directions and understandable expectations can help them focus, making them much more likely to succeed.
2. Ally Accessibility Checks
Run content through Ally to ensure content accessibility.
Let Ally systematically check course material to ensure content meets WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards while guiding remediation tasks. Ally also provides students with accessible alternative formats for their various needs.
3. Meaningful Titles
Give all course content a specific and meaningful title.
Any folders, modules, documents, tests, or other content need clear titles understandable to everyone. It helps organize learning and navigation while reducing cognitive overload.
4. Describe Content
Add meaningful content descriptions for intentionality.
Images must include concise yet valuable alternative text to describe their purpose. Images with purely visual appeal need to be marked as decorative.
Links need contextual descriptions without using generic words like “Click here” or “See more” that read as spam. URL or web addresses cannot be used as link display texts.
File attachments should be renamed to something more readable when they are uploaded. Keep it short while retaining essential information for students.
Audio and video require both appropriately readable name replacements and alt text to describe the content when uploaded. Keep name changes brief yet informative.
5. Text Styles
Use text styles in the content editor to support readability and structure.
Heading levels organize content for structure and hierarchy. Always work in descending order from the first level (H1) to the last (H6) without ever skipping.
Font formats are set to 14pt text size with a default font family of Open Sans. A few other sans-serif font like Arial and Verdana can be selected.
Formatted lists have options for unordered bullets and ordered numbers or letters. Never manually create a list using special characters.
6. Table Headers
Tables need to be informative with proper inclusion of headers.
Create tables with meaningful data and don’t rely on it for page layouts. Ensure table headers are selected in the settings based on data in rows or columns.
7. Multimedia Captions
Include captions that describe multimedia content.
Captions and transcripts should be accurate for audio in multimedia content. This ensures students with hearing impairments have equal access to consume the content.
8. Color Contrast
Check colors for sufficient contrast in readability.
In many cases dark colors on light backgrounds and vice-versa provide great contrast. However, it’s always best to check this with a contrast checker tool keeping in mind a 4.5:1 minimum ratio.
The content editor will always meet this criteria with the provided colors on a white background. Avoid altering this too much to maintain sufficient contrast.
9. Accommodations & Exceptions
Grant students accommodations and exceptions that support their learning.
Instructors can set up accommodations for students based on their individual needs to ensure they can succeed in their learning, such as additional time or extra attempts on ALL assignments.
Additionally, there are many situations when students may require accommodation for assessment exceptions. They may need a due date extension, extended access, additional attempts, or even assessment exemption depending on their circumstance.
Instructors must inform students about their exceptions. Some scenarios where these exceptions may be applicable:
- Due Date Extension: A student participating in a regional competition who will return after the original date.
- Extended Access: A student who is experiencing internet connectivity issues causing assignment disruption.
- Additional Attempts: A visually impaired student who relies on a screen reader that may interfere with testing.
- Assessment Exemption: A student has unexpectedly learned a loved one has passed and needs time to mourn.
These accommodations and exceptions can also be granted for groups. Accommodations are represented by a purple flag icon, whereas exceptions use a gray clock icon.
External Resources