Most importantly, we know course accessibility is a difficult outcome to reach. That’s not because it’s particularly expensive, challenging, or unattainable. On the contrary, it’s never been easier. But the processes to get there are not well understood.

This guide unpacks those processes succinctly, supporting you, the educator, in having direct and fruitful conversations with the technologists you work with or may hire to ensure they’re taking the steps necessary and, together, you’re able to deliver the best learning outcomes through more accessible online courses.

Guide highlights

• Understanding the value and importance of web accessibility
• A standard of practice for achieving and validating online course accessibility
• Understanding the steps necessary to coordinate with your technical support or course development team to confirm accessibility
• Use the Accessibility Validation Template to track your progress

The value of accessibility

Following accessibility practices allow us to increase course access and engagement while improving learning outcomes for all. Let’s look at the many benefits of ensuring accessibility for the courses you develop. An accessible online course:

• opens up access for all potential course participants by reducing barriers to accessing your course
• improves content engagement by providing multiple means of engagement with course content
• reduces overall effort by following a shared and documented set of web standards that avoid costly and time-consuming accessibility auditing and course retrofitting
• grows market share by setting ourselves apart from the competition and leading in access and engagement for all

So, how do we get there? First of all, it’s important to understand that accessibility is a collaborative effort across the course development team, including those people responsible for content, design, and code, or technical development.

Accessibility is collaborative

Accessibility objectives are reached through shared responsibilities across multi-disciplinary teams. When considering an online course system, accessibility is achieved across a collaborative mix of:

• Content and course development and input into the course system
• Design of the course and course system interface
• Code and setup of the technology system, learning management system (LMS), and course elements, including interactions

While design and code help enable content teams by providing tools to support their work, the content teams ensure access and engagement with every new piece of content they publish.

This mix of foundational and ongoing work is necessary to ensure accessibility is achieved and retained.

The best practices gap

Accessibility is achieved through a collaborative combination of content, design, and code that most organizations are not set up to follow.

Accessibility is supported by web standards that most developers do not fully understand.

Checklists and automated tools are seen as the solution, but automated tools are not enough.

Accessibility cannot be achieved without manual testing.

Automated tests can help point out the most glaring or obvious issues, but accessibility is more than a checklist of technical issues: it’s a user experience consideration.

User experience is measured by understanding how course participants will interact with your course.

Course participants may use screen readers, a keyboard only, zooming, and other assistive technology, in addition to mouse/touch and multiple screen sizes (such as a desktop, phone, or tablet).

Testing must be done to ensure that when users engage with an interface and content, it both works for users and, ideally, is enjoyable.

None of this can effectively be achieved without content, design, and code teams working together to set this foundation from the start.

Let’s look at how you can take next steps with your next course by having the information you need to hold your technology provider accountable.

Holding your technology provider accountable

Technology is an enabler. Online learning can bring increased equity for participants, improving course access and engagement.

However, how technology is used in online learning can create barriers. Standards-of-practice must be followed by technologists, and understood by course creators—including SMEs, educators, and instructional designers—to ensure technology is implemented and used effectively.

The following phases of course development must be practiced by your technology team, including:

• Establishing a standard of practice from the start
• Manual testing
• Automated tools & testing

In addition, you can participate in the accessibility validation process so you know your course is as open, accessible, and engaging as possible.

Let’s expand on these best practices so you can address these with your technology support and development teams.

Establishing a standard of practice from the start

Whether you’re using an off-the-shelf LMS or working on custom development, you should expect and be able to confirm the following:

• Web interfaces must be designed and developed using semantic HTML structuring and, when necessary for novel interactions, HTML’s ARIA functionality
• Mechanisms that allow content creators to add accessible content features such as image alt tags, page titles, video captions and transcripts must be provided
• Advice and feedback from disabled users, other developers, and industry professionals is essential when approaching novel interactive concepts to gain insight into how others have or may approach the problem based on their experience and best practices
• Interfaces must be tested internally and by external users to validate usability, accessibility, and inclusion across all methods of engagement, including:
  • mouse/touch
  • using only a keyboard
  • while zooming the interface
  • across different screen sizes
  • using a screen reader

Manual testing

Manual testing must ensure access by mouse/touch, keyboard, screen reader, and zoom across multiple screen sizes. Here’s what your technologist should be doing:

• Using a mobile phone to test touch interactions and smaller screen sizes
• Using a desktop computer with a mouse and/or trackpad
• Using only a keyboard to ensure a user can navigate and access functionality available on the website without using touch screens or a mouse
• Using a screen reader (desktop and smartphone) to ensure the site can be navigated and understood and that interactions function correctly (or have a suitable alternative) in a speech-only context
• Ensuring the site can be zoomed in and that the course and page layouts respond in a way that ensures content is visible and readable at a large scale

Automated tools & testing

The following automated practices and tools augment manual test processes and validate ongoing coding practices. Your technologist should confirm these practices and be able to share the results of any tests conducted, including:

• Code linting during the development process to identify syntax and typos that could introduce bugs
• Validating the output HTML with a validator to ensure it is properly formatted
• Testing the code with a combination of tools, which can include:
  • Deque’s AXE
  • TPGI’s Arc
  • IBM Equal Access Accessibility Checker
  • Lighthouse from Google
  • Others

Going a step further

The best way to verify accessibility is by asking a range of users to try the course to learn more about their experience. If you can plan or budget for some usability testing with a mix of users who typically interact with the web and courses differently, you’ll learn how to improve the course for everyone.

Connect with users who interact with the course across mouse/touch, keyboard, screen reader, while zooming, and across different screen sizes. Learn about their experiences, preferences, and perspective on your course. And further confirm how accessible your course is to everyday users.

Share what you know with an accessibility statement

When you’ve reviewed and confirmed the above yourself, or with the support of an experience technologist, developing an accessibility statement will help guide course participants who will interact with your course in different ways.

Let them know what works, how, and what you may know is missing, difficult, or could be improved. Give those users an option to contact you for support or to answer any other questions.

This accessibility statement is a great course resource that can be included as part of a course introduction, and can be provided ahead of starting the course and in course promotional material to signal your efforts to ensure your course works well for everyone.

Accessibility is a shared responsibility

It is essential to choose the right technologist that embeds accessibility from the onset of online learning planning and all throughout the course development process. The role of this technologist is to support the collaborative, proactive, and solution-focused approach this guide helps you deliver. With this approach, you can be part of revolutionizing the education industry by providing accessible and equitable access to online learning with every course you work on.

Collaboration among these three stakeholders: technologists, SMEs, and educators/instructional designers is key to achieving learning outcomes in online learning. Ultimately, leveraging the strengths of each of these experts to ensure no learner is prevented from engaging with course content and all are set up for a more equitable learning experience.

Looking to collaborate with online learning and accessibility specialists for your next course?

At Say Yeah, we have developed a comprehensive process for bridging educational and technology best practices that improve learning outcomes.

Get in touch if you’d like to improve collaboration, insights, and outcomes across your course development processes, ultimately delivering more effective, accessible, and equitable online courses.

Get in touch

Acknowledgement of Provincial Funding

This project is made possible with funding by the Government of Ontario and through eCampusOntario’s support of the Virtual Learning Strategy (VLS) and Ontario Exchange (OEX).

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Our greatest takeaway from tracking the education market in 2022 is this: online education is here to stay. How, then, can we ensure all learners get the most from online courses? This starts by setting a solid foundation of Tech + Education best practices.

At the 2023 LEAP Conference, Say Yeah CEO Lee Dale will share critical insights on the Tech + Education best practices that combine to enable online education for all. 

Back for its second edition, the LEAP conference convenes 100,000+ tech innovators and leading experts worldwide.

Get your ticket today to discover new ideas, build new partnerships, and connect with inspiring mentors and investors across various industries.

Talks We’re Excited About

• Universal Access to Education with Elliott Levine
• Immersive and Effective – Storytelling for Learning with Christopher Morrison, Jared Bendis, and Rohan Roberts.
• Design for Education with Mads Skrubbeltrang, Phnam Bagley, and Lucia Dellagnelo

Full program schedule.

Save your seat

Join virtually or attend the live conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Register

Want to find out how to deliver online learning experiences that engage all learners?

Catch up on the latest research on online education trends and best practices that will help you improve learning outcomes for your course participants.

And reach out for help with your online course development if you’re looking for support in delivering these best practices today.

Get in touch

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With such a rapid rise in online learning, it’s easy to miss best practices, jump to quick solutions, and expect that all online learning technology is mature enough to deliver the best learning outcomes to your course participants.

Importantly, with a new standard of learning comes a series of new best practices. Learning experiences can be improved through online course models, but not without a standard of practice to address common challenges and fulfill the promise of online and hybrid learning.

Let’s explore what you need to know about online learning in 2022 and beyond from over a decade of research through to the latest findings.

First, let’s talk about learning models

Did you know that 15-20% of the world’s population is neurodivergent?

Neurodiversity refers to the concept that not everyone’s brain functions in the same way. People who are neurodivergent think, learn, and process information differently than neurotypical individuals. This includes a diverse range of neurological, neurodevelopmental, and learning differences, including specific disabilities such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia.

Students and employees, no matter if they are neurodivergent or neurotypical, benefit from having choice as to how and when they engage with course content. In addition to considerations around neurodiversity, there are accessibility considerations, such as language, motor skills, hearing and sight disabilities, and more.

Educators use the term differentiated learning to describe teaching in a way that is flexible to a variety of learner needs and preferences, rather than a single type of lesson or assignment given to an entire group of learners. Differentiated learning is moving towards becoming standard practice in many K-12 education spaces and will be the next critical area of focus for employee upskilling.

Historically, educational programs and course models have not supported flexible learning options or provided accommodations for people with disabilities—preferring to offer a one-track path for course participants. Expanding this one track path to offer choice to learners is critical to learning program success. That’s where learning models such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) bring intention to course planning and understanding of how different learners can be supported along their learning journey.

The inclusive education pyramid from the organization AHEAD demonstrates how inclusive education methods differ when moving from universally supporting general learners to specific or special cases.

Importantly, technology can enable the most accessible, flexible, and effective content for all learners, but it’s essential to understand how to realize these benefits.

Let’s look at the research that’s identified practices that elevate online learning

Between the wealth of research that has been conducted over the past decade, along with our ongoing education and training work, we can quantify key impacts on learners. Highlights include:

1. Accessibility and the impact of online education on learners with disabilities
2. Learners prefer online learning
3. Bringing human interaction to online learning
4. Establishing an online course model

Let’s unpack each of these.

1. Accessibility and the impact of online education on learners with disabilities

Learners with disabilities often lack support to succeed in online education. This includes a lack of access to accommodations and appropriate services such as an individual education plan (IEP), audio-supported reading, specialized instructions, and affordable education.

Considering models for removing these barriers, accommodating multiple modes of content, and making online courses more accessible helps to establish an equitable, inclusive, and accessible learning environment that fosters success.

Over 95% of websites have basic accessibility issues. Online courses are no different, but this doesn’t have to be the case.

While there are standards-based approaches to enabling online learning to be accessible to all, it is not a common practice. Not all technology platforms, or Learning Management Systems (LMS), support these best practices. Bringing web accessibility standards to online learning is becoming an industry-wide priority and the next step to ensuring your organization’s success by welcoming all learners to fully participate in learning activities.

2. Learners prefer online learning

Virtual learning has consistently led to increased learner satisfaction.

Learners have benefitted from online learning when they have the flexibility and convenience of completing courses at their own pace and time, with the ability to reinforce learning through repetition that comes with continued course access.

Online courses enable new modes of interaction while offering varied ways of engaging with course content that can radically improve overall course engagement and learning outcomes.

But there are challenges.

Addressing the challenges of online learning

Online learning continues to present unique challenges for learners regarding access to support, self-motivated engagement, course delivery speed, and self-regulated learning.

3. Bringing human interaction to online learning

Historically, human contact and interactions have been limited with online courses. We now know that enabling instructor-learner interactions and communities of practice are critical to keeping learners engaged and encouraged to learn.

Education is inhibited when learners don’t have anyone to ask for help.

Providing online learners with access to instructors, real-time and ongoing feedback, and communities of practice, fulfills the promise of online and hybrid learning to improve learning outcomes over strictly in-class courses.

4. Establishing an online course model

When virtual courses lack structure, learners tend to lose motivation and interest in completing them. Compared to traditional face-to-face courses, the dropout rates for online courses are 20% higher. Furthermore, learning management systems (LMS) can be lacking in collaborative spaces. This can hinder real-time collaboration as online learners may not have the same opportunities to learn or work together with peers unless educators design courses specifically with human interaction in mind.

Furthermore, in-class courses do not directly translate to online delivery. It’s critical to be mindful of the opportunities online affords to improve engagement and interaction, support self-directed learning, and offer modes of learning that serve all learners, in order to design courses that leverage these benefits.

Ultimately, online course structures and models can better facilitate multiple learning models, including learning at a student’s own pace and being able to engage through written, oral, and other means that work best for them. Providing different interactions to increase learner engagement, facilitating teacher and peer support and dialogue, and providing self-regulated learning (SRL) support and collaborative learning communities are critical considerations in your online course planning.

How can online learning best serve all learners?

With intention comes results. The research is clear: online learning provides the best model to serve all users.

You can grow course engagement, improve learning outcomes, and reach more learners by ensuring multiple modes of learning, access to courses, bringing a human connection, and following standards of practice in delivering courses.

Whether you’re just getting started, or have been serving learners online for years, we can help you deliver improved course outcomes.

Our approach and standards-based technology provide a more usable, accessible, and inclusive experience for all.

Leverage features and capabilities that support diverse learners, including self-directed learning, captions and transcripts, a diverse suite of interactions, and screen reader support, all of which follow standards that enable integration with common LMSs.

Our platform removes barriers to accessibility by providing different modes of content access and engagement, including mouse, touch, keyboard, voice, screen reader, and zooming across multiple screen sizes and devices.

Our expertise will help you complete the transition from limited in-person learning to leveraging online and hybrid learning to improve enrolment, satisfaction, and learning outcomes.

We support established instructional design teams and new learning and training initiatives.

Get in touch

References

Aragon, S. R., & Johnson, E. S. (2008). Factors influencing completion and Noncompletion of Community College Online Courses. American Journal of Distance Education, 22(3), 146–158. doi: 10.1080/08923640802239962

Baber, H. (2020). Determinants of students’ perceived learning outcome and satisfaction in online learning during the pandemic of covid19. Journal of Education and e-Learning Research, 7(3), 285–292. https://doi.org/10.20448/journal.509.2020.73.285.292

Basham, J.D., Stahl, S., Ortiz, K., Rice, M.F., & Smith, S. (2015). Equity Matters: Digital & Online Learning for Students with Disabilities. Lawrence, KS: Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities.

Hu. M & Li. H. (2017). Student Engagement in Online Learning: A Review. 2017 International Symposium on Educational Technology (ISET), 39-43. doi: 10.1109/ISET.2017.17.

Leong, P. (2011). Role of Social presence and Cognitive Absorption in Online Learning Environments. Distance Education, 32 (1), 5-28. doi: 10.1080/01587919.2011.565495

Lin H. F. (2007). Measuring Online Learning Systems Success: Applying the Updated DeLone and McLean Model. Cyberpsychology & Behavior: 10 (6), 817–820. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2007.9948

Neurodiversity. National Cancer Institute. (2022).
https://dceg.cancer.gov/about/diversity-inclusion/inclusivity-minute/2022/neurodiversity

Nguyen, Tuan. (2015). The Effectiveness of Online Learning: Beyond No Significant Difference and Future Horizons. MERLOT The Journal of Online Teaching and Learning. 11. 309-319.

Sim, S., Sim, H., & Quah, C. (2021). Online Learning: A Post Covid-19 Alternative Pedagogy For University Students. Asian Journal Of University Education, 16(4), 137. doi: 10.24191/ajue.v16i4.11963

Sit, J. W. H., Chung, J. W. Y., Chow, M. C. M., & Wong, T. K. S. (2005). Experiences of online learning: Students’ perspective. Nurse Education Today, 25(2), 140–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2004.11.004

Wong, J., Baars, M., Davis, D., Van Der Zee, T., Houben, G., & Paas, F. (2018). Supporting Self-Regulated Learning in Online Learning Environments and MOOCs: A Systematic Review. International Journal Of Human-Computer Interaction, 35 (4-5), 356-373. doi:10.1080/10447318.2018.1543084

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