Digital Accessibility

University matters are often handled digitally, which, while highly practical, can disadvantage students with disabilities. The linked article highlights the frequent barriers faced by these students.

What is "digital accessibility" in higher education teaching? This seminar (see link) explains it in terms of the need to "clarify the roles and responsibilities for an institutional digital accessibility strategy and highlight some key steps content creators involved in teaching must take to ensure their resources are optimally accessible". In addition, the seminar offers guidance on best practice, online tools, and other resources. The presentation on which it is based can also be downloaded as well as a podcast on the topic.

Accessibility is essential for making educational opportunities available to all students, including those with disabilities. This toolkit (see link) offers resources, tips, and information that can provide guidance on how to ensure accessibility as part of the educational equation. The following topics are addressed: what accessibility is, the procurement of accessible technology, the benefits of digital accessibility, and legal requirements for digital accessibility.

How can you best accommodate students with disabilities in your teaching? The first step is to make any documents, handouts, notes, or presentations accessible. Click on the link below for advice on how to structure the information in your texts and slides so that they can be more easily processed by assistive technologies such as Screen Readers.

Word has many built-in features to help people with different abilities to read and author documents. In the following, you can find recommendations and best practice advice to make your documents more accessible to students.

Google Docs has built-in tools to help people with different abilities to read and author documents. In the following, you can find recommendations on how to make your documents more accessible to students.

Presentation slides should be as accessible as possible for your students, whether viewed on a large classroom screen, on a computer, or read in print. In the following, you can find tips on how to create presentations accessible to everyone.

Mathematics and accessibility is a complex area with few clear solutions. This guidance brings together best practice and ideas from the University of Sheffield and other institutions.