Accessibility and You: How to - Incorporate Accessibility Practices into Your Communications
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Accessibility and You: How to Incorporate Accessibility Practices into Your Communications Presented by Janina DeHart (Disability Services Coordinator) and Erin McCully (E-Learning Specialist)
Goals for Today’s Session As a college, SCC is working towards more accessible online materials for students. In support of these efforts, this session will examine our communications to colleagues and students and how we can improve accessibility of those materials. We will focus on email communication and document accessibility. ● Define accessibility ● Identify common accessibility issues in communications and materials ● Learn how to make communication more inclusive ● Develop one strategy to incorporate into future communication
What is Accessibility? Why does it matter for ALL of us? Definition of “Accessibility” = capable of being reached, used, seen, understood, influenced; easy to speak to or deal with; easily used, accessed, or adapted for use by people with disabilities (Merriam-Webster) Let’s think in terms of “Inclusive Communication” - consider the population we serve Our communication needs to mirror our mission. What does SCC currently have in place to support accessible communication?
Points of Consideration ● Fonts and Colors ● URLs/Links ● Images ● Audio and Video Content ● Content Format and Organization
Fonts / Colors
Instead of …….. Try this!
Red font Bold font in a dark, non-red, different
color
Different sizes of font
Bold font to emphasize something
Different colors of font or
highlighting Try to keep the maximum number of colors or
highlighting to 3 total
Using a low-contrast font color
Use a dark color of font to contrast with aImages
Instead of this…….. Try this!
To: My colleague To: My colleague
Subject: Happy birthday! Subject: Happy birthday!
Here’s a cute cat to wish you a
happy birthday!Images (cont.)
Instead of this…….. Try this!
To: Colleagues To: Colleagues
Subject: Check out this important info! Subject: Check out this important info!
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer
adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod
tincidunt ut laoret dolore magna aliquam erat
voutpat. UtEnsuring “Equal” Access
Use Alternate Text
(Alt Text) to describe
the image for screen
readers:
Equality, Equity, and
Justice
A picture illustrating
the concepts of
In the first image, it is In the second image, In the third image, all equality, equity and
assumed that everyone individuals are given three can see the game justice using three
will benefit from the different supports to without any supports or images of individuals
same supports in order make it possible for accommodations of different heights
to see the ballgame them to have equal because the cause of the using various supports
over the fence. They access to the game. inequity was addressed. to see over a fence to
are being treated They are being The systemic barrier has view a baseball game .
equally. treated equitably. been removed.
A picture illustrating the concepts of equality, equity and justice. Courtesy of Advancing Equity and Inclusion: A Guide for Municipalities, by City
for All Women Initiative (CAWI), Ottawa. Obtained from https://www.diffen.com/difference/Equality-vs-Equity.URLS / Links
Instead of …….. Try this!
● Click here for more information. ● Avoid generic link phrases. Use the following
link to learn how to create meaningful,
accessible links.
● Links that go nowhere (such as one ● Make sure links work and have a real
where you must hover over it to reveal a destination. Links should never be empty.
dropdown menu and it doesn’t actually
do anything if you click it)
● You can contact us for more ● Avoid making links out of entire sentences. Be
information. concise, and contact us for more information.URLS / Links
Instead of …….. Try this!
● We hope you find this information really ● Avoid underlining information that is
not a link. Use other methods to show
useful!
significance, such as bold type.
● Link to files and new windows, pop-ups, ● Use text in parentheses to identify links
or external web sites with no labels to non-HTML resources (PDF,
PowerPoint, etc.) and to alert the reader
if a link will take them elsewhere (opens
new window).
● Long lists of links ● Use a “skip” link at the top of the page.URLS / Links
Instead of this …….. Try this!
Want to learn more about inclusive
Join us for an exciting webinar about
inclusive communication! communication?
Use the button below to register for
our upcoming webinar!Audio / Video Content
● Accessible media is essential for people with disabilities, and it is useful for
everyone.
● ADA and WCAG 2.1 - legal implications
○ Are captions required?
○ Should transcripts be provided?
● According to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), research has found that a
majority of students without hearing difficulties use captions to help them focus,
retain information, and assist with understanding non-native languages.
● When speaking, integrate information by giving descriptions and being specific.
Give an audio description of visual information such as graphs and charts.
● Show the person speaking.
● Use media players that support accessibility, such as keyboard support, clear
labels, and functions like captioning.Content Format / Organization
Instead of …….. Try this!
● Typing a lot of lengthy text that runs together ● Be concise with your information.
and gives a whole lot of detailed information ● Use bullets.
that the recipient has to read, sort through,
make sense of, and determine what is most
important
● Creating your own layout. ● Use templates, headings, and other
built-in features.
● Using a catchy, creative subject line that lacks ● Use a meaningful subject line that
substance (i.e. Look at this!). describes the purpose of the message.
● Using complex tables. ● Use simple, accessible tables.Resources There are so many, we’re sending you the Accessibility Resource List (Google Doc)!
Wrap Up Activity Think about the most common kinds of communication you send out. 1. Who is the target audience? 2. What format do you use for that communication? 3. What is one takeaway from this session that you can commit to incorporating into your next communication? 4. Who can you share this information with to help all of our communication become more inclusive and effective?
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