Digital Accessibility
Digital content is considered accessible when all users, regardless of physical or developmental abilities or impairments, are able to access the presented information. Class materials are created using a wide range of media from PowerPoint to video, word processing to specialized tools.
Accessibility best practices apply to all digital content you create, whether on your website, LATTE or other sites used for class, as well as any documents, slide presentations, videos, audio, etc.
Things to Remember
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It's the law. Websites are considered places of public accommodation and must therefore comply with Title III of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act.
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Hop on the "train." Asynchronous workshops are available in Moodle (UNet login req.).
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PDFs are a last resort. If at all possible, convert your PDFs to html pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Web content is considered accessible when all visitors — regardless of physical or developmental abilities or impairments — are able to access the presented information. Brandeis strives to meet the standards for web accessibility known as WCAG 2.0 AA. WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is a set of web accessibility guidelines published by the W3C, which is the main standards organization for the World Wide Web. WCAG is the most widely adopted standard for creating accessible web content. Check out a simplified checklist.
Yes. Federal law states that websites and digital content created and distributed by educational institutions must be accessible for all potential users.
Yes, all content on a Brandeis website or shared electronically must be accessible. This includes documents (Word, PDF), PowerPoint, forms, videos, audio, images and embedded material. Learn more about making various types of content accessible through asynchronous training.
There are several resources available for making your content accessible:
Yes. As stated above, Brandeis websites are considered places of public accommodation and must therefore comply with Title III of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act.