On Monday, we celebrated the official QM certification of two additional courses. Find a list of all of our reviewed courses in the Quality Matters directory of certified courses.
Part of that process involves reviewing the course for accessibility. One important component you can implement right away is making your hyperlinks accessible in your Canvas course, syllabus, and even emails.
It is easy to think that once you copy and paste a web address into a document, you have done your part to help learners navigate to the information you want them to see. However, for those who use screen readers, simply pasting a web address may actively inhibit those learners from accessing the content. Screen readers will read every letter, dash, and number in a web address, making listening frustrating and unnecessary.
Hyperlinks should be embedded in the text, concise in language, and descriptive.
Avoid: www.clemson.edu
Use: Clemson University’s homepage
The embedded hyperlink uses plain language to concisely describe that it is a link and where it will take a learner if they click on it.
Notice that we avoid using “click here” or “more” in our Clemson University homepage link. While concise and embedded, the use of “click here” does not describe where the link will take a learner. In the context of a sentence it might make sense, but screen readers have the ability to jump from link to link. So if your document contains several embedded hyperlinks that all read “click here for more” then a learner will have to listen back through all that text to recall the context for that link.
Learn all about clear, effective visual design options for your Canvas pages with the new Design Module in the Faculty Resource Center. You can find pre-made graphics such as icons, course banners, buttons, and more with customization options available. This workshop will provide a walkthrough of the entire Design Module and instructions for downloading, customizing, and placing assets in your courses.
Facilitated by Rachel Greene, Digital Learning Designer.
Register for Make Your Canvas Site Beautiful on August 9th .
Join us for an Instructor Development Workshop focused on Participation Confirmation, a new federally required process beginning Fall 2023. The workshop will cover the process of confirming student participation via iROAR and provide guidance on the types of interactions allowed for asynchronous online courses.
Facilitators:
Register for Participation Confirmation in Online Courses on August 10th .
Review our Summer 2023 Events Calendar to see what Online Instruction Development opportunities await!
We have a robust Summer lineup of topics and live training formats to support your use of Canvas and other e-learning tools. Topics cover demonstrations of using Kaltura, presentations on inclusive practices for online education, and workshops to get your Canvas site ready to teach!
All of our live training is recorded. Registrants will automatically receive a link to that day’s video after it has been processed.
Contact James Butler with any questions regarding these sessions.
Clemson Online – Where Tech and Teaching Meet
Earlier this month our Accessibility Coordinator Michelle Tuten delivered a demonstration on Microsoft Accessibility Checkers.
Use link text that will offer a description of what your audience is navigating to.
October was Accessibility month, and we enjoyed sharing information to help improve your general awareness and course content.
