Meeting WCAG standards generally revolves around four principles, often abbreviated to “POUR”.
Content must be:
- perceivable
- operable
- understandable, and
- robust
Web Accessibility Initiative – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
POUR
Perceivable
Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. For example, it’s important to present information that can be perceived in different ways, where a user can adjust colour contrast, font size, or view captions for videos.
Operable
User interface components and navigation must be functional for users in ways they can operate. For example, a person must be able to perform required interactions using a keyboard or voice commands, not just using a mouse.
Understandable
Information and user interface operation must be understandable. For example, information and instructions should be clear and navigation methods should be easy to understand and use.
Robust
Content must be robust enough that it can interpreted reliably by a wide variety of users and assistive technologies. As technologies evolve, code and content should remain accessible for users of common and current assistive devices and tools.
Making your documents acessible
In your day-to-day academic life, this translates to a few core practices:
- Well-structured documents
- Careful use of colour and language (no click here links)
- Captions, transcripts and alt text
Inclusive pedagogy
Beyond digital compliance, good practice is rooted in Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This is an educational framework based on the idea that what is necessary for some students is usually beneficial for all.
Treating accessibility as a core part of your resource creation—rather than a bolt-on task at the end—saves massive amounts of time in the long run.
Inclusive teaching tips
Provide Materials in Advance
Releasing your slides, reading lists, and lecture notes 24-48 hours before a session is a standard reasonable adjustment for neurodivergent students. It benefits international students and those who just want to prepare ahead, too.
Alternative Formats
The Blackboard Ally tool allows staff and students to download your documents in alternative formats (e.g., turning your PDF into an audio for a structured web page). This saves you from having to create these other versions yourself, but only work well if your original document is formatted correctly with headings and alt text.
Provide Materials in Advance
Releasing your slides, reading lists, and lecture notes 24-48 hours before a session is a standard reasonable adjustment for neurodivergent students. It benefits international students and those who just want to prepare ahead, too.
Plain English
While you will teach complex academic concepts, your instructions, syllabus, and administrative communications should be written in plain, jargon-free language to reduce cognitive load.
Inclusive assessment
Ensure that the way you assess students measures their academic competence, not their disability. If the focus is understanding a historical event, does it have to be assessed via a timed, handwritten exam, or could a portfolio or recorded presentation achieve the same goal?