What is eLearning Accessibility?

Have you ever wondered why some people might struggle to access and participate in eLearning courses? The answer is simple: lack of accessibility.

And we’re not just talking about factors such as internet connectivity and access to mobile devices; it also encompasses individuals with disabilities and even cognitive impairments.

In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of accessibility in eLearning and provide some best practices for creating inclusive e-learning courses.

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What is eLearning Accessibility?

eLearning accessibility refers to the design and development of any online learning materials accessible to all individuals, regardless of their abilities or disabilities.

Basically, it’s about ensuring that people with diverse needs, whether visual, auditory, cognitive, or learning-related, can easily understand and interact with the eLearning content. This includes what you put into your learning platform, such as your text (font size and font style), videos, images, and more.

With the rise of technology and online learning, it has become more important than ever to ensure that eLearning courses are accessible to everyone. Not only is it a legal requirement in many countries, but it also promotes inclusivity and equal opportunities for all learners.

Why does accessible eLearning matter?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over one billion people (15% of the world) live with some form of disability. This means a large portion of the population could face barriers in accessing and participating in eLearning courses.

Whether you are building an e-learning course or training materials for your organization, here’s why accessibility should be a top priority:

Accessibility makes learning better for everyone

While often linked to disability, accessibility benefits all learners. When online training meets e-learning standards, users can better understand, navigate, and interact with the content, making training programs more effective and equipping your team with the necessary skills and information.

Disability is common

As mentioned earlier, more than one billion people in the world live with some form of disability. It can be visual, auditory, physical, speech-related, learning, or cognitive. With such a large number, it’s only right to make provisions for these individuals so they can access online learning content.

E-learning accessibility is a legal obligation

To ensure equal access to online learning, accessibility standards were developed. Here are the top three rules for building accessible online courses:

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines): standards for web design to guide e-learning accessibility.
508 Compliance: an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act requiring federal electronic information to address various disabilities, including 16 provisions for course development.
EN 301 549: helps European organizations measure website, document, and software accessibility against success criteria for all, including those with disabilities. It also meets the minimum requirements of the European Web Accessibility Directive (WAD).

Best Practices for eLearning Accessibility

Now that we understand the importance of accessible e-learning let’s look at some best practices to incorporate into course design:

1. Keyboard accessible

First, let’s talk about one of the most important best practices that’s surprisingly easy to implement: making your course keyboard accessible.

So, what does “keyboard accessible” really mean? Simply put, make sure everything in your course, like activities and elements that convey meaning, can be accessed with a keyboard. It also means that you avoid anything that requires a mouse, like drag-and-drop tasks or rollover effects. This way, visually impaired learners can use their keyboards to access all the content and won’t miss out.

Once you’ve got keyboard accessibility down, your course will work seamlessly with common assistive technology (AT), such as screen readers that convert what’s on the screen into speech, sound icons, or braille. Plus, it’ll be compatible with mobility assistance tools like keyboard overlays, which help people with motor control difficulties type more easily.

2. Check your language

Creating accessible content means using language that everyone can understand, regardless of their level or ability.

You can use the web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) as your reference when creating content for your e-learning course. You can also keep these points in mind:

Always provide an expanded form or meaning of abbreviations
If there are hard-to-pronounce words, provide the pronunciation in the text
Use simple and concise language that is easy to understand
Make sure to write at an 8th-grade level or lower (avoid using technical jargon)

3. Provide alternative text for images

Alternative text, also known as alt text, is a description of an image. It’s used by screen readers to describe images to visually impaired learners.

When adding an image to your course, provide descriptive alt text that conveys the information and purpose of the image.

Here’s an example:

“A young boy with glasses kicking a soccer ball on a sunny day in a park”

Remember to only use images that are relevant to the content and avoid using decorative images that do not add value to the learning experience.

4. Add captions or subtitles to your videos

If you’re adding video or audio, start with a little intro to set the stage and guide the learner on how to engage with it.

For subtitles and transcripts, you can lean on assistive technologies to help create them or outsource the task to a professional. If you’re using YouTube, for example, it will automatically generate closed captions if your audio is clear enough.

Audio content should also be clear. Ensure there is no back noise or distractions, and avoid speaking too fast. You can also provide a transcript of the audio to help learners who prefer to read along.

5. Include disability-friendly links

Have you ever clicked on a link that said, “Click here” or “Learn more,” only to find that it takes you to a completely different page?

This is normal for eLearning materials, but it can be very difficult for people with disabilities to navigate.

To make your links more accessible, be descriptive and use specific text like “Click here to learn more about accessibility guidelines.” Remember to hyperlink at least two full words to make links easier to click for those with fine motor skills challenges.

5. Design and develop with the end user in mind

When designing a fully accessible eLearning platform, developers should have an understanding of who will be using it.

This may seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised by how many companies do due diligence on course objectives yet ignore the end user’s access needs.

For dyslexic learners:

Use bold font to highlight words; italics can make them harder to read.
Include ample white space in your course design by adding 2 spaces between short paragraphs.
Use colors with moderate contrast. On white, use dark grey text; on black, use light grey.

For visually impaired learners:

Use a sans-serif font (e.g., Arial, Calibri) at 16 points or larger, with bold for emphasis and high contrast between text and background.
Increase font size for headings and ensure clear line spacing (1.5x to 2x).
Avoid using color alone to convey meaning; include symbols like asterisks or numbers.

6. Perform usability tests to validate accessibility

Even with accessibility-focused design, issues can arise. That’s why multiple testing stages are vital to ensure that all learners use your course.

Expect some content to have bugs, broken links, or inaccessible moments. Usability tests let you pilot educational content and catch these issues. Schedule time with a small audience subset and have them walk through the experience. Observe what works and what needs improvement, and allow time for feedback.

Let’s Develop Your eLearning Platform!

At Startechup, we aim to create an accessible eLearning platform that ensures a pleasant learning experience for all. Our team of experts can help design and develop an eLearning web app platform that meets accessibility standards and fulfills every learner’s needs.