Best Practices for Creating Accessible Elearning

When developing elearning content, it’s important to remember that a variety of people will be taking the courses you create. To ensure that everyone has successful learning experiences, there are some best practices to follow for developing accessible elearning.

Design Elements

With any elearning authoring tool, you can customize the appearance of font style and color, background scheme, cursor size, and the overall layout of your course. When creating a template for your elearning, keep in mind that some users may have low vision and will require a bigger font. Also, make sure that pop-ups remain on the screen long enough so that any user would have enough time to read them before choosing to move to the next slide.

Audio and Video

For hearing-impaired or deaf users, courses need to have alternative solutions for music, voiceover, and sound effects. You can achieve this by providing all auditory content as a script, or captioning the text on the screen. If you have music in the background, include a note at the beginning of the slide that describes the music, which can help users better understand the learning experience.

For visually impaired or blind users, you’ll need to create separate voiceover tracks that describe the visual elements of the course, including graphics, videos, and animations. Most elearning authoring tools are compatible with screen readers. Include text descriptions for all visual elements so the screen reader can interpret them for the user.

Delivery

Once you’ve made sure that the course content is accessible to all types of learners, double-check that the final output is just as inclusive. For example, after you publish your course, you may realize that the sound quality is low. Also, make sure that users have the ability to control the volume, so they can set the audio at a sound level that’s best for them. Likewise, your published course may produce low-quality images, or you may need to incorporate a zoom feature. Typically, you can adjust these options in the program’s player or publish settings.

Creating dynamic and engaging elearning is a great way to train a wide range of learners. But remember that knowledge should be accessible to everyone. As you’re designing and developing courses, ask yourself along the way if all types of users would find your elearning helpful and easy to use.