Welcome to the February edition of Take Action for Accessibility, our monthly series dedicated to making learning more inclusive and accessible.
The World Day of Social Justice on 20th February is a time to reflect on the barriers that prevent full and equal participation in society. In education, true social justice is impossible without inclusive and accessible teaching. Every student, regardless of ability, should have equal access to learning materials, which is fundamental to fairness and equality.
As educators, we have the power to create more inclusive learning environments through small but meaningful changes in how we design and deliver teaching. Here are some practical steps to improve accessibility and advance social justice in education:
Contents
1. Check the accessibility of your modules and resources
- Use Ally accessibility checker to assess the accessibility of your module and materials. Ally provides an accessibility score for your module, feedback on accessibility issues and practical tips on how to address them.
- When creating Word documents or PowerPoint slides, run the built-in accessibility checkers to ensure they are accessible to all students, including those who use screen readers.
2. Make small changes for a big impact
- Use Ally to identify scanned documents and replace them with properly formatted digital documents (Word, PowerPoint, or accessible PDFs with real text). Scanned documents are inaccessible to users of Assistive Technology and alternative formats, and they are neither editable nor searchable. If the documents are journal papers or book chapters, you can ask for help from the Library Digital Course Readings Service.
- Add alt text to images in your documents and presentations so that students with visual impairments can engage with visual content.
- Use structured headings in documents and presentations to improve navigation for screen reader users.
- Ensure sufficient colour contrast for text and background to improve readability. For example, opt for dark text on a light background or light text on a dark background, avoiding low-contrast combinations like pale grey on white.
3. Join our accessibility training and reach out for support
We offer Accessibility Guidance and training sessions to help teaching staff improve accessibility in their practice. Sign up for a session to learn practical strategies and tools that make a difference.
By making small, thoughtful changes, we can remove barriers, support all learners, and take meaningful action for social justice in education this February and beyond!
This post is part of the Take Action for Accessibility series. Other posts in the series include:
Take Action for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, also republished on BLE Blog
Take Action for Accessibility: Improve your image descriptions this January
Dr Sylwia Frankowska-Takhari
Digital Accessibility team
