4.9 | Accessible Design
Accessibility cannot be overstated. You may have noticed that each module in this Resource course contains information specific to the the accessible design of that particular course element. Accessibility should not be an afterthought. From the onset of your course planning, making educational materials accessible to students should be a top priority. Though issues of accessibility are often associated with improving access for individuals with disabilities, as we have previously mentioned all students benefit when accessible design is in place. This is certainly true for your syllabus—not only should your students understand from your syllabus that they will be supported equitably, but the design of your syllabus itself should be accessible to all students. In addition to the accessibility considerations mentioned earlier in this module, please also consider the following recommendations for accessible, and inclusive syllabus design:
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A syllabus can often be very dense and hard to read, especially for non-native English speakers and students with learning disabilities or dyslexia. Instead, focus on making your syllabus easy to read and navigate, such as by keeping paragraphs shorter and including clear section titles.
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Create a course schedule in table form. This is a concise and organized way to help students understand what the course will look like and how they can best prepare for each session. Make sure to use clear column and row headers and follow other best practices for accessibility with screen readers Links to an external site. (hint - the Cañada Course Template Syllabus has an accessible course schedule table ready to be populated with content!).
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If you elect to build your syllabus in a file format, rather than using the Syllabus Index and the Canvas Rich Content Editor, use formats such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs which work well with accessible technologies such as braille devices, screen readers, and screen magnification. Avoid use of PDFs.
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Works Cited
- Building an Inclusive Syllabus. Stanford Teaching Commons. Accessed 22 October 2021.
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