Textbook Affordability & Open Educational Resources (OER)

Build an understanding of what accessibility means. People who need accessible materials and technologies describe how access creates inclusion where they live, learn, and work. Ultimately, accessibility is achieved when we remove barriers — or better yet, design environments that are inclusive for everyone from the beginning.

National Center on Accessible Educational Materials. (2022, January 5). Introduction to accessibility. Introduction to Accessibility. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXcQC_hGH5k

How does using Open Educational Resources (OER) increase accessibility?

• Saves money!  Expensive one-use publisher materials are replaced with free quality online resources.

• Provides an opportunity to review materials prior to the start of class and reference the materials after the class has ended.  Open means open.

• Able to combine the best of the best to build content that has been proven with previous use and discover other instructional ideas.

• Materials can be vetted for accessibility before committing to include in course instruction.  Are videos captioned, alt-text used on images, URLs/links “dressed” with descriptive text, styles applied to text, PDFs readable, etc.

POUR is the acronym for Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. Watch the video below to learn more about implementing this framework and creating accessible OER materials.

From CAST (2018, February 26).  Designing for Accessibility with POUR [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/dzzlJQXmJIw?feature=shared

POUR Guide 

Consult and download the Protocol for Creating Accessible OER Guide by the National Accessible Education Material at CAST for instructions and guidance on creating accessible OER materials.

ANDI

Accessible Name & Description Inspector (ANDI) is the testing tool for checking Section 508 standards. The website contains instructions on how to install the testing tool and training videos on how to properly use this resource.

Colour Contrast Analyzer

TPGI offers a free software to analyze color contrast as well as a color blindness simulator with several color picker tools. 

Grackle Docs

Grackle Docs  is a web-based tool that can check PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.

Microsoft Accessibility Checker

Microsoft Office apps contain an accessibility checker that works with Windows, Mac, or on the web.

WAVE Accessibility Evaluation Tools 

Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools (WAVE) offers website accessibility evaluations through online or browser extensions.

Where to start?  As they say, start with the “low hanging fruit”!  Start with making sure that Word and PowerPoint slide decks are accessible.  Refer to WebAIM Creating Accessible Documents for guidance.  Topics covered in Word  include:

• Using Heading Styles
• Providing Alternative Text for Images
• Setting up Data Tables
• “Dressing” links with descriptive text
• Using Accessibility Checker
• Creating PDFs

Refer to WebAIM PowerPoint Accessibility when creating accessible slide decks.  In addition to the topics in Word, topics covered in PowerPoint include:

• Using Accessible Templates and Themes
• Slide Layouts
• Checking Reading Order
• Tables
• Using Accessibility Checker
• Creating PDFs

EPUB

Tutorials and instructions for creating EPUB publications from Microsoft Word. Free software download available for EPUB accessibility checker from Ace by Daisy.    

PDF files

Create accessible PDF files that can be accessed using assistive technology.  Review WebAIM guidelines  - PDF Accessibility - Defining PDF Accessibility, PDF Accessibility - Setting Up Acrobat, and PDF Accessibility - Converting Documents to PDF.