Making Moodle Course Content Accessible

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When creating digital course content in Moodle, there are certain steps you can take to increase accessibility for all students. Some students depend on screen readers to access content, and without a written description of images (also known as alt text), those students may be at a disadvantage. To ensure equal access to images, make sure to add image descriptions when adding images in Moodle. **Click the down arrow to add an image and make it accessible.**

To add an image, click on the down arrow and select the Insert/edit image icon in the Page editor.

When adding an image, simply type a description in the Image description field. Please note that the image description should not simply be a title for the image, but should describe what is contained in the image.

Click "Save image"

**Using Stylesheets for Headings and Subheadings:** When creating content with multiple headings, using the stylesheet can help organize information for screen readers. Heading 1 functions as a section title, Heading 2 is a subsection, and so on. Note that it is not enough that headings are large and/or bold. Headings must be marked as such using the stylesheet in order to be useful for students navigating with a screen reader.

Choose your heading level. Remember to avoid skipping heading levels (i.e., choosing Heading 1 for the first section and Heading 4 for the next section), as this can be disorienting for students using screen readers.

Color Considerations When using colorful images and text, the goal is to maintain appropriate contrast between colors. In general, avoid pairing light-colored text with a light-colored background and dark-colored text with a dark-colored background.

Another consideration is whether the color of your text conveys meaning that may be lost if a person cannot distinguish the colors. Consider adding explanations along with the colors to ensure accessibility.

Video Captions Choosing videos that provide captions can be beneficial to all students by increasing clarity and comprehension. In the picture below, the captions appear at the bottom of the video.

YouTube allows searches of videos to be filtered by Subtitles/CC (closed captioning).