This Week for Faculty: Tips for Making Learning Accessible
Remove barriers to learning to make your course accessible to your students. Explore the resource Accessibility in Teaching and Learning for an overview and general “getting started” strategies for making learning resources, tools, experiences, and opportunities accessible to all learners.
- Foster an accessible learning environment for your students. This inclusive practice is highlighted in the Guide for Inclusive Teaching at Columbia. The Guide’s Principle 4: Design all course elements for accessibility reminds us to think of ways to diversify the delivery of course content, assess student learning, and engage students. This also requires transparency and open lines of communication between instructors and students.
- Leverage CourseWorks to structure student learning and share course materials. Uploading course materials to CourseWorks (readings, links to resources, videos, lecture recordings, supplemental materials, etc.) ensures that all students can access course content. This allows students to revisit materials at their own pace, as well as provide learning continuity in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
- Create course materials with accessibility in mind. The resource on creating accessible content from Columbia Accessibility provides guidance on creating accessible images, video, audio, and making documents accessible.
- Use the accessibility checker (Ally) in CourseWorks to help improve the accessibility of course materials and content. Learn more in the Four Ways to Make Your CourseWorks Site More Accessible resource.
Consult with us!
Office Hours
Join us for office hours via Zoom (or phone) Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm to have your teaching with instructional technology questions answered, or schedule an in-person appointment any time by contacting ColumbiaCTL@columbia.edu.
Consultations
Schedule an in-person or virtual consultation to discuss accessibility in teaching and learning by emailing ctlfaculty@columbia.edu or email the CTL Learning Designer assigned to your school or department.