In the Classroom

Creating Accessible Course Materials

The Center for Instructional Innovation works with professors to create course materials that are accessible to everyone.

Get Started with a Course Shell

The AU Course Shell is a structure you can import into an empty course in the Learning Management System (LMS), which is called D2L/Brightspace.

Advantages

• Rapid course development
• Flexible design and structure (add, delete, modify files)
• Compliant with federal Web accessibility guidelines
• Consistent fonts, colors, and navigational structure with AU branding
• Based on research and best practice recommendations
• Addresses many of the Quality Matters Rubric standards

How to Install the Course Shell

1. Open D2L/Brightspace and navigate to the course into which you would like to install the AU Course Shell. The course should not have any content or files.
2. Select Edit Course from the menu.
3. Select: Import / Export / Copy Components.
4. Under “What would you like to do?” Select Import Components.
5. Choose [Upload] and select the .zip file you downloaded to your computer, or drag and drop the .zip file on top of the Upload window.
6. Select: [Import All Components]. The process may take a minute or two.
7. Once the process is complete, select [View Content].

 GET STARTED BY DOWNLOADING A COURSE SHELL How to Edit Pages in the Course ShellHow to Add Pages to the Course Shell

Electronic Documents

Documents are used in every classroom and on every website. The following guides can help you learn how to make each type of document accessible to everyone in your course.

• Accessibility tools for Microsoft 365
• Microsoft 365 Make your Word documents accessible to people with disabilities
• Microsoft 365 Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities
• Microsoft 365 Accessibility best practices with Excel spreadsheets
• WebAIM Word and PowerPoint Accessibility Evaluation Guide
• Adobe Acrobat Create and verify PDF accessibility (Acrobat Pro)
• WebAIM PDF Accessibility  

Questions About Making Course Materials Accessible?

To speak to a representative about making your course materials compliant to accessibility standards, please email the Center for Instructional Innovation.