UToledo Online

Accessibility Support in Online Courses

The American with Disabilities Act and Section 508 require public institutions such as The University of Toledo to comply with the law and create equal access to individuals with disabilities in all resources and services. Online courses as a growing trend of higher education provide great flexibility for students and faculty with disabilities as an alternative to traveling to the physical classroom at a particular time. However, when an online course is inaccessible to students who use assistive technologies, such as screen reader software, it violates the legal regulation of equal access for all.

At UT Online, the ADA instructional design team works with faculty and students to make course materials accessible for all learners. In collaboration with the Office of Accessibility and Disability Resources and online instructors, the ADA design team supports faculty needs in course design and course material remediation by following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 and utilizing the framework of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The ADA instructional designer also provides group training sessions and one-on-one consultations to faculty, staff, and students.

The services we provide at UT Online include:

    • Accessibility evaluation of online courses

    • Accessibility evaluation of third-party tools used in an online course

    • Remediation of course materials upon SDS request

    • Face-to-face training workshops in creating accessible PDF, Microsoft documents, etc

    • ADA Compliance and Online Courses
    • One-on-one consultation on course accessibility concerns

Lei Song

Assistive Technology Specialist and Instructional Designer
419.530.2149
Lei.Song2@utoledo.edu

Last Updated: 6/27/22