Online learning has grown rapidly, especially in recent years. The shift to digital education has opened up opportunities for many students, but not everyone has been able to benefit equally.
Students with disabilities often face challenges that are not always considered when courses are designed. Ensuring accessibility in online learning helps create an inclusive space where all students can participate and succeed.
What Does It Mean for an Online Course to Be Accessible?
An accessible online course works for every learner, including those using screen readers, keyboard navigation, captions, or alternative input devices. The checklist below covers every component of a course, from documents and images to videos and quizzes, with specific, actionable steps to take for each.
Why Is Online Course Accessibility Important?
-
Following Accessibility Laws
There are legal requirements that ensure digital content is accessible to people with disabilities. Guidelines like WCAG, ADA 508, EA 2010, EN 301 549, VWAS, AODA, and GIGW are in place to make sure online courses, documents, and training materials can be used by everyone. Following these guidelines helps organizations meet legal standards while creating an inclusive learning space for all users.
-
Reaching More Learners and Customers
Many people don’t realize that around 10% of the population has some form of disability. If an online course or platform is not fully accessible, a large number of potential learners will struggle to use it properly. This doesn’t just affect students—it affects businesses too.
Also Read: Why is Web Accessibility Important for Your Business?Think about what this means for workplace training. If employees cannot access the learning materials they need, they will not be able to develop their skills as well as others. This creates gaps in knowledge and performance that can hurt the organization.
A company that makes learning accessible for all its employees will have a stronger, more capable workforce. If training is not available to everyone, talented individuals might look for opportunities elsewhere, in places that are more inclusive.
Also Read: Document Accessibility and its Role in Fostering an Inclusive Workplace -
Making E-Learning Easier for Everyone
Designing e-learning with accessibility in mind does not just help students with disabilities. It also improves the learning experience for the general audience.
For example, keeping the navigation clear and structured is helpful for students using screen readers, but it also makes it easier for everyone to move through the course without confusion. When students can find what they need quickly, they spend more time learning and less time figuring out where to go next.
Providing transcripts or closed captions for videos and audio is essential for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. But this also helps learners study in noisy environments, such as a busy café or a shared space where they cannot use headphones. It allows them to follow the content without missing important information.
Using high color contrast in course design makes content easier to see for learners with visual impairments. At the same time, it also helps students who are taking the course in bright conditions, such as outdoors or near a window. Clear visuals ensure that no one struggles to read the content.
Accessibility Checklist for Online Courses
1. Course Layout
- The course follows a clear and organized structure, making it easy for students to find what they need. The course menu follows a logical order, and related content is grouped together.
- Navigation is simple and consistent. A uniform color scheme and icons help students recognize sections easily. Titles are clear and descriptive.
- Students can move through the course using only a keyboard. All functions, including assignments, discussions, and quizzes, should be accessible without a mouse.
- Course materials can be printed, allowing students to review content in different formats.
- All PDFs contain selectable text instead of just images. Screen readers should be able to read each word individually, not just entire blocks of text.
Related Read: Heading Structure: Learn the Right Hierarchy for Accessibility
2. Syllabus and Course Information
- The syllabus includes a statement about Disability Services, informing students about available support.
- Information about campus policies on disability accommodations is provided, either within the course or as a link to official resources.
- Contact details for the Accessibility Resources Office are clearly listed, ensuring students know where to seek assistance.
- A detailed outline of course content and expectations is available in the course information section, so students understand what to expect from the start.
- Include a statement specifying which accessibility standards the course has been tested against (e.g., WCAG 2.1 AA), so students with disabilities know what level of access to expect.
3. Structuring Content
When reviewing your course structure, verify the following:
- White space is used between sections of content, making reading easier and improving clarity.
- Headings and subheadings are used to show structure and hierarchy — have you used heading styles (not manual bold or font size changes) for all section titles?
- Heading levels are applied in order (H1 → H2 → H3) without skipping any level.
- Have you tested your heading structure with a screen reader or the WAVE accessibility tool to confirm the outline is logical?
- Lists are formatted using the built-in list tool, not manually typed dashes or bullet points.
Related Read:Logical Reading Order in PDF
4. Text Formatting
- Large blocks of italicized text are avoided, as they can be difficult to read.
- Underlining is reserved for hyperlinks only. Other forms of emphasis, like bold text, are used instead.
- All capital letters are used sparingly since they are harder to read and can be interpreted as shouting.
- Simple, easy-to-read fonts are used instead of decorative or cursive styles. The number of different fonts is kept to a minimum for consistency.
- Text is always used instead of images containing words. If an image with text must be included, an alternative text description is provided.
- Blinking or moving text is avoided, as it can be distracting and difficult for some students to read.
5. Links
- Links include descriptive text instead of just the URL. For example, instead of writing ‘Click here,’ the link clearly describes what students will find when they open it.
- Ambiguous link text is avoided. Every link should make sense on its own without surrounding context.
- Have you run a screen reader and listened to all links read out of context to confirm they are meaningful?
- Do any links open in a new tab? If so, is the user warned (e.g., ‘opens in a new tab’)?
Related Read:What Are Accessible Hyperlinks?
6. Tables
- Tables are used only for organizing data, not for page layout. This ensures they are accessible to all students.
- Each table includes a caption, making it clear what information is presented.
- Column and row headers are identified to help students understand the structure of the table.
- Instead of using images of tables, actual tables are created so that screen readers can read the content.
- Complex tables with merged cells or multiple layers of data are avoided. Simple, well-structured tables work best for accessibility.
- Has each table been given a summary attribute or visible caption explaining what it contains?
- Have you avoided using tables purely for visual layout? Layout tables break the reading order for screen reader users.
Related Read:How to Tag Tables in PDF?
7. Math and Science Content
Equations and mathematical expressions must be created in formats that screen readers can interpret. Use MathML or tools like MathJax to encode equations — never publish equations as images only.
- For chemistry and scientific diagrams, provide descriptive alt text that conveys the structural or conceptual information the diagram represents, not just a visual description.
- If your LMS does not support MathML natively, consult your platform’s accessibility documentation for the recommended equation rendering method.
8. Images
- Has every meaningful image been given alt text that describes its purpose, not just its appearance?
- Have complex images (charts, diagrams, infographics, maps) been given a long description in addition to short alt text?
- Have decorative images been marked with null alt text (alt=””) so screen readers skip them?
- Have you verified alt text quality by listening to it with a screen reader — not just confirmed the field is filled?
- Are file names (e.g., image_003.jpg) absent from alt text fields?
- Is most alt text under 125 characters? Where longer descriptions are needed, is an alternative format provided?
- Are images of tables or text-heavy images avoided? If unavoidable, is the text reproduced in surrounding content?
Achieve Image Accessibility with Invicta™
9. Multimedia
- Has every video been reviewed to confirm captions are present and synchronized correctly?
- Have auto-generated captions been manually reviewed and corrected — especially for technical terminology, proper nouns, and discipline-specific language?
- Are captions available in a downloadable format (SRT or VTT) for students who need offline access?
- Is there a full transcript for every audio-only item, including non-speech audio cues such as [applause] or [music]?
- Where a video contains important visual information not conveyed through narration (e.g., diagrams being drawn, lab demonstrations), has an audio description or text-based explanation been added?
- Have long videos been broken into shorter segments — ideally no longer than 15–20 minutes?
- Can students pause, rewind, and navigate through videos easily without a mouse?
Related Read:What Is Closed Captioning and Its Benefits to Accessibility?
10. Microsoft Word
- Follow accessibility guidelines to ensure documents are easy to read and navigate.
- The reading order of elements should be checked and adjusted if necessary, so screen readers present the content in a logical flow.
- Have you run the built-in Accessibility Checker in Microsoft Word (Review > Check Accessibility) and resolved all flagged issues?
- Is the document’s language set correctly in File > Info > Properties so screen readers use the right pronunciation rules?
11. PDF Documents
- PDFs should be created with accessibility in mind by following proper formatting guidelines.
- If a PDF is generated from a Word document, it should be converted properly to retain accessibility features.
- Text should be selectable and searchable rather than appearing as an image, so screen readers can read it.
- The reading order of elements should be checked and adjusted if needed to ensure a logical sequence.
- Tagging elements correctly improves accessibility and makes navigation easier for students using assistive technology.
- Have you checked the PDF with PAC (PDF Accessibility Checker) and resolved critical errors before publishing?
- Is the reading order correct in the Tags panel — not just visually on the page?
Streamline Document Accessibility with PREP
12. Microsoft PowerPoint
- Accessibility guidelines should be followed to make slides clear and easy to navigate.
- Alternative text should be added to images so all students can access visual content.
- The reading order of slide elements should be reviewed and adjusted to ensure proper navigation with screen readers.
- If a PowerPoint presentation needs to be shared as a PDF, converting it properly will help maintain accessibility features.
- Have you used the built-in Check Accessibility feature in PowerPoint (Review > Check Accessibility)?
- Is the slide reading order verified in the Selection Pane (Home > Arrange > Selection Pane) — not just the visual order?
Make Your PowerPoint Presentations Accessible
How to Check If Your Course Is Accessible for All Learners
Making sure every student can access and use your online course requires careful checking. A mix of hands-on testing, automated tools, and assistive technology can help find and fix any barriers. Here’s how you can test your course to make it more inclusive.
-
Go Through the Course Yourself
- Try navigating your course without a mouse. Use only the keyboard to move between sections, click buttons, and complete activities. This helps check if students who rely on keyboard navigation can access everything properly.
- Check if the headings and content follow a clear structure. Screen readers rely on this to read the material in the right order. If the content jumps around or is not labeled properly, it can be difficult for some students to follow.
- Look at the colors used in the course. Text and background colors should contrast well so students with vision difficulties can read easily. Many browsers have built-in tools or extensions that can check this for you.
- If the course includes videos, images, or audio, make sure there are captions, transcripts, and descriptions. Videos should have captions so students who cannot hear can still understand. Images should have alt text that describes what they show. Audio content should have a transcript available.
-
Use Automated Tools to Find Issues
- There are free tools that scan your course for accessibility problems. Platforms like WAVE, axe, or Lighthouse highlight missing alt text, poor color contrast, and structural issues.
- If your learning management system (LMS) has an accessibility checker, use it. Many LMS platforms have built-in tools that identify problems in course design and suggest fixes.
- For course documents like PDFs, slides, or Word files, check if they are accessible. Tools like PREP or Adobe Acrobat’s accessibility checker can spot issues, such as missing headings or text that screen readers cannot recognize.
-
Try Assistive Technologies
- Use a screen reader to go through the course as a student with a visual impairment would. Free options like NVDA (for Windows), VoiceOver (for Mac), or JAWS can help you experience how the content is read aloud. If something is confusing or out of order, adjustments may be needed.
- Test speech-to-text tools by trying to dictate responses instead of typing. This helps see if students who use voice input can complete assignments and navigate the course smoothly.
- Simulate different disabilities to understand the challenges some students face. Extensions like NoCoffee can mimic vision impairments, while Tabli helps test keyboard navigation.
Using a mix of these methods makes the course more welcoming and easier to use for all students. Even small improvements can make a big difference in helping everyone access and engage with the content.
Emerging Technologies That Improve Course Accessibility
Technology is changing what is possible in accessible course design. Here is how key technologies are being used specifically to reduce accessibility barriers:
Virtual Reality
Instead of just reading about something, students can now experience it. For learners with cognitive or learning disabilities, immersive VR environments can reduce the cognitive load of abstract concepts by placing students directly in the context being studied — a historical site, a surgical theater, or a chemistry lab.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality allows students to take virtual tours of museums, historical landmarks, or anatomical structures from their own devices. For students who cannot travel or access physical labs due to mobility disabilities, AR provides equivalent learning experiences that would otherwise be unavailable.
Artificial Intelligence
AI-powered tools can now generate alt text for images at scale, check documents for accessibility issues automatically, and produce captions with higher accuracy than earlier auto-generation tools. This significantly reduces the manual remediation workload for course designers and publishers — making it feasible to make accessibility part of every production cycle, not just a remediation task.
Machine Learning
Machine learning uses past learning data to adjust lessons based on a student’s performance, creating a more personalized learning path. For students with cognitive disabilities or learning differences, adaptive pathways that adjust pacing and content format can make a significant difference in comprehension and completion rates.
Big Data
Big data analytics can reveal which parts of a course are disproportionately difficult for students using specific assistive technologies. Identifying drop-off points or low-engagement sections through learning analytics can flag potential accessibility barriers that are not visible through a standard content review.
Wearable Devices
Wearable devices like smart glasses and VR headsets allow students to access educational content in new ways. For learners with mobility impairments, wearables can replace keyboard and mouse interactions entirely, enabling hands-free navigation and engagement with course content.
Compliance Tips & Best Practices for Online Course Accessibility
-
Keep Accessibility the Same Across All Course Content
When making online courses accessible, it is important to apply the same standards everywhere. If some parts of a course are easy to access while others are not, students will have an uneven learning experience. This can make it harder for them to follow along and achieve their learning goals.
No matter which accessibility guidelines are used, they should be followed consistently across all lessons, videos, quizzes, and other course materials. This ensures that all students, including those with disabilities, can navigate the course without difficulty.
-
Set Clear Policies and Procedures
Many institutions already have accessibility policies in place, but these may need updates to meet current standards. Online course content should follow at least WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines to ensure accessibility for all students. If existing policies only mention websites, they should be updated to include online courses as well.
It is also important to provide clear guidance on how accessibility will be implemented. This includes listing available resources and support systems for course developers, instructors, and staff.
Information on accessible digital tools, staff training, and technology procurement should be easy to find so that everyone involved in creating and managing courses knows how to meet accessibility standards.
-
Designing Courses with Accessibility in Mind
Not all instructors or course designers have a background in web design or programming, which can make accessibility guidelines seem complicated. To make these guidelines easier to follow, they should be explained with clear examples relevant to teaching and course development.
For instance, using a structured checklist, like the one developed by the University of Michigan’s Center for Academic Innovation, can help ensure that online courses follow best practices aligned with accessibility standards.
-
Checking Third-Party Tools and Content for Accessibility
Many colleges and universities use third-party tools and services for online learning, but not all of them go through a thorough accessibility review. Some tools, especially free or low-cost ones, may be added to courses without a formal approval process.
Even when tools are reviewed at an institutional level, the focus is often on software accessibility rather than on services like instructional design, where accessibility is just as important.
To improve this, institutions can update their policies to include accessibility requirements in contracts and agreements with vendors. When a formal review process is not in place, faculty and staff should have the training to assess the accessibility of tools and content on their own.
Ensuring that third-party resources meet accessibility standards from the beginning helps create a more inclusive learning experience for all students.
Common Accessibility Mistakes Found in Online Courses
Even well-intentioned course designers make predictable accessibility errors. Knowing what to watch for can save significant remediation time:
- Exporting PDFs from PowerPoint without remediation. When a PowerPoint is saved as a PDF without going through proper accessibility export settings, the resulting file loses all heading structure, reading order, and alt text. Always export via File > Save As > PDF with the ‘Document structure tags for accessibility’ option enabled, then verify the output with an accessibility checker.
- Embedding text as images in slides. Text that is part of a graphic or designed using image-editing tools cannot be read by a screen reader. All text that conveys meaning must be live, selectable text — not flattened into an image.
- Using color alone to indicate correct or incorrect quiz answers. Red and green color coding is invisible to color-blind users. Always supplement color with icons (a checkmark or X), labels (Correct / Incorrect), or written feedback text.
- Uploading scanned textbook pages as image-only PDFs. A scanned page is a photograph. Without OCR and proper tagging, it is completely inaccessible to screen readers. Never distribute scanned-only PDFs as primary course material.
- Placing interactive elements inside iframes without accessible labels. Embedded quizzes, simulations, and third-party tools added via iframes are often inaccessible unless the iframe has a meaningful title attribute. Always add descriptive title text to any embedded iframe.
- Relying on auto-generated captions without review. Auto-captions from YouTube, Zoom, or LMS platforms typically contain errors — especially for technical, medical, legal, or scientific vocabulary. All auto-generated captions must be reviewed and corrected before the course goes live.
- Ignoring mobile accessibility. A course that is accessible on a desktop may not be accessible on a mobile device. Always test your course on a mobile screen reader (VoiceOver on iOS, TalkBack on Android) in addition to desktop testing.
How Continual Engine Makes Courses Accessible?
- PDF Accessibility: PDFs are modified so they can be read by screen readers, with proper tagging and formatting.
- PowerPoint Accessibility: Presentations are adjusted to include readable text, proper contrast, and accessible navigation.
- Image Descriptions and Color Adjustments: Images are given meaningful alt text, and colors are adjusted for better contrast to support learners with visual impairments.
- Video Accessibility and Voiceovers: Captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions are added to videos to ensure learners can engage with the content in multiple ways.
- Accessible eBooks: ePubs and other digital reading materials are formatted for accessibility.
- Website Accessibility: Websites are reviewed and adjusted to meet accessibility standards, ensuring smooth navigation for all users.
- Content Restructuring: Course materials are organized with clear headings, readable lists, and structured tables to make learning smoother and more logical.
