Accessibility & Rigor

Welcome to Accessibility in 5, a series from UFIT where we explore a quick tip on making your content more accessible in five minutes or less. I'm Tammy, and today's topic is accessibility and rigor.

Let's take a moment to discuss rigor. Bloom's taxonomy and Webb's Depth of Knowledge each provide frameworks for categorizing the complexity of learning tasks. From them, educators realize that rigor is about challenging students to engage in critical thinking, such as analyzing, evaluating, and creating, rather than simply recalling information.

However, not all tasks can involve higher-order thinking; lower complexity tasks are necessary to build foundational knowledge and skills. In this process of learning, removing unnecessary accessibility barriers is paramount. Inaccessible content should never inhibit a person from obtaining information that is necessary to complete more complex tasks.

With that in mind, let's look at some examples of how accessibility supports rigor:

Visual Accessibility: Using readable font, sufficient color contrast, and alt text for images ensures that all students, including those with visual impairments, can see and understand the content. This allows them to engage in higher-order thinking tasks like analyzing and creating.

Multimedia Accessibility: Providing closed captions and transcripts for videos allows students with hearing impairments to fully access and understand audiovisual content. Additionally, audio descriptions for visual content can help students engage with materials. This accessibility could enable students to evaluate and synthesize information effectively.

Cognitive Accessibility: Simplified navigation, such as clear headings and logical organization, can significantly improve a person's ability to understand and interact with content. By removing confusion and cognitive overload, students can focus on applying and critiquing the material.

Think of accessible content as a transparent window into knowledge. When the window is clear, students can see the landscape-- the intricate details, the connections between ideas, and the depth of the subject matter. However, when the window is frosted, the view is blurred. Students strain to make out shapes and colors, missing the richness of what lies beyond. By ensuring accessibility, we remove the frosted glass, allowing students to engage deeply with the material and appreciate its nuances.

Accessibility is about meeting students where they are and getting them to where you need them to be, so they can then work with the content in a higher, more complex way. If they have trouble accessing it, much time and energy will be wasted, and students may be left discouraged. Remember, accessibility isn't just about compliance — it's about creating an inclusive learning environment. By prioritizing accessibility, we empower all students to access information, participate fully, and thrive academically.

So, whether you're designing a course, creating content, or developing educational materials, keep accessibility at the forefront.

Thanks for watching Accessibility in 5. You can find this video as well as previous ones archived in the resources section of the CITT website at citt.ufl.edu.

Tune in next month when we talk about why and how to avoid PDFs.