Faculty, Instructor, and Instructional Technologist Resources
All faculty, instructors, and instructional technologists play an important role in advancing digital accessibility at UW–Madison. You produce digital content in your everyday work – whether developing course materials, creating presentations, or writing documents.
You don’t need to become an expert overnight. Your role is to make meaningful, sustainable progress—starting with the teaching and learning materials you use every day.
Get Started: Ensure Your Digital Course Materials are Accessible
Advance the accessibility of your courses in Canvas, as well as documents, slides, and spreadsheets, to ensure your materials are digitally accessible to all.
- Steps to Make Your Digital Course Materials Accessible – Guidance for remediating and building accessible teaching and learning materials.
- UW–Madison Syllabus Template – Copy and customize this accessible template.
- Fundamentals of Digital Accessibility – Key concepts and simple practices for making your materials more accessible.
FAQs
No. Start with new content and high-use materials. Focus on steady, meaningful progress.
No, however, PDFs are often not the best format for sharing digital content. Many people turn to them because they believe they are not editable. This is not true. PDFs can be easily altered or exported into editable documents.
In addition, they require special attention to ensure that they are accessible for all users. For this reason, we recommend avoiding or minimizing use of PDF files.
Alternatives can include read-only versions of Word documents or Google Docs, or, for web content, creating HTML web pages instead of PDFs. These formats are typically easier to edit, test and maintain for accessibility over time.
If a PDF is necessary, start with an accessible source document before converting it to PDF. Building accessibility into the original file – such as proper headings, readable tables, and descriptive links – can significantly improve the accessibility of the final PDF. Learn how to make an accessible PDF.
Here are two additional resources on this topic:
LinkedIn Learning course on creating accessible PDFs
Adobe’s guide on PDF accessibility
No. You are responsible for improving course materials over time, not interpreting legal requirements
No. The new ADA rule requires all digital content to be accessible so disabled individuals have seamless access like their nondisabled peers.
Yes, you can find them in Steps to Make Your Digital Course Materials Accessible.
Check out these resources:
- Make It Accessible – Learn about a variety of digital accessibility topics.
- Foundations of Accessible Elearning – On-demand training from LinkedIn Learning that is designed specifically for faculty and instructors.
Get Help: Reach Out for Additional Information
Center for User Experience:
The Center for User Experience can provide additional information on how to create more accessible, usable, and inclusive digital content for all students, faculty, and staff. Request consultation through the Center for User Experience website.
Office of Compliance:
If you have questions related to the scope of the new federal rule for the Americans with Disabilities Act, contact the ADA Coordinators in the Office of Compliance.