E-Text Accessibility
Evaluating the accessibility of e-texts for students with disabilities is an important task, but a difficult one due to the variety and number of digital textbook services available. This page does not contain a comprehensive list of known issues for every product from every publisher. Instead, it is intended as a starting point for faculty that will introduce a few common issues and outline the process that should be used to evaluate your particular materials.
What is Assistive Technology?
The phrase “assistive technology” refers to tools like screen readers and screen magnifiers that allow individuals with disabilities to maintain or augment their functional capabilities. Often, assistive technologies present digital content in a different way than it was originally intended; for example, an individual who is blind might use a screen reader that takes digital text content and renders it as audio. Accessibility barriers arise when certain types of content are implemented in a way that prevents assistive technologies from accessing the content, or when the content is only provided in one format (such as audio without a transcript).
Common Content Accessibility Issues
Here are some common content accessibility issues your digital textbook materials might contain.
Evaluation Process
- Ask for Publisher Information: Contact the publisher to ask them for details about the accessibility of your particular textbook and/or digital content service. This should include all known accessibility issues, any workarounds that the student can use, and any guidance for faculty on how to ensure any content you create within the platform is accessible.
- Review your Assessments: If you use a platform’s online quizzes, ask the publisher for a list of quiz question types that are accessible. Review your own quiz content to ensure that none of your questions rely on drag-and-drop actions, images without alt text, or other inaccessible mechanisms.
- Consult with Accessibility Specialists: Reach out to the Digital Accessibility office for help evaluating your e-text at digitalaccessibility@colorado.edu.
- Notify your Students: If the digital software or services (including e-texts or online homework systems) used in your course are not fully accessible, please notify your students in your syllabus with the following statement:
"This course requires the use of [name of software or service], which is currently not accessible to users of assistive technology. If you use assistive technology to access the course material, please contact your faculty member and Disability Services at 303-492-8671 or by e-mail at dsinfo@colorado.edu as soon as possible to discuss other effective means for providing equal alternate access."
Accessibility Guidance for Specific Products
Pearson
- Use the 2.0 version of an e-text if it is available. You should consult with your Pearson representative to ensure all of your materials are in the 2.0 version.
- Consult the Pearson list of accessible question types.