When it comes to crafting or selecting accessible content for your students with additional needs, Showbie understands the importance of flexibility. Keep reading for guidance to support you in sharing materials in Showbie that are accessible to all learners, including those with disabilities.
Voice Notes and Audio-Only Content:
For students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, it's crucial to provide transcriptions alongside any audio materials. These transcriptions should cover all spoken content and describe any non-verbal audio cues like background music or sound effects. Use comments in the student's assignment folder, or differentiated distribution in the Shared Items folder, to provide transcriptions to those who may need them.
Synchronized Media (Audio & Video):
Audio Description
Help students with visual impairments understand visual elements in your videos by providing audio descriptions. These descriptions narrate the actions, gestures, and visual details, ensuring that all students can fully engage with the content. Plan these descriptions ahead of time and incorporate them into your script before recording a video for students. Voice notes and pinned voice notes can also be used to supplement videos that you share to students.
Closed Captions
Ensure that students with hearing impairments can follow along with your videos by adding closed captions. While Showbie doesn't offer captioning features, we recommend adding captions before uploading your videos or using live-captioning tools.
Visual Content:
For students with visual impairments, include written descriptions alongside visual content like images or videos. These descriptions should provide relevant details and context to support comprehension. Utilize the Showbie Comments feature to provide captions or transcriptions for your materials. Label these comments clearly so they are easily associated with the original content, helping students identify alternative access options.
Text-Based File Uploads:
Make sure PDFs and ePubs are properly formatted for accessibility. This helps to ensure that your documents are navigable and readable for students using assistive technologies like screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, or other assistive technologies.
Guidance for how to format your document correctly may differ depending on the platform you are using, so be sure to check for any available guidance on how to format files with accessibility in mind specifically tailored to that platform.
In general, for documents to be accessible, consider the following best practices:
Use proper headings and formatting for document structure.
Add alternative text to images and graphics.
Ensure sufficient contrast between text and background colours.
Use descriptive hyperlinks that convey the link's purpose.
Keep content organized and easy to navigate.
Accessibility for External Resources:
The resources you find for your lessons may or may not come with accessibility already considered, and some content publishers may not readily offer accessibility information. When selecting resources created by others, consider reaching out to the original publisher to discuss accessibility options. If you're unsure if an external resource is accessible or not, we recommend viewing the files using the technology the student will be using. This will help to ensure they can access all the relevant information within the file.
Leveraging Your Devices for Accessibility Accommodations:
The devices that you and your students use in the classroom can also support you in providing accessible content via their own accessibility features.
iPad Accessibility