While accessibility has been a part of the eLearning discaussion for the past several years, accessibility has come to the forefront this past year as Section 508 Compliance has been increasingly enforced across the learning industry.

Section 508, an amendment to the Rehabilitation act of 1973, requires all Federal agencies to make their technology accessible to those with disabilities. The recent crackdown on agencies that haven’t adhered to Section 508 has made waves in the eLearning world, sparking action and discussion. Accessibility has long been a priority within eLearning. Whether it be for training or learning, access to information is key and should not be withheld from anyone.

So here are some short term and long term goals that a learning or publishing organization should plan for:

Short-term Goals

Continuously improve usability for people with disabilities: Updating websites and learning assets quarterly, including accessibility improvements resulting from customer feedback as well as rigorous third-party accessibility testing.

Updating websites and learning assets quarterly, including accessibility improvements resulting from customer feedback as well as rigorous third-party accessibility testing. Provide access to as many titles as possible: Accessibility standards to be global for as many as learning and educational assets possible.

Accessibility standards to be global for as many as learning and educational assets possible. Serve the widest possible range of disabilities: Consider the needs of people with visual impairments, learning disabilities and mobility concerns.

Long-term Goals

Provide/procure a low-barrier, commercial alternative for all learning and education accessibility needs through partnerships.

Go beyond content accessibility standards and adopt universal design accessibility standards.

Achieving Section 508 compliance in eLearning

Elearning courses typically consist of the following components:

Non-text Elements

Graphical User Interface

Course Pages

Section 508 can be applied to the above components in many ways:

As Text Embedded in Images and Graphics: Alternate text (alt text) can be provided to describe the images in totality.

Example of a simple graphic-