Accessibility in a Moodle Course
Moodle continues to improve the accessibility of its software, with new features being added regularly through updates and new version releases. While not perfect, it is one of the more accessible learning management systems (LMS) currently available. In addition to the built-in accessibility features detailed in the Moodle Docs article linked above, below are some steps that instructors should take to make resources in their Moodle courses more universally accessible to all learners.
LITS Staff recommends checking any files uploaded to Moodle for accessibility, including running optical character recognition (OCR) on any text included in PDF files before uploading the materials to your course.
Alt Text
Alt text is the descriptive text that is attached to images on the web and can be read by screen readers. Adding this information to images you upload to Moodle makes them more accessible. To add alt text to an uploaded image:
Upload the image to Moodle and add it to the assignments, quizzes, labels, etc.
While editing, double-click the image to bring up the Image Properties menu.
In the Describe this… image section, input a description of the image.
There is a 125-character limit to the description.
Click the Save Image button at the bottom of the Image Properties window to save the description and return to the previous menu.
Repeat for any images you add to your Moodle assignments, quizzes, labels, etc.
Once you have added alt text to all of the images in an activity description, be sure to Save Changes before returning to the course page.
For more information on adding alt text to images in Moodle, see the Images article on Moodle Docs.
Text Formatting
The use of formatting tools and styles makes the page content more accessible to screen readers. Use styles in the text editor to format the page text. Use the heading styles to format headings for major sections and subsections of the text. This applies not only to Moodle, but to MS Word and Google Docs as well. The image on the right shows the options available in the Moodle Atto HTML editor.
Text Editor Accessibility Testing Tools
The text editor has two built-in accessibility checkers that can help test the accessibility of content you add to your Moodle course.
Accessibility Checker tests the text for common errors. The list of problems that the accessibility checker looks for is:
Images with missing or empty alt text
Poor color contrast between font and background colors
Extensive blocks of text without headings
Tables with merged cells (due to difficulty navigating with screen readers)
Column and row headers for tables
Clicking the Accessibility Checker button will initiate a scan of the text, and any problems will be reported in a pop-up window.
Screenreader Helper lists the styles, links, and images for the selected text to allow an instructor to identify any potential problems that may occur for a student using screenreader software to consume course content.