Twenty-Minute UDL Strategies to Improve Blackboard Course Content 1. Create and post goal statements for your module or week: Example: By the end of this module, you will be able to . . .   Relationship to UDL: Clear, measurable goals make the development of alternative assignments much easier and ensures that the use of UDL “does not alter the rigor of assignments.” (Harrison, 2006) 2. Make and caption a 5-minute “pinch point” video: Relationship to UDL: A pinch point is an excellent place to begin a retrofit with UDL principles, if for no other reason than to save the professor's effort in the future.” The pinch point will become a starting point for future UDL strategies.  3. Caption an existing short video: Relationship to the UDL: By adding closed-captioning to television programs, more people can enjoy them: viewers who are learning the language, who want to keep up with unfamiliar accents, or who have hearing impairments. 4. Fix a syllabus to make Ally happy. 5. Provide time estimates for assignments. 6. Add options for recruiting interest. 7. Record an announcement. 8. Expand an assignment option. 9. Ask students how long it took to complete an assignment. 10. Open modules a week earlier than you normally would. 11. Insert directions for downloading Read and Write Gold into your Blackboard Course. 12. Write a 50-minute test and allow all students 2 hours to take it, in the Testing Center. 13. Write a test with 30 questions, but only require 25. 14. Check your Blackboard Accessibility Score. 15. Add descriptive text to 3 images. 16. Add text descriptions to links. 17. Conduct a 5-minute weekly engagement survey in Blackboard: At what point in this week’s activities were you most engaged as a learner? At what point in this week’s activities were you most distanced as a learner? What surprised you the most about class this week? What puzzled you the most about class this week? 18. Adjust a test so that students are testing from a pool of test questions. 

Tutorials and instructions for making your courses more digitally accessible are available. Use the index below to find accessibility training materials. Blackboard Ally, Microsoft Stream, Word, PowerPoint, and Yuja resources are provided. Additional training materials will be added and indexed as they are created. Accessibility Resources & Videos Note, that all links open in a new window. ALLY Bb Collaborate Ultra Microsoft Teams PowerPoint VoiceThread Yuja Word Checklists: Accessibility Checklists for Word.docx Accessibility Checklist for Blackboard.docx

Guide to Title, Heading and Subheader Order and Proper Usage in Blackboard Ultra Key Points Follow Hierarchical Order of Headings: Maintain a logical flow of headings throughout the article. After Title, use Header, then Subheader, followed by Paragraph. Avoid skipping levels. Stick to Default Heading Font Size: Use the default font size for headings to maintain consistency and ease of readability. Use Black Font Color: Keep the font color for headings and text black, unless a specific color is necessary for clarity or emphasis. Make Headings Descriptive and Relevant: Ensure that each heading clearly reflects the content it introduces. Descriptive headings help readers easily understand the structure of the article. Using the built-in heading function Heading sizes can be found in the top left corner of the page in the toolbar section of the content area. Example of header use and hierarchical structure in the WYSIWYG Editor. This picture is an example of how an article could be structured using built-in heading, subheading and paragraph styles. Start with Title. There should only be One Title in the document body. The Title is similar to Heading 1 in other editors. Header comes after the Title. Header is equivalent to Heading 2. Subheader is next. Subheader is similar to Heading 3. Using the built-in lists and bullets in the WYSIWYG Editor. Click the "Paragraph Format" icon. Select to use bullets or numbers for your list. You can tell your list is formatted correctly if you see the list style selected in the toolbar. Inserting Math and multimedia in the WYSIWYG Editor. Click the plus sign in the upper right hand side of the content editor. Select the content to insert.

Overview Headings help everyone, including people using screen readers or other assistive tools, to understand and navigate a document more easily. Why Headings Matter Headings keep things organized Headings make reading easier Headings make skimming easy Headings are shortcuts for screen reader users WYSIWYG Headings Feedback and guidance on WYSIWYG content are not available for every issue yet. WYSIWYG guidance is not available for headings. Uploaded Document Headings Ally gives guidance on uploaded document heading structure. Click What this means or How to add headings for step-by-step instructions. To resolve this low Ally score due to heading issues, you’ll need to update the document in Microsoft Word: Open the file on your computer. Add headingsusing Word’s built-in styles: Select the text you want to format as a heading. Go to the Home tab. In the Styles group, choose the appropriate heading style: Use Heading 1 for the main title (level 1), Heading 2 for section titles, Heading 3 for subsection titles, and so on. Use Normal for regular paragraph text. Save the updated file. Upload the revised file to your course. Steps to improve heading accessibility Make headings clear: Write short headings that tell people about the section. Don’t fake it: making text bigger and bold doesn’t count! Use the built-in heading options for best accessibility practices. Structure your document: Use Heading 1 for main sections, Heading 2 for subsections, and Heading 3 for smaller divisions. Maintain consistency: Avoid skipping levels (e.g., do not jump from Heading 1 to Heading 3). Use headings for tables of contents: Headings can automatically create a Table of Contents. Additional heading resources: Adding Headings to a Document