Skip to main content
Search
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Logo
Apply to SIUE

Information Technology Services Sub MenuDismiss

  e-ID Support Forms Contact Us

IDLT

Information Technology Services IDLT
Search ITS


siue-kb-logo-2023.jpg

ITS Home
IDLT Home
Services
Teaching Toolkit
Programs
Meet the Designers
Schedule a Consult

IDLThree Logo

spotlight news button

This toolkit contains resources to help faculty plan and revise courses, find suitable technology, remove learning barriers, and build high-quality learning environments. You are welcome to use these documents, share them with colleagues, or contact IDLT for assistance. 

Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning

Accessibility is about removing unnecessary barriers. Sidewalk crossings with no curbs, doors with automatic functions, and digital documents with properly tagged headings are all features that can help people access a resource. In learning, we want to ensure students can access course content, complete assignments, engage with peers and professors, communicate in meaningful ways, and reach their highest potential. The principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) help those creating learning experiences aspire for accessibility and openness for all learners. Although it can seem like a big undertaking, incorporating UDL principles and creating accessible course materials is an achievable goal. At SIUE, Blackboard Ally is one resource we have to improve course accessibility, along with this article that includes tips for file accessibility. Have questions? Contact IDLT or the University's ACCESS office to learn more. 

Caption Editing Service for Faculty

A service offered by Online Services and Educational Outreach, IDLT, and ACCESS provides assistance to faculty in reviewing and editing the captions on videos that they have created and stored in the YuJa video platform for instructional purposes. Additional information about this service, including a form to request captioning assistance, is available on the Faculty Resource page.

Accessible Syllabus Template

SIUE ACCESSIBLE SYLLABUS TEMPLATE

Revisit the template at the beginning of each semester to ensure you have the most current version of the template which includes required language and policies. It is updated at least once a year to include the correct information for support services and other necessary language.

Customizing the Template

Ensure your students have the most current academic policies,  student services, and accessibility resources by using the IDLT syllabus template. The template is based on The Open SUNY Course Quality Review Rubric (see above) and contains sections commonly included in syllabi. As you customize the syllabus, please verify that new content is accessible. A simple way to do this is to use the Microsoft Word built-in Accessibility Checker as it will help you identify and respond to the barriers that students face when accessing course content. The syllabus template is regularly updated to reflect changes that occur between the semesters.

screen shot of check accessibility button on review tab in microsoft word

Accessibility Features of the Template

Want to know what makes this template accessible? Please read below to discover its primary features.

Tagged Headings

All headings in the syllabus template are tagged with the appropriate heading style for easy navigation.

screen shot showing heading selected and heading 1 in styles on the microsoft word ribbon

Meaningful Links

All hyperlinks are given meaningful titles, ensuring that readers will have a better understanding of where they are being directed. Avoid using phrases such as “click here”.

screen shot of syllabus with active links with real titles

 Alternative Text

The included image of the Gardens at SIUE sign has alternative text applied to it so that screen readers will know what to say about it.

screen shot of image selected in microsoft word and alt text pane up

Proper Reading Order

No content in the syllabus template is contained in 'floating' elements like text boxes, which enables assistive technologies to read the document in the order it was meant to be read.

Proper Color Contrast

All of the font colors in the syllabus template have a color contrast ratio of 5.9:1 or higher, which exceeds the WCAG 2.0 Level AA guidelines for readability.

Questions?

Please get in touch with ITS-Instructional Design & Instructional Design Technologies at help@siue.edu or  (618) 650-5500 if you have questions or comments about the syllabus template, course design, and accessible course content.

Bloom's Taxonomy

Creating a solid course or assessment begins by considering what the student should be learn. Bloom (et al.) provide a framework for learning in each domain - cognitive, affective, and psychomotor - and offers a starting point for creating measurable learning objectives through specific action-oriented words. The ABCDs of Writing Instructional Objectives document is a helpful resource that provides a list of action words to measure both lower- and higher-order thinking skills. 

Course Planning Grid

How can we "see" student learning? How do we know at what point in the course something went wrong? A course with well-aligned objectives can allow us to deconstruct even the most complicated learning path and isolate performance issues, whether they are related to the material, activities, or a missed learning opportunity. The course planning grid is one resource we use in IDLT to map a course from start to finish. It helps us see what exactly we intend students to learn and plan how to facilitate and assess that learning along the way. This grid is an excellent resource for faculty who are designing or redesigning a course.

Course Quality Standards (OSCQR)

IDLT uses the Open SUNY Course Quality Review (OSCQR) rubric to review online courses. This rubric was created by a team of experienced faculty, designers, technologists, librarians, and multimedia staff from 15 institutions across the State University of New York system. The standards used in this review instrument come from years of research in online education and are mirrored in several other nationally recognized review instruments, including the Quality Matters rubric. 

Course Template: Your Starting Point for Effective Course Design

This template serves as a starting point for designing your Blackboard shells, helping you streamline course creation by providing pre-structured content areas and essential resources. Whether you are new to Blackboard or an experienced user, this template will save you time and ensure consistency and quality in your course delivery. Start with the Course Planning Grid to plan the course, then import the template and start adding your content. 

COURSE TEMPLATE 

HyFlex

HyFlex is a teaching and learning approach that combines elements of face-to-face and online courses. HyFlex courses allow students to synchronously participate in activities and discussions in-person or online or allow the option to engage asynchronously. The HyFlex Teaching page contains resources to help you prepare and deliver a course in a HyFlex format.

Teaching & Learning Continuity

Emergencies can arise that could require you to hold your class online. Visit the guidelines on the Teaching & Learning Continuity page to help keep your students engaged in learning during these emergencies.

Virtual Training

To access virtual, on-demand training resources for all ITS-supported systems and applications, check out the ITS Training Services organization in Blackboard. There you will find end-to-end system overviews and tutorial videos for systems and applications such as Blackboard, YuJa, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Starfish, and more.

We do not have resources for every system yet, but we are constantly working to expand our training resource library so check the organization often.

It is important to note that this organization does not replace the ITS KnowledgeBase, which is an excellent place to go for help with specific system and application issues.

To access the organization follow these steps:

  1. Log in to Blackboard at bb.siue.edu
  2. Select "Organizations" from the left menu:

    Organizations in the Left Menu of Blackboard

  3. Type "ITS Training Services" in the search box at the top. Click on "ITS Training Services" to see the list of available training.

    ITS Training Services ORG listing in Blackboard

  4. Still can’t access the organization? Email bbhelp@siue.edu
© 2024  SIUE, Edwardsville, IL 62026 Contact SIUE Privacy Notice | Consumer Disclosures & Complaints Equal Opportunity Employer Employment Emergency Notification (e-Lert)

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is authorized to operate as a postsecondary educational institution by the  Illinois Board of Higher Education.