What is accessibility?
From my online research, I learned that accessibility in online learning means designing courses and materials that many students can use. Good accessible design reduces barriers for learners. It helps students who use phones or computers, have slow internet, or have vision or hearing difficulties. Accessibility makes learning easier to access and easier to understand.
What did I find from my research?
During my research,I read An accessibility checklist for educators from MB Hub (2024). It recommends several simple practices for making online content more accessible, such as:
- adding captions or transcripts to videos
- writing short descriptions for images
- using clear headings and short paragraphs
- choosing readable fonts and strong colour contrast
- sharing text in formats that screen readers can read
These small actions can help many different learners follow and understand the course more easily.
Why does this matter to me?
As an international student, I often feel the impact of these design choices. Sometimes I cannot understand fast speech without captions. Sometimes the text is too small, and reading on my phone is very hard. When the layout is messy, I feel stressed and worried that I might miss something important.
Before, I only felt annoyed when things were hard to read. Now I understand that these problems are barriers. If I already feel challenged, students with vision or hearing problems, or slower internet, may feel even more excluded. Because of this, I now see accessibility as a fairness issue. It is not extra support. It is something that helps everyone learn with confidence.
What will I do next?
After learning about this topic, I want to use simple accessibility practices in my own digital work. For example, I will:
- use clear headings and short paragraphs
- choose readable fonts and colours
- write one or two lines of alt text when I use images
- choose videos with captions or transcripts when possible
I want these practices to be a normal part of my writing and design, not something I only change after someone complains.