Presented at 8:00am in Virtual D on Thursday, November 9, 2023.
#38128Speaker(s)
- Kristin Juhrs Kaylor, Senior Accessibility Instructional Designer, The University of Alabama
Session Details
- Length of Session: 1-hr
- Format: Lecture
- Expertise Level: All Levels
- Type of session: General Conference
Summary
What are the best ways of ensuring that online testing is accessible? This session covers some quick and easy tips to make sure that the online testing experience is as smooth for students as possible. We will explore everything from the Learning Management System (LMS) information on the test, to students being reminded to contact the Office of Disability Services before each test, which types of questions are accessible, to new approaches to making questions as accessible as possible.
Abstract
What are the best ways of ensuring that online assessment is accessible? This session covers some quick and easy tips to make sure that the online assessment experience is as smooth for students as possible. We will explore everything from the Learning Management System (LMS) information on the test, to students being reminded to contact the Office of Disability Services before each test, which types of questions are accessible, to new approaches to making questions as accessible as possible.
The first of creating a seamless online testing experience for people with disabilities is not making them have to look for how to request accommodation for quizzes, tests, exams, and more. A great way of doing that is including standard language in the LMS with the link to each quiz, test, and/or exam that reminds students that they can contact the Office of Disability services prior to the assessment to request accommodation. Over time, it normalizes asking for accommodation, it reminds them to set up the accommodations prior to each assessment, it demystifies the process of requesting accommodations. During the session, we will go over the standard language we use for this purpose.
The second part of creating a seamless online assessment experience is asking questions in an accessible way. Some question types built into the LMS cannot be answered using keyboard only access, can't be read with screen readers, or aren't accessible for students who need captioning. So, knowing which types are accessible and which ones aren't is key. Also, knowing ways of asking the same question in a way that is accessible is also key. In this session, we will cover the types of questions that are not considered accessible and discover ways of asking the same question in an accessible way.
The third part of this is discussing proctored online exams. What are the accessibility considerations when online exams are proctored?
Keypoints
- Create standard language for every assessment link on how to request accommodation.
- Apply accessible question types and questioning techniques to every online assessment question.
- Apply accessibility considerations when using online exam proctoring.
Disability Areas
All Areas
Topic Areas
Accessible Course Design, Accessible Educational Materials, Administrative/Campus Policy, Alternate Format, Assistive Technology, Captioning/Transcription, Uncategorized
Speaker Bio(s)
Kristin Juhrs Kaylor
Kristin Juhrs Kaylor, M.A. is the Senior Accessibility Instructional Designer at The University of Alabama, College of Continuing Studies. She has over 24 years of experience in education accessibility, 15 years of experience as an educator (online learning, publications, and teaching), and 10 years of instructional design experience. For the past 3 years, she has led The University of Alabama Online’s course accessibility efforts, making UA is a national leader in online course accessibility. She is a Certified Adobe PDF Accessibility Trainer. She holds Section 508 web standards and authoring accessible documents certificates through the Office of Accessible Systems & Technology, Department of Homeland Security. She authored the chapter, “The University of Alabama Online’s Digital Accessibility Course Development Process, Practices, and Tools,” for the QM book, A Guide to Digital Accessibility: Policies, Practices, and Professional Development.