How do I check to make sure my Brightspace content is accessible?

Brightspace Content

Learning how to use Brightspace with your learners in mind can be challenging, but help is available. One of the challenges in designing your online or hybrid course for learners is to make it accessible to all students. Purdue University is committed to creating a campus that is fully accessible to all and eliminating discrimination against people with disabilities. Purdue strives to provide all people the opportunity to participate and benefit from all university offerings. The Disability Resource Center (DRC) works with students to ensure accommodations are available to students with disabilities. Purdue Online and broader course design and public offerings present unique concerns.

This page will give you tips and resources on how to make your Brightspace course accessible with everything from your documents to your assessments. A starting point is to look at what you currently have in Brightspace to see if it is accessible or what you can do as you build it to ensure accessibility. The following hyperlink goes to a resource that walks through using the built-in accessibility tools in Brightspace: Checking Brightspace Content Accessibility.

Documents 

When a document you created is added into Brightspace or into a web page, that document should be accessible to all users, as this is a solid universal design principle. Universal design assists not only those who have a disability, but also English language learners, students who work in a loud environment, and detail-oriented learners who want to verify their understanding of course content is perfect. The following web page provides you with tips and resources so you can learn to create accessible Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and PDF documents: Creating Accessible Documents.

Assessments 

As you build out your course, you will need to make assessments in the form of assignments and quizzes in Brightspace. To meet the needs of your students with accommodations, the following are resources on the Purdue D2L Brightspace Resources webpage: 

• Allowing Extra time on Assignments  
• Setting time Accommodations for Quizzes 
• Allowing Extra time on Quizzes