Accessibility

Information on presentations, closed captioning and screen readers.

Thoughtful session planning

How you plan and run a session can also help with accessibility. For instance,

Making sure users have details in advance and are able to test their equipment before the start of the session.
Participants have opportunities to contribute (e.g. ask question) in different ways, including before and after the session.

Presentations

Guidance is given on best practice for presentations. This is to help avoid technical issues but also to help presentations be accessible:

Best Practice for PowerPoint Slides

Closed captioning/Subtitling

Subtitling for live sessions: automatic captioning is not available in Blackboard Collaborate. There is a role that can be given to a participant called 'captioner' who types what is being said; you may have a keen student volunteer to help out at the sessions they attend.

Being a Captioner (Blackboard website)

Subtitling for recorded sessions: you'd need to download the recording from Collaborate and then upload it to Media Hopper Create. Automatic subtitles for your video can be requested via the IS Helpline. Automatically created subtitles are typically less than perfect and will need to be checked and edited. We have a video which talks you through how to request automatic subtitles for your video(s) and how to use the subtitle editor to make changes.

Screen reader compatibility

For the best experience using a screen reader, Blackboard recommend using Chrome and JAWS on Windows machines and Safari with VoiceOver on a Mac.

More information:

Accessibility (keyboard navigation, live closed captioning, screen reader) (Blackboard website)

Hardware and software of users

The technology available to users, including their Internet connection and browser, will determine the degree to which they can use the functionality made available to them in a session. This will determine the accessibility of the session, to some extent.

Hardware and Software Requirements

If you require further assistance:

Contact the IS Helpline