Brightspace Accessibility
General Course Accessibility
The Accessibility Checker can identify common issues in Brightspace files, announcements, and descriptions. However, it is equally important to ensure uploaded files are accessible and that your online course is designed to be accessible and usable.
Well-designed online course material:
Making intentional choices with your online course material enhances the learner experience by promoting efficiency, fostering independence, reducing anxiety and confusion, and improving communication.
Consider the following best practices for accessible and user-friendly online course design:
Communication
Make communications easy to find. Display communications prominently on the course home page, in module descriptions, and activity instructions. Ensure instructions come before an interaction, not after it.
Include clear, concise instructions about activities to help learners ensure they have completed all necessary steps. Clear, direct language assists learners to complete activities with maximum independence.
Use consistent language in instructions. For example, always use the same date format and the same terms for the same basic actions, such as “move to the next page.”
Clear communication, particularly instructions, help learners work through material and activities without having to repeatedly ask for clarification. Remember, your course may be only one of several a student is in. Unclear, vague, or otherwise confusing communications will only lead to additional overwhelm and less time for learning. Open SUNY Course Quality Review offers additional information about instructions.
Descriptions
Use topic and module descriptions to provide learners with instructions and overviews at the start of each module. Consider including:
- What will be covered in that module.
- How the material connects to prior learning and the overall course.
- Any deliverables or activities due.
Descriptions allow you to introduce material the same way you would explain a handout distributed in a physical classroom. Descriptions reduce confusion, helps reinforce expectations, and helps with time management.
Click on Add a description…, add your content in the editor window and select Update to post.
Signposts
Think of signposts as the ‘You are here’ indicators on a map. They help learners orient themselves in your course.
Signposts can be:
- Clear, descriptive labels for links, pages, and files.
- Cues to guide learners where to click next.
- Announcements and reminders about dates and deadlines.
To add an Accouncement:
- Open the Communication menu and select Announcements.
- Select New Announcement.
- Provide a brief, descriptive title in the Headline field and add your message and information in the content field.
The content field allows for rich text formatting including lists, images, links, and videos. - When you are done crafting your message, run the Accessibility Checker and select Publish. Your message will now appear on the course homepage.
For more information, consult Brightspace’s announcements documentation.
Links and Multiple Ways
Multiple ways to navigate provides learners the opportunity to move between material and activities seamlessly. Consider this example:
‘Please review the EdTech contact information.’ Without a link to clarification about where to find the information, learners won’t be able to follow your instruction. As better practice, add links, such as: ‘please review the EdTech contact information.’
When you mention something like a resource, reading, activity, assessment, etc. in an announcement, description, or content page, provide a link to that content. That saves learners time searching for what you mentioned. Don’t turn your course into a scavenger hunt.
To provide multiple ways:
Create Activities at the Module level
At the module level open the Upload / Create menu to create new Assignments, Discussions, Quizzes, and other activities.
Activities created this way automatically place activities in the flow of learning.
Add Existing Activities
At the module level, use the Existing Activities menu to add an existing Assignment, Discussion, Quiz, or other Brightspace activity.
Adding activities to the flow of content means learners don’t have to search for them.
Provide links in content
Within an Announcement, Description, or Brightspace web page use the Insert Quicklink button to provide multiple ways.
Internal links are excellent navigational waypoints to help learners find content and engage with relevant material. Use the Insert Quicklink tool to link to activities and content within a Brightspace course.
Use Insert Quicklink to create links to:
- Activities such as Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes.
- Content such as other Brightspace webpages and media
- External content such as websites, library resources, and databases.
Ensure the linked text is concise, unique, and descriptive.
For external links:
- Paste the URL in the Link field.
- Write a brief description in Text field.
- General practice suggests having links open in a New window for external links.
Do not modify the default appearance of links. Only use underlined text for links.
Include Reminders
In addition to providing links, consider including reminders about how to find tools and activities in Brightspace. For example, for submitting an assignment remind learners to “open the Assessments menu and choose Assignments then select the appropriate assignment. Follow the instructions in the assignment to submit.”
Naming Convention
Use a consistent naming convention. All content such as links, files, activities, and pages should have easy-to-understand, self-describing, unique, and meaningful names. Be consistent when naming material, such as using the prefix “Topic n” for each module.
Weekly
Use a sequential structure to match the weeks of the semester. A weekly module structure creates a predictable rhythm students can count on and helps them match the course calendar to their personal calendars.
However, don’t just label modules Week 1, Week 2, etc. Why? Well, if your class is on Tuesday, but the first day of the semester is a Wednesday, the first time your class meets is in Week 2. That’s going to get confusing.
To create a strong weekly structure, consider the formula:
Sequence + Title + Timeframe.
For example, “1: Introduction to naming conventions (September 9-13)”, “2: Renaming Brightspace files (September 16-20)”, etc.
Topic
If your Modules are not associated with a specific week of the semester, drop the date range from the above example. But, to ensure progress and flow are explicitly indicated, use:
Sequence + Title
For example, “1: Introduction to naming conventions”, “2: Renaming Brightspace files”, etc.
Deliverables
For courses build around major projects or assessments, create modules to group content related to each major artifact produced. Name Modules with:
Type + Sequence + Due Date
For example, “Project 1: Research Proposal (Sept 30)”, “Project 2: Literature Review (Oct 15)”, “Project 3: Final Report (Dec 6).”
Assessments
Consistently naming assessments helps you stay organized and reduces confusion by guiding students. Consider naming assessments with:
Type of assessment (i.e. Quiz, Essay, Presentation, etc.) + sequence i.e. 1, 2, 3m etc. (where applicable) + informative name, title, or theme.
For example, “Reflection 1: First Impression”, “Reflection 2: Careful Exploration”, etc.
When learners can find information and activities easily, learners can spend more time learning the material, not finding it. Easy to find material means you will receive less questions about where things can be found.
Content
To effectively name content such as documents, web pages, links, and other media consider:
Title, theme, or topic + (file format).
For example:
- “Accessibility Handbook for Teaching and Learning (Ebook)“
- “Course Outline: Basket Weaving Spring 2025 (PDF)”
- “World’s blankiest blank 7 (Video, 3:43)”
(You might consider adding a prefix of “Require reading” or “Suggested viewing.”)
Naming content with informative titles informs students of what to expect, draws connections between material, and offers an invitation to open the content.
Organization
The organization of your content is essential to student success. Making deliberate efforts to improve the organization of your Brightspace content will help your learners:
- Find what they need.
- Understand what they find.
- Use what they learn.
Well-organized content allows learners to focus on the material you want them to learn, not spending excess time locating information or interpreting what they are supposed to do. Better organization is key to an accessible, inclusive, and useful online experience.
Structure
A Brightspace course is typically organized into modules. Modules are like folders. The modules may be organized by weeks or topics covered in the course.
Submodules are subfolders of modules; each submodule is nested inside a module. Modules and submodules are populated with material such as Brightspace content pages, links to external resources, media, or documents.
Avoid submodules as they interrupt the flow of content. Try viewing your course as a student and use the Next and Previous buttons to navigate through your course. Consider how submodules affect flow of information. Keep your module structure as flat as possible by avoiding submodules. Where necessary, include clear instructions that additional material is located in a submodule.
Use clear and consistent navigation, including navigational cues such as announcements and links, to guide students. Make it easy for learners to find and engage with the materials you want them to focus on.
Consistency is essential to create an effective Brightspace course. Consistent layout and patterns:
- Helps students develop efficient, predictable routines to find material and activities.
- Reduces cognitive load through familiarity.
- Builds trust in your course as reliable.
- Allows learners to focus on learning the material, not constantly relearning the interface.
For example, post all your readings in the same location, such as the relevant module, every week.
Organize content in a logical sequence that scaffolds understanding.
Chunk content using
- Headings
- Lists
- Different pages or documents for different topics
Reduce visual distractions such as decorative images, coloured backgrounds, and unnecessary graphics. While aesthetic design is important, excessive decoration will only distract learners from material.
File Types
Brightspace can host material in a variety of formats. Consider the following best practices:
Limit uploading documents that would function more efficiently as a web page.
- Create web pages using the Upload / Create menu and select Create a File.
- Word Documents and PowerPoint Presentations can be added to Brightspace via the Upload / Create menu and the Upload a File option.
Avoid PDFs.
- PDFs are not designed to be read on screen.
- PDFs have significant accessibility and user experience concerns.
- The University of Washington Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology Centre suggests avoiding PDFs and providing PDFs only as a secondary source of information.
Avoid uploading video and audio directly into modules.
- Host content on Kaltura MediaSpace and embed media in Brightspace web pages.
- Ensure videos have closed captions and audio files have text transcripts.
No matter the content type, ensure files have unique, descriptive titles.
Expertise
You don’t need to be an expert in accessibility or using Brightspace. When you have a question, ask. Search the web for resources and engage with your educational technology or teaching and learning centers.
