-Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\r\nInaccessible content and other barriers are tangible impediments to student success:\r\n
\"I just got an e-mail from [school] saying, hey, your GPA is below 2.00. If you don't get your GPA back up for the fall term, you're gonna be on academic probation for a year. And I'm just sitting there going 'not again.' This is like the second time this has happened, right? It's not really my fault. The material was just not accessible.<\/strong>\"<\/p>\r\n - Former Langara and current SFU student<\/p>\r\n \"That is so important when you think about cognitive load when writing an exam. What do I need to be attending to when I write that exam? It's not calibrating. Try again. It's writing the exam.<\/strong>\"<\/p>\r\n - Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\r\n \"The consequence of [inaccessible content is] . . . immense . . . I will misunderstand deadlines or not fully understand something.<\/strong>\"<\/p>\r\n - Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\r\nOne student pointed to a specific instance when deliberate choices actively excluded her, noting that the instructor:\r\n \"invented a barrier<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\r\nWhich lead to\r\n \"So much self-doubt <\/strong>. . . What did I do wrong? What did I miss? How did I **** that up? What did I, you know, like, where did I . . . It was so gross<\/strong> . . . being, like am I going crazy<\/strong>.\"<\/p>\r\n \u2013 Langara student<\/p>\r\nThe emotional response caused by negative experiences was explicitly named by several students:\r\n \"It's me holding emotional space for institutions\"<\/strong><\/p>\r\n - Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\r\n \"There's a fatigue over the many, many, many different . . . microaggressions<\/strong> that that person experiences.\"<\/p>\r\n - Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\r\n \"It's infuriating . . . your blood pressure goes up.<\/strong>\"<\/p>\r\n - Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\r\n \u201cIt was really upsetting and frustrating<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n \u2013 Former Langara and current SFU student<\/p>\r\n \"It was all exceptionally overwhelming<\/strong> because I didn't understand how I was gonna access this content, and so having that added barrier <\/strong>. . . adds a a ton of emotional labour and work<\/strong> to just the process of school.\"<\/p>\r\n - Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\r\n\r\n \"Where is every . . . where is all the . . . people to support or interact with?\"<\/p>\r\n - Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\r\n \"These hoops that we're talking about, they're actually part of the course, because if you can't do it you can't actually complete the course.<\/strong>\"<\/p>\r\n - Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\r\n \"And the other thing is it's lying. I feel like what happens is it's all lies <\/strong>. . . it's like\u2026 Come to Langara! We're supporting you!<\/strong> We have all these things, da-da-da-da! But\u2026 but then . . . \u00a0nobody there to actually\u2026 um, connect with and help you do that,<\/strong> and the only reason I connected with you is because I was in the accessibility department.\"<\/p>\r\n - Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\r\nEven students that have developed a patchwork of tools to get the access they need note that it\u2019s not perfect.\r\n \u201cA lot is really had to be self-taught<\/strong> . . . educating myself, googling everything, Reddit, how do you do it, figure it out<\/strong>, and so then I have that for the next time . . . and more often than not, I spend time just trying to figure workarounds or get it to work, and it inevitably doesn\u2019t really.\u201d<\/p>\r\n \u2013 Langara student<\/p>\r\nUltimately, when learning material isn't accessible, students are unable to fully demonstrate their learning and succeed.\r\n \u201cThey\u2019re the tragedies. They are what people think about when they think about someone that dropped out of university in because like I know people here that couldn\u2019t access the institution the way that<\/strong> . . . the institution need[ed] to be negotiated and they just they just drop out.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \u2013 Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\r\n \"I was so upset with this process of continually not feeling I can get the content in the way I needed it . . . It's more emotion, it's more it cognitively. You... you're demanding more effort just to get to what I'm supposed to be accessing<\/strong> and which is taking away from my the amount of cognitive energy and effortful attention I have to just do the work itself.<\/strong> Like so like in and of its that right there is more cumbersome and demanding than if it was accessible in a way that made sense<\/strong>.\"<\/p>\r\n - Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\r\n \"I wasn\u2019t able to access a<\/strong>s much . . . information.\u00a0<\/strong>And confidence, as I feel like I am capable of.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \u2013 Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\r\n\r\n The barriers experienced by students with disabilities, especially \u2018invisible\u2019 disabilities, can be difficult for others to understand.<\/p>\n \u201cThey did not take me seriously until I literally sat down [redacted] and showed them what I needed<\/strong>\u00a0and how I accessed the world.\u201d<\/p>\n -Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\n Inaccessible content and other barriers are tangible impediments to student success:<\/p>\n “I just got an e-mail from [school] saying, hey, your GPA is below 2.00. If you don’t get your GPA back up for the fall term, you’re gonna be on academic probation for a year. And I’m just sitting there going ‘not again.’ This is like the second time this has happened, right? It’s not really my fault. The material was just not accessible.<\/strong>“<\/p>\n – Former Langara and current SFU student<\/p>\n “That is so important when you think about cognitive load when writing an exam. What do I need to be attending to when I write that exam? It’s not calibrating. Try again. It’s writing the exam.<\/strong>“<\/p>\n – Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\n “The consequence of [inaccessible content is] . . . immense . . . I will misunderstand deadlines or not fully understand something.<\/strong>“<\/p>\n – Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\n One student pointed to a specific instance when deliberate choices actively excluded her, noting that the instructor:<\/p>\n “invented a barrier<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Which lead to<\/p>\n “So much self-doubt <\/strong>. . . What did I do wrong? What did I miss? How did I **** that up? What did I, you know, like, where did I . . . It was so gross<\/strong> . . . being, like am I going crazy<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n \u2013 Langara student<\/p>\n The emotional response caused by negative experiences was explicitly named by several students:<\/p>\n “It’s me holding emotional space for institutions”<\/strong><\/p>\n – Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\n “There’s a fatigue over the many, many, many different . . . microaggressions<\/strong> that that person experiences.”<\/p>\n – Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\n “It’s infuriating . . . your blood pressure goes up.<\/strong>“<\/p>\n – Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really upsetting and frustrating<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 Former Langara and current SFU student<\/p>\n “It was all exceptionally overwhelming<\/strong> because I didn’t understand how I was gonna access this content, and so having that added barrier <\/strong>. . . adds a a ton of emotional labour and work<\/strong> to just the process of school.”<\/p>\n – Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\n Several students noted the lack of technical support and the technical barriers that often felt needless.<\/p>\n “Where is every . . . where is all the . . . people to support or interact with?”<\/p>\n – Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\n “These hoops that we’re talking about, they’re actually part of the course, because if you can’t do it you can’t actually complete the course.<\/strong>“<\/p>\n – Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\n “And the other thing is it’s lying. I feel like what happens is it’s all lies <\/strong>. . . it’s like\u2026 Come to Langara! We’re supporting you!<\/strong> We have all these things, da-da-da-da! But\u2026 but then . . . \u00a0nobody there to actually\u2026 um, connect with and help you do that,<\/strong> and the only reason I connected with you is because I was in the accessibility department.”<\/p>\n – Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\n Even students that have developed a patchwork of tools to get the access they need note that it\u2019s not perfect.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot is really had to be self-taught<\/strong> . . . educating myself, googling everything, Reddit, how do you do it, figure it out<\/strong>, and so then I have that for the next time . . . and more often than not, I spend time just trying to figure workarounds or get it to work, and it inevitably doesn\u2019t really.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 Langara student<\/p>\n Ultimately, when learning material isn’t accessible, students are unable to fully demonstrate their learning and succeed.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re the tragedies. They are what people think about when they think about someone that dropped out of university in because like I know people here that couldn\u2019t access the institution the way that<\/strong> . . . the institution need[ed] to be negotiated and they just they just drop out.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\n “I was so upset with this process of continually not feeling I can get the content in the way I needed it . . . It’s more emotion, it’s more it cognitively. You… you’re demanding more effort just to get to what I’m supposed to be accessing<\/strong> and which is taking away from my the amount of cognitive energy and effortful attention I have to just do the work itself.<\/strong> Like so like in and of its that right there is more cumbersome and demanding than if it was accessible in a way that made sense<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n – Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\n “I wasn\u2019t able to access a<\/strong>s much . . . information.\u00a0<\/strong>And confidence, as I feel like I am capable of.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 Former Langara and current UBC student<\/p>\n While the technology they use is only a small part of the student experience, it is essential the technology students need works with the learning materials provided. Below are videos of assistive technology interacting with inaccessible content. Consider what is missed when material isn’t accessible.<\/p>\n The following recording demonstrates screen reader software reading three examples of alt text: one with no description, one with poorly written alt text, and one example of effectively written alt text.<\/p>\nLack of Support<\/h2>\r\nSeveral students noted the lack of technical support and the technical barriers that often felt needless.\r\n
What is Assistive Technology?<\/h2>\r\nWhile the technology they use is only a small part of the student experience, it is essential the technology students need works with the learning materials provided. Below are videos of assistive technology interacting with inaccessible content. Consider what is missed when material isn't accessible.\r\n\r\n
Screen reader and alt text<\/summary>The following recording demonstrates screen reader software reading three examples of alt text: one with no description, one with poorly written alt text, and one example of effectively written alt text.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/mediaspace.langara.ca\/media\/t\/0_e4ekigwh\r\n\r\n<\/details>
Closed captions for videos<\/summary>Consider the following video as an illustration of why captions are important. Note: ensure captions are turned on and do not adjust the volume on your device.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/mediaspace.langara.ca\/media\/t\/0_qq60y53t\r\n\r\n<\/details>
Screen reader reading URLs<\/summary>Consider the following demonstration comparing screen reader software reading bare URLS, informative hyperlinks, and useless hyperlinks.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/mediaspace.langara.ca\/media\/t\/0_r43y4m3w\r\n\r\n<\/details>
Hard to read fonts<\/summary>The following animation shows what dyslexia may look like to some individuals. Accessible font choices can minimize the effect.\r\n\r\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/lostintranslation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2532\/2025\/10\/DyslexiaGIF3.gif\")
\r\n\r\n<\/details>Poor colour contrast<\/summary>The following video demonstrates why colour contrast and use of colour is important.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/mediaspace.langara.ca\/media\/t\/0_qg5g2hpz\r\n\r\n<\/details>\r\n
How to Improve the Learner Experience<\/h2>\r\nReview the Academic Accommodation Fact Sheets<\/a> to understand the basics of academic accommodations.\r\n\r\nContact the Accessibility Services Office<\/a>.\r\n\r\nMake deliberate choices about the technology tools you require students to use and understand that students may not have access to the same tools you do.\r\n\r\nOffer links to\u00a0student technology support<\/a>.\r\n\r\nBe open and inviting to meeting students where they are at.\r\n\r\nRead the Accessibility Handbook for Teaching and Learning.<\/a>\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nMove to the next page to examine the extra time students need to spend navigating inaccessible content.","rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/lostintranslation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2532\/2025\/10\/Journal.png\")
In addition to inaccessible formats there are others factors that can negatively impact students. The following explores some of the common experiences students noted as being significant hindrances to their learning.<\/p>\nLack of Support<\/h2>\n
What is Assistive Technology?<\/h2>\n
Screen reader and alt text<\/summary>\n