Easy tips to prioritize accessible training design. Start today.

Beginning in my years working in elections and most recently in my Masters Program at Boise State focused on inclusive and equitable training design, I have developed a deep passion for the importance of accessibility being a fundamental, integrated aspect of instructional design - or even just design in general! I thought I would summarize some of the key tools and points that I feel have helped me with those efforts:

From Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM), there are a wealth of tools but these two are my favorites for simplicity:

• Contrast Checker - this should be your first pass on checking content as it is relevant whether you're assessing a website, eLearning, or any type of digital document. Just plug in your colors and voilà! You have your answer!

• Keyboard Checker - this is especially useful if you're testing eLearning content.

To check accessibility against international guidelines, Accessibility Checker is a great resource.

If you want to double check the accessibility of your Instructional Design portfolio or other website, most of the web design platforms have an integrated accessibility tool. For example, I use Wix for this site, and I was able to audit and remediate all of the issues with just a few clicks!

To follow innovation and updates in Accessibility, check out Global Accessibility Awareness Day, coming up in May!