Tutorials and lectures: Digital and assistive technology
Upload accessible materials early and normalise assistive-technology use to create barrier-free, instructionally rich learning4,8.
Prepare and distribute accessible materials early
- Upload slides and reading lists with accessible headings and alt-text at least 48 hours before class.
- Run an accessibility checker on every new file and fix issues.
- Provide digital orientation resources—room photos or a campus map with the location marked – to familiarise students with the environment.
Make lectures accessible in real time and after
- Enable live captioning features in your teaching platforms—whether video conferencing (Zoom or Teams), lecture capture, or multimedia tools—and show students how to access them.
- Caption all lecture recordings and provide searchable transcripts, verifying discipline-specific terminology.
Encourage and support personal assistive technology
- Establish a welcoming assistive technology policy: state that screen readers, smart pens, coloured overlays, and similar tools are encouraged.
- Offer brief guidance on built-in accessibility features such as Word text-to-speech or browser zoom.
Why it matters—Accessible formats and assistive technology-friendly policies let students be present and supported, reducing cognitive load and deepening engagement
Downloads and links
