Accessibility Frequently Asked Questions

Social Media

Are there any restrictions linking to Social Media?

If you make going to an inaccessible social media site a requirement, and you are unable/unwilling to find an equivalent alternative, then you are the one vulnerable (not the social media site). So, it comes down to the use of the social media site and availability if alternatives. (This relates to teachers choosing inaccessible platforms or textbook applications – it is the school liable because they are requiring a student to use inaccessible materials, the publisher is not required or liable because they did not force the school or student to use their materials.)

Social media can be offset by making sure info gets out in other ways as well. If Facebook is the only way to know when school is closed for whatever reason, then there’s a problem.

Third-Party Sites

Are there any restrictions linking to 3rd-party web site?

You can not control the content on the 3rd party site, but if you make going to an inaccessible site a requirement (i.e., an inaccessible ebook), and you are unable/unwilling to find an equivalent alternative, then you are the one vulnerable (not the 3rd party). So, it comes down to the use of the 3rd party site and availability if alternatives. (This relates to teachers choosing inaccessible platforms or textbook applications – it is the school liable because they are requiring a student to use inaccessible materials, the publisher is not required or liable because they did not force the school or student to use their materials.)

Social media can be offset by making sure info gets out in other ways as well. If Facebook is the only way to know when school is closed for whatever reason, then there’s a problem.

Videos

Am I required to add captions to all videos I use for my classes?

Yes. Whether you are uploading your class videos to Panopto or YouTube or simply linking to someone else’s video on YouTube, responsibility falls upon you, as the distributor of such content to ensure these resources are captioned and audio described.

Are Audio Descriptions required on all videos?

Not all videos would require audio descriptions. Such is the case if your video was very simple in nature, such as an informative “talking head” video that a blind user could effectively engage in the same experience as a user with regular vision.

Most movies
Transitions showing photos or videos that are not conveyed by the audio
Videos that have information conveyed to the user via sight alone
Names, titles and other text that is only conveyed to the user via sight alone

Web Site – BigBend.edu

I want to use FontAwesome.io Icons. What do I need to do with these to ensure accessibility?

FontAwesome.io is enabled for BigBend.edu via imported stylesheet. So in order to use these icons, you simply need to use the HTML tags provided by FontAwesome.io, but inserted via the Text editor instead of the visual editor.

If your FontAwesome icon is purely decorative, then be sure your tags include aria-hidden=”true”. For example:

Otherwise, if the icon is not decorative, then be sure your tags include aria-hidden=”true” and title=”something descriptive for screenreaders“. For example:

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