Activate your background

How are your materials accessible from the start for the widest range of learners to use and interact with?
Are there times materials or resources are not accessible? How do you adjust those to be accessible?

Build background: Understand accessible formats

Recall that AEM are “designed or enhanced in a way that makes them usable across the widest range of learner variability.” In cases where an educational material isn’t designed to be accessible from the beginning, learners with disabilities who use assistive technology are sure to experience barriers. Fortunately, systems are in place to convert these materials to other formats, such as accessible digital text, audio, large print, braille, and tactile graphics.

Materials that are openly licensed (e.g., given a Creative Commons license) or in the public domain can be converted to other formats for any student, whether they have a disability or not. However, materials that are copyrighted can only be provided in other formats for students who are eligible under copyright law. This is because creating an alternative version of the material is considered a reproduction, which is prohibited under copyright law unless the recipient of the material is eligible to receive that reproduced material due to a qualifying disability.

Copyrighted materials converted to other formats for eligible students with qualifying disabilities are known as accessible formats.

Video: Defining Accessible Formats (length 4:28)

Download the transcript (doc) | Access this video on YouTube

Takeaways:

In some cases, a text-based material can present unique barriers to learning.
When a text-based material is inaccessible to a student due to a disability, it needs to be converted to a format they can use.
Accessible formats are defined as an alternative manner or form that gives an eligible person access to the work when the copy or phonorecord in the accessible format is used exclusively by the eligible person to permit them to have access as feasibly and comfortably as a person without such disability.
Common types of accessible formats inlcude audio, braille, tactile graphics, and digital text.
Use planning tools to make sure that students are able to have the accessible formats they need.

Deeper insights on providing accessible formats

Choose from this list of resources that showcase student and practitioner voices that can help build your understanding of providing accessible formats.

Websites

About Accessible Formats
Get to know the definition of accessible formats in copyright law, which helps guide the decision-making process for providing usable formats to learners with qualifying disabilities.

The Chafee Amendment
Learn about the Chafee Amendment, which is Section 121 of the U.S. Copyright Act, which includes important information schools should know related to providing accessible formats to eligible students.

Decision-Making & Accessible Formats
Learn key action steps to take so learners who need accessible formats receive them in a timely manner.

Using Accessible Formats
Learn the types of support needed for a learner to use accessible formats at school, at home, at work, or in the community.

Find Your State AEM Contact
Reach out to your state’s AEM contact, who can provide you with information about how accessible formats are provided to eligible students in your state.

Videos

Decision-making & Students Who Need Accessible Formats (length 57:20)
Review this overview of a team’s decision-making process for providing accessible formats for students who need them.

Using Effective Teaching Strategies (length 4:28)
Learn about strategies used to support students in learning to use specialized formats of braille, large print, audio and digital text and the technology needed to deliver the content.

Using Multiple Formats and Tools (length 2:44)
Learn about the wide range of tools and specialized formats (braille, large print, audio, and digital text) that an educator has taught a student to use independently.

Reflect on new insights

Compose an email or other communication to one of your colleagues. Let them know about one of the ways you can provide an accessible format when information is not accessible for a student with disabilities. Here is an example:

You:
“Hey, Did you know this material is not accessible for our learners because [state how there is a barrier to accessibility in the material]? Here is a way we can offer an accessible format to make sure that our student can access it [list the option]. We should think about doing [list your action step] because [add why this is important]. Here is a resource to check out [add a resource you recommend].

Colleague:
“Thank you! I agree that we should [action step]!”

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