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GMCTL Online Course Review

  • About
  • The Online Course Review
    • Learn More
    • Request a Review
  • Course Review Elements & Standards
    • 1. Course Overview & Information
      • Standard 1a: Getting started
      • Standard 1b: Overview
      • Standard 1c: Printable syllabus
      • Standard 1d: USask policies
      • Standard 1e: Learner success resources
      • Standard 1f: Course modality
      • Standard 1g: Access & participation methods
      • Standard 1h: Learning outcomes
      • Standard 1i: Contact information
    • 2. Course Technology & Tools
      • Standard 2a: Requisite technology skills
      • Standard 2b: Scaffolding of technical skills
      • Standard 2c: Access to technology
      • Standard 2d: Privacy policies
      • Standard 2e: Technology support system
      • Standard 2f: Tool compatability
    • 3. Design & Layout
      • Standard 3a: Course navigation
      • Standard 3b: Chunking
      • Standard 3c: Clear instructions
      • Standard 3d: Grammar & spelling
      • Standard 3e: Text formatting
      • Standard 3f: Blinking or flashing text
      • Standard 3g: Text font & size
      • Standard 3h: Tables for layout
      • Standard 3i: Figure titles & summaries
      • Standard 3j: Slide layout & titles
      • Standard 3k: Slide transitions
      • Standard 3l: Interactive elements
      • Standard 3m: Progress tracking
      • Standard 3n: Bandwidth considerations
    • 4. Content & Activities
      • Standard 4a: Variety in content & activities
      • Standard 4b: Higher-order thinking
      • Standard 4c: Authentic activities
      • Standard 4d: Diversity of voices
      • Standard 4e: Open educational resources (OER)
      • Standard 4f: Multimedia with purpose
      • Standard 4g: Copyright
      • Standard 4h: Multiple formats
      • Standard 4i: Culturally relevant & inclusive
      • Standard 4j: Current resources
    • 5. Interactions
      • Standard 5a: Timely & regular feedback
      • Standard 5b: Expectations for interaction
      • Standard 5c: Instructor presence
      • Standard 5d: Class community
      • Standard 5e: Learner-to-learner interaction
      • Standard 5f: Learner contributions
      • Standard 5g: Inclusive & respectful communication
      • Standard 5h: Synchronous opportunities
    • 6. Assessment & Feedback
      • Standard 6a: Course grading policies
      • Standard 6b: Frequent & appropriate assessment
      • Standard 6c: Grading criteria
      • Standard 6d: Formative assessment
      • Standard 6e: Timing & accommodations
      • Standard 6f: Gradebook
      • Standard 6g: Variety in assessment
      • Standard 6h: Student feedback
    • 7. Accessibility
      • Standard 7a: Heading formatting
      • Standard 7b: Text styling & colour
      • Standard 7c: Colour contrast
      • Standard 7d: Hyperlink anchor text
      • Standard 7e: List & table formatting
      • Standard 7f: Text accessibility
      • Standard 7g: Mathematical expressions
      • Standard 7h: Alt tags on images
      • Standard 7i: Captions or transcripts
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7. Accessibility

Follow the links for more information, examples, and resources related to each standard.

Standards:

  1. Headings are properly tagged (h1-h6) and used in the correct hierarchy.
  2. Simple, familiar fonts and text formatting are used. Colour is not used as a primary means of information, and underlined text is only used for hyperlinks.
  3. Colour contrast between text and background meet the minimum contrast ratio of 7:1.
  4. Hyperlink anchor text is descriptive and makes sense when out of context (avoid using “click here” or long URLs as anchor text).
  5. List items and table header rows / columns are properly formatted and tagged.
  6. Text content is available in an easily accessed format, preferably HTML. All text content is readable by assistive technology, including any PDFs or text contained in an image.
  7. Mathematical expressions and equations are created using dedicated editor tools and are accessible to screen readers (or, alt text / audio is provided where this is not possible).
  8. “Alt” tags are provided on images (this excludes any decorative images).
  9. Accurate captions or transcripts are provided to accompany audio or video materials.

 

Licensing information:

Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching & Learning (GMCTL), University of Saskatchewan, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Page content adapted from the Online Learning Consortium, Inc. (OLC) OSCQR Course Design Review Scorecard, originally developed by the State University of New York (SUNY Online), made available with a CC BY 4.0 license.

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