UAA Alert! Anchorage Campus Inclement Weather Notice for Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.

Due to unsafe road conditions for Anchorage and surrounding areas, UAA’s Anchorage campus will be on a delayed start today, Thursday, Dec. 4. Campus will open at 10 a.m. to allow for safer travel.

Accessibility Tools

accessibility keyboard

Digital course content must be accessible so that all learners have equal access to content at the same time. Learn more about accessibility at UAA. 

When creating new materials for your class, it is important to make them accessible from the beginning. You can accomplish this by learning to use software features to build a structure that is accessible to people using screen readers and other assistive technology. Designing with accessibility in mind allows you to provide usable material so that all students, regardless of ability or disability, can succeed. Use the Accessibility Checkers document to compare tools and get information about how to use them.

 

Best Practices

  • Build document structure using heading styles
  • Ensure hyperlinks are self-describing (not the full URL and “click here”) 
  • Use built-in menu options to create lists and other formatting
  • Keep table structure clear and simple
  • Use sans-serif fonts such as Arial, Tahoma, or Verdana at a minimum of 12 pt. size
  • Ensure adequate color contrast and never use color alone for emphasis. Check out WebAIM’s Contrast Checker Bookmarklet to see if color contrast meets accessibility requirements
  • Add alt-text for all non-text objects (images, graphics, etc.), or mark them as decorative
  • Ensure video content has accurate captions, and any visuals are described. All the videos you use in your course should have captions
  • Ensure audio content has an accurate transcript

Accessibility Checker Tools

Accessibility checker tools identify accessibility problems in existing files such as documents. Our main accessibility page has more on standards, policies, and additional resources.

Go for better, not perfect. Start with higher impact items like your syllabus and high stakes assignments, then just keep moving forward with steady improvements. 

Captioning Tools

Multimedia options can be used in creative ways to reach students who may not be able to access materials in the traditional sense. Recording and sharing video presentations or demonstrations can be an effective way to deliver content or assess student learning. Go to the Creating Videos page for more information and resources on these tools. 

All video content must include accurate captions and any visual-only material should be described in the audio. There are several tools faculty can use to caption videos.

  • Kaltura

    Kaltura

    All videos and audio in Kaltura are automatically captioned. The accuracy of automatic captions is generally around 85%, so it’s good practice to edit the captions for accuracy and timing, to ensure your videos are fully accessible. Once the automatic captions have been completed, you can edit them for accuracy in Mediaspace, outside of Blackboard. Visit the Creating Videos: Kaltura Media page, or refer to our document on adding and editing Kaltura captions for more information.

  • YouTube

    YouTube Captions

    UA faculty, staff, and students can log in to YouTube using their UA username and password because it is part of our Google Suite of tools. When you upload a video to YouTube, captions will be auto-generated within about an hour. You must edit the automatically generated YouTube captions to be sure they are accurate. The edited captions will automatically appear in the video you have already linked in your Blackboard course. (Viewers must click the CC button to view the captions.)

  • VoiceThread

    VoiceThread

    VoiceThread is a Blackboard-integrated tool to hold asynchronous discussions on slides, images, or video presentations. As the name implies, users add voice comments in the VoiceThread. Automatic captions typically appear within an hour, and the quick caption editor can be used if you find an error in the automatic captions e. Faculty are able to edit all captions in the VoiceThread. Users are only able to edit their own captions. For more information, refer to VoiceThread’s resource on using closed captioning in VoiceThread.

Other Accessibility Tools

Helperbird is a browser extension tool designed to make websites, PDFs, and documents easier to read and use. Helperbird Unlimited is free for UA faculty, staff, and students! It offers a range of features to support individual needs. Take a look at this Helperbird All-In-One Accessibility Tool Tutorial from UA Disability Services for more information about using Helperbird.

You can Install the Helperbird browser extension in Chrome, Firefox, or Edge, or by visiting your browser’s extension store. Just search for 'Helperbird' and click 'Add to Browser.' Once installed, you'll see the Helperbird owl icon in your toolbar. Click it to open the side panel with all the features of Helperbird. 

When you install it, it initially shows that you have a “Free” account. To activate the upgraded version:

  1. With your Helperbird extension panel open, click where it says “Free” at the top, or scroll down to open Settings from the bottom. Your Helperbird account page will open. 
  2. In the Login with your Google account section, use your UA login to sign in.
  3. Refresh the page, and it will now show “Unlimited”

 

Faculty Success
Library 213 • 907-786-4496 • uaa_facultysuccess@alaska.edu • Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.