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A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
If you're anything like us, you want to get accessibility "right." But a perfectionist attitude can be overwhelming and freeze you in your tracks. Accessibility is NOT all or nothing, and it’s simply impossible to make your digital content 100% accessible for 100% of your users.
We recommend you start by learning the six core skills of accessible, usable digital communication.
These six skills will generally improve the experience of adaptive technology users, people with non-apparent disabilities AND the general population--in essence, improving both accessibility and usability: the heart of an Accessible U.
We hope you'll use this list as a guide to get started.
The six core skills are:
- Headings and document structure
- Video captions
- Bullets and numbered lists
- Color and contrast
- Image alt-text
Every member of the U of M community--instructors, staff, and students--can learn and practice these six skills.
If any of this information is completely new to you, that’s okay! You’re in the right place. You don't need to learn everything right away. The point of the list is to help you find opportunities to start creating materials more of us can use.
Where to go from here
Explore more about your responsibility for accessibility, different disabilities and access barriers. Consider getting more involved by participating in the Accessible U Community of Practice or the Accessible U Ambassador Progam.
If you'd like information about Moodle, check out the pages devoted to Moodle accessibility.
If you're an instructor looking for ways to improve the accessibility of your course, visit the accessify your course pages.
Maybe you're a developer looking for web accessibility basics or a deeper dive into ARIA or you're looking to audit your site for accessibility. Check out these resources for web developers.
Whatever your role, start small, but start now!