Make your Digital Media Projects Accessible

This guide will help to ensure that your digital media project meets accessibility standards according to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

Select the digital media format you are working with from the left sidebar. This will take you to the page for your format. There, it will list the measures you should take to ensure that your chosen digital media format meets accessibility standards.

Different digital media (video and audio content) require different components to make them accessible. It is important to consider accessibility before you begin your multimedia project. It should be a forethought and not an afterthought. Use this guide to learn how to make your projects accessible.

Accessibility standards are important because they support dignity, independence, integration and equal opportunity for all persons with a disability.

The AODA is the development, implementation and enforcement of accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025.

• Dignity – provide service in a way that allows the person with a disability to maintain self-respect and the respect of other people.
• Independence – a person with a disability is allowed to do things on their own without unnecessary help or interference from others.
• Integration – provide service in a way that allows the person with a disability to benefit from the same services, in the same place, and in the same or similar way as other customers, unless a different way is necessary to enable them to access goods, services or facilities.
• Equal opportunity – provide service to a person with a disability in such a way that they have an equal opportunity to access your goods, services or facilities as what is given to others.

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were  developed by the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group, which is part of the World Wide Web Consortium Web Accessibility Initiative.
• WCAG has a goal of providing a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally.

• Perceivable: Is all the information in your digital learning object available to me if my vision or hearing is impaired?
• Operable: Can I access the information in your digital learning object if I'm not using a mouse?
• Understandable: Can I navigate easily through the information you provide?   
• Robust: Can I use your learning object on different operating systems or in an older or newer program?  

• Assistive Technology is technology used by individuals with disabilities in order to perform functions that might otherwise be difficult or impossible.
• The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) provides the following examples of assistive technology:
  • Voice Recognition Software
  • Screen Magnifiers 
  • Speech Enabled Websites
  • Mouth or Head Wands
  • Screen Readers

This guide has been adapted from: