With the evolution of technology, there are few rules, but one is undeniable: everything changes and everyone must adapt. We now live in the Digital Age, where almost everything can be found online. The world of higher education has not gone untouched.
Education, from textbooks to universities, has adapted—and thrived. Digital textbooks are becoming increasingly common, bringing in $13.4 billion in profits in 2022 (Mays). The prevalence of digital textbooks continues to grow due to many factors, including affordability, timeliness, and convenience. But there is another reason digital textbooks are becoming increasingly popular: they can provide accessibility for students with mental and physical disabilities that physical textbooks cannot match.
Accessibility: A Universal Right
The right to education for all is so essential that the UN itself has spoken out, declaring in article 26 of their Universal Declaration of Human Rights that “technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit” (UN General Assembly). While this does not explicitly demand digital accessibility, it is the foundational concept upon which accessibility is built: the right to learn belongs to all.
This idea of true accessibility is why UNICEF has a global initiative to make accessible textbooks available to any child who needs them. Their goal is for “all learners with disabilities to have equal access to quality learning through accessible and affordable digital textbooks in all contexts” (UNICEF).
One of the benefits of accessible textbooks is that everyone, regardless of physical or cognitive ability, can use the same textbook in the classroom; everyone is getting the same content. Accessibility standards were created with the goal of making learning accessible to as many people as possible. UNICEF has taken that to the next level in giving physical access to accessible textbooks to as many people as possible.
Truly accessible digital textbooks can—and have—changed the world. But what are these accessibility standards?
Accessibility Standards
What does it mean to be accessible? For a digital textbook to be considered accessible in the day of the Digital Age, the digital textbook must follow the standards set out by accessibility leaders, such as the two listed below.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
WCAG has created standards for publishers of digital textbooks to implement with the goal of improving “accessibility guidance for three major groups: users with cognitive or learning disabilities, users with low vision, and users with disabilities on mobile devices” (“How to Meet WCAG”; Bureau of Internet Accessibility).
WCAG guidelines include creation of alt text for images, generation of captions and transcripts for videos, compliance with rules regarding color contrast, and installation of programming that makes it easy to navigate the webpage with alternative means.
Website navigation guidelines, as suggested by WCAG, include the following:
- The webpage should be accessible with a keyboard alone.
- The webpage should be accessible with alternative input devices (mouse pointer, touchscreen, stylus, laser pointer).
- The webpage should maintain consistent placement of navigational elements.
- The webpage should be compatible with most browsers and assistive devices.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
W3C is another group dedicated to helping digital content creators create accessible content. Their guidelines focus on ensuring that digital content is perceivable, operable, understandable, and adaptable (“W3C Accessibility Standards Overview”).
These guidelines are extensive—in an attempt to serve as many as possible. Here are only a few examples of what this could mean.
- Perceivable: Information or instructions conveyed visually must have more than a difference in color as a distinguisher.
- Operable: The webpage itself should be navigable through multiple means, such as both standard input devices and keyboards. Keyboard navigation should not require specific timing for keystrokes except when necessary.
- Understandable: Content should use reader-friendly language and visuals—as appropriate for the topic material.
- Adaptable: Content should be created in such a way that it can be presented in multiple ways without loss of information.
MyEducator Standards
MyEducator is committed to doing our part to make textbooks more accessible for all students.
All MyEducator textbooks
- include transcripts and captions for all video content,
- incorporate alt text for non-decorative figures and images,
- comply with color contrast guidelines,
- include a narration feature, and
- ensure that all tables and equations can be properly read by a screen reader.
Beyond this, MyEducator is committed to constant improvement. If there are features that could make our content more accessible for you, please contact us at support@myeducator.com.
References:
Bureau of Internet Accessibility. (2023). “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 A/AA Checklist.” https://www.boia.org/wcag-2.2aa-checklist
Mays, C. (n.d.) “How to Make Education Inclusive with Digital Textbooks.” Userway. https://userway.org/blog/digital-textbooks/
UN General Assembly. (December 10, 1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Resolution 217A(III). Paris, France. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights/
UNICEF. (n.d.) Accessible Digital Textbooks for All Initiative. https://www.accessibletextbooksforall.org/accessible-digital-textbooks-all-initiative/
W3C. (February 24, 2024). “W3C Accessibility Standards Overview.” https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/
W3C. (n.d.) “How to Meet WCAG (Quick Reference).” https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/quickref/
