Loyola Support Documentation

How do I edit an academic term?

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Select the Academic Term Manager tool from the Tool Menu in the Administration Workspace.

How can I make lists of items accessible?

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If you think of a vertical series of items as a list, you should include it in your page as a numbered or bulleted list. Screen readers can identify lists; for example, a bulleted list containing two items may begin "List of  two items. Bullet 1."

How can choices in background and text color affect accessibility?

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Many users will have visual impediments that will require good contrast in the documents you are producing. The best way to help these users is to make sure that the contrast between the background and foreground has a ratio of 4.5:1 or higher. Leaving the defaults of the editor intact is best - black text on white, with a ratio of 21:1.

What is the Academic Term Manager?

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The Academic Term Manager allows system administrators to create and edit the academic terms, or semesters, in the UI. (Terms may also be managed via the database, but this requires db access.) Sakai sites are associated with academic terms and this determines how they are listed in users' site lists. Terms also help administrators select and manage site archives and other functions which can be performed on the basis of the current or selected term.

Note: Academic terms may be added or edited using this tool. However, you cannot delete terms in this interface. To delete a term, you must delete it in the database.

How can I make links accessible?

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Assistive technology users use link lists to navigate content. This means they cannot rely on context to tell what a link does. Each link needs to be uniquely descriptive of what it does. The best place to uniquely identify a link is in the link text. Good examples are "View Assignment 34," "Visit Entomological Society of America," etc.

How can I make tables more accessible?

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Users of screen readers cannot read tables the same way sighted users do. Sighted users can tell at a glance what column and row a given cell is associated with, but a screen reader user needs a properly coded table. To make tables usable, additional steps will need to be taken to make them accessible.

How can I make videos and audio files more accessible?

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When you include video or audio content in your document, you must provide an alternative method for your audience members to understand the content if they cannot hear the audio or see the images in the video. You can improve video and audio accessibility by providing transcripts, captions, and descriptions of video images.

Please contact your institution's office for Disability Student Services and/or Information Technology Services for students that require help with accessibility and for instructors that require help adapting their course content for accessibility.

How can I make images more accessible?

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Users with some disabilities will be unable to see images and/or comprehend what they are meant to convey. Alternative Text can help give context and meaning to an image.

What are some guidelines for making content accessible?

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What does it mean to make content accessible?

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Everybody experiences the world, including content they access on the internet, in their own way. How individuals experience content on the internet can be vastly different depending on the computer or device, the size of the screen on which they view it, and how they interact with it. 

For example, while some people read text and interpret images they view, others use assistive technology to listen to content using a screen reader. Meanwhile, some people click on links using a mouse or similar device, while others navigate using a keyboard or by tapping on touch screens.

Improving the accessibility of content is about reducing basic barriers to comprehension, such as providing alternative text for images, so that those who cannot see the images can grasp their meaning. Similarly, making captions or transcript text available for a video file can make it accessible to someone who cannot hear audio.