As learning developers, we work hard to develop interesting, educating, and engaging courses. And since we work so hard at developing our content, our goal should be to enhance the quality of learning and meet the learning needs and style of as many people as possible. While learning styles (most often referred to as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic/physical) are important, I want to challenge all of us that we need to think about so much more. If we are to ensure knowledge is delivered clearly and concisely to and for everyone, we need to develop our courses to meet the needs of all learners by ensuring our courses are inclusive and accessible to all learners. Again, you work hard on your eLearning content—you want as many users as possible to see and learn from it, along with users actually wanting to use it, and ultimately feeling safe using it.

Discussion topics include:

• Understanding the definitions of accessibility and inclusion; how they overlap, and why they are not the same thing
• Understanding WCAG & POUR and how it affects you and eLearning
• Explaining why designing learning for everyone is becoming a requirement at most organizations, and why organizations financially benefit from it
• Understanding what your bias are and how to overcome them
• Examples of accessibility and inclusivity in eLearning, including word choices, photos & illustrations, and audio/voiceovers
• Reviewing how screen readers (NVDA & Jaws) and keyboard navigation actually ‚Äúreads‚Äù your eLearning course
• Reviewing tools and checklists to properly vet your learning programs