Below is a glossary of accessibility terms used in this course and how we are using them. For a more comprehensive accessibility glossary, visit the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Glossary.

Glossary of Accessibility Terms
Term	Definition
Accessibility	Reducing or eliminating the barriers to accessing and participating in your course to its fullest extent. Read More: Accessibility, Disability, and Why They Matter
Accessibility Checker	A technology tool that searches content for accessibility issues, identifies those issues, and allows users to fix the issues. Usually marketed as an "all-in-one" accessibility solution. Example: WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool Read More: Automated Accessibility Checkers: When and How to Use Them
Accessibility Tool	A technology tool that assists users working to make content accessible, such as by visually highlighting accessibility issues. Example: WebAIM Contrast Checker Read More: Automated Accessibility Checkers: When and How to Use Them
Accommodation	An alteration or intervention that allows a student to pursue their studies effectively. For example, a student may receive an accommodation for extra time on quizzes, tests, and exams. Students work with the Office of Disability Services to obtain an accommodation letter, which outlines the required accommodations for faculty. Read More: Campus Resources for Accessibility and Disability
Alt Text	Text description of an image or other visual. Used by screen readers and other assistive technologies. Also referred to as Alternative Text. Read More: Step 1: Add Alt Text to Images, How to Write Accessible Alt Text
Alternative Representation	Another form of representing content, such as a chart included with the primary text representation. A core concept in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is to include alternative representations so that learners can interact with content in the ways that work best for them. Read More: A Brief Primer on Universal Design for Learning
Anchor Text	Text that links to another website, so called because it anchors the hyperlink. Read More: Step 3: Create Concise and Descriptive Hyperlinks
Assistive Technology	Software or hardware that assists users with disabilities in completing tasks. The primary assistive technology covered in this course is screen reader software.
Canvas Accessibility Checker	An accessibility checker built into Canvas, located in the bottom bar of the Rich Content Editor (RCE). Read More: Automated Accessibility Checkers: When and How to Use Them
Captions	For images and tables, a short title or description. For videos, on-screen text describing audio components of the video. Open captions are permanently encoded into the video and cannot be turned off, while closed captions are defined using a separate file and can be turned on and off. Read More: Captioning and Transcripts for Multimedia
Cognitive Accessibility	A broad term for designing for users with cognitive disabilities, learning disabilities, and mental health conditions. Cognitive accessibility includes (but is not limited to) users with ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, dyslexia, dyscalculia, aphasia, traumatic brain injury, anxiety, and depression. Read More: Cognitive Accessibility
Contrast	The difference in luminance (brightness) between two colors, generally foreground/text and background. Usually expressed as a ratio, ranging from 1:1 (low contrast) to 21:1 (high contrast). The higher the contrast, the easier it is for sighted users to perceive and read text. WCAG standards set minimum levels of 3:1 for large text and 4.5:1 for small text. Read More: Step 6: Use High-Contrast Colors to Support All Users, How to Manually Check Color Contrast, Which Canvas Colors to Use and Which to Avoid
Curb Cut Effect	The idea that when environments, devices, and software are designed for users with disabilities, they have wide-ranging benefits for all users. The name comes from pedestrian cutouts at crosswalks, which were designed for wheelchair users but have widely benefited everyone. Read More: Accessibility, Disability, and Why They Matter
Disability	A mismatch between a person and the society or environment they are living in. Often referred to as Permanent, Temporary, or Situational. Read More: Accessibility, Disability, and Why They Matter
Hierarchy	Ordering and organizing information with multiple levels of importance. An important part of properly structuring accessible content, especially with section headings. Read More: Step 2: Structure Section Headings Hierarchically
HTML	HyperText Markup Language, the code language that forms the base of all web content. Accessible web content is properly structured through HTML to better interact with various assistive technologies, such as screen reader software. Read More: Before You Start: Learn the #1 Rule of Canvas Accessibility
Inaccessible	Items that present challenges or obstacles to various users, such as a non-decorative image without alt text.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR)	The process of converting scanned images of text into selectable and searchable text, which can be interpreted by assistive technologies like screen readers. Read More: Step 4: Check PDFs for Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Rich Content Editor (RCE)	The editing window in Canvas, which includes features for editing text, images, links, tables, and more. Available in a variety of areas in Canvas, including Pages, Announcements, Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussion Boards. Read More: Before You Start: Learn the #1 Rule of Canvas Accessibility
Screen Reader	Software that interprets the content of a page and reads it out loud for users. Includes features that allow users to navigate websites, such as heading lists and link lists. Primarily used by users with visual disabilities. Example: JAWS, NVDA Read More: The Human Impact of Accessibility
Semantic Markup	A form of HTML code that accurately indicates the meaning of content, rather than using generic markup tags. Semantic markup would identify a section of a website using <section> tags, while non-semantic markup would use the more generic <div> container tags. This ensures that assistive technologies like screen readers can effectively interpret content. Read More: Before You Start: Learn the #1 Rule of Canvas Accessibility
Tagged PDF	A type of PDF that has tags applied, similar to HTML on web pages. Tags help users of assistive technologies like screen readers navigate the PDF effectively. Read More: Step 8: Structure Word Documents and PDFs for Accessibility
Transcript	Verbatim text representation of an audio recording, such as a podcast. Generally provided as a separate downloadable file. Read More: Captioning and Transcripts for Multimedia
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)	An evidence-based framework that focuses on designing learning experiences that are flexible and recognize differences between individual learners. Read More: A Brief Primer on Universal Design for Learning
Visual Disabilities	A variety of disabilities that affect people's sight, including blindness, low vision, and color blindness. Much of the advice in this course is centered on students with visual disabilities, as these disabilities are core to creating accessible web content. Read More: The Human Impact of Accessibility
WCAG	Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the primary global standards for web accessibility. The content in this course is designed around WCAG 2.1, the most recently approved version of the WCAG standards. Read More: Course Home Page