Designing an Accessibility Survey

About

Equitable access to the learning environment is an important topic to explore before your course begins. Students may have unstable, unpredictable, or low levels of access to the internet; they may rely on data plans which may run low or run out before they have completed all their coursework; they may need to download course content to access at later times; they may lack access to physical devices like laptops, tablets, printers, webcams, or other equipment; and they may be unable to run certain apps or software on their devices.

Designing a unique survey for your course will allow you to gather information about students’ accessibility needs and give you time to create course supports to allow broad access to your content, assignments, activities, and assessments.

Benefits

  • Sending out a survey signals your interest in building relationships with students.
  • Compiling the results and sharing anonymized data during the first week of class will help students
    recognize that everyone has certain needs around learning.
  • Shifting or re-designing a few elements of your course in response to the survey results will illustrate
    your willingness to be responsive to student needs.

How do I create this survey?

You could create a quiz (worth zero points) through your Canvas course, or you could send a link to fill out a Qualtrics survey. The DU Ed-Tech Knowledge Base offers instructions to build these surveys in Canvas; please visit this webpage for instructions. For DU Qualtrics support, please visit this webpage.

Explore the list of suggested questions below and find ways to bring in your personality!

Suggested questions for your survey

  • Please share your name or nickname that you prefer. You can offer a phonetic spelling if you would like to
    guide me in pronouncing your name correctly.
  • I would like to use your pronouns in class! Would you like to share your pronouns? (If so, please provide your
    pronouns below)
  • Where do you feel at home?
  • Why did you decide to take this course?
  • Have you taken courses on this topic before?
  •  What are you hoping to learn about in this class?
  •  What is your dream job/career?
  • What is your favorite place in the world?
  • Please share a link to your favorite meme, a funny video/tiktok, or your favorite song
  • What are your ideas about creating community in the classroom (online, if applicable) with your peers? Please
    be specific about your ideas, including technology to be used and length of the activity
  •  From what location will you be joining our class? (This question is offered if students are joining remotely, and
    need to detail physical location, time zone, etc. Given potential housing stress, this should be an optional
    question)
  • Do you have technology that allows you to join class meetings remotely (in a distraction-minimized
    environment in which you can listen and freely share during discussions)?
  • Would you like assistance in trying to obtain additional technology for this course via university resources?
  • What type of device will you be using routinely in class? (you might allow for several options to be chosen such
    as: laptop or desktop computer, tablet, phone, etc.)
  • Are you able to use Zoom virtual backgrounds with your device?
  •  What are your learning needs, in terms of technology or access to the course content? Please be specific.
  • Do you have any disability accommodations that you would like me to know about?
  • Is there anything I can do as your instructor to make this course work best for you? Examples include: slides
    posted prior to class, a notetaker, the ability to stand and move around during class, recorded lectures,
    recorded lectures to be transcribed, scheduling challenges due to a job or caregiving which may interfere with
    attending office hours won’t work, etc. (You might include a note like this one: **Note: I do not require any
    documentation for these and will accommodate them to the best of my ability.)
  •  Are you concerned about turning on your video if attending remotely, in terms of the internet bandwidth at
    your house?
  • How do you feel about attending Zoom sessions with video on?
    • I don’t mind having my video on for the full session
    • I am comfortable having the video on while I am speaking, but would prefer to turn it off otherwise
    • I am always uncomfortable if the video is on.)
  • If you do happen to have an emergency or unanticipated event that causes you to miss class, what is a good
    method of accessing something that would approximate class discussion? Check all the things that you are
    willing to try.
    • Posting/reading responses to a discussion board
    • Participating in a small-group online real-time chat that could be scheduled with a few students
    • Using google docs to group write a response or set of discussion notes with a few classmates)
    • Other ideas
  • What types of strategies for learning have professors used in the past that work for you?
  •  Are you concerned about missing class due to family needs or working? Please explain.
  • Are there any health concerns for you, your family members or friends that you would like to share with me?

Is there anything else that you would like me to know that would support your success in this course?