{"id":22139,"date":"2026-02-18T06:12:48","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/?p=22139"},"modified":"2026-02-18T06:12:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:12:48","slug":"brightspace-accessibility-tip-headings-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/brightspace-accessibility-tip-headings-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Brightspace Accessibility Tip: Headings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

This is the first in a series of blog posts that is a follow-up to my recent Why Accessibility is Important<\/a> post where I wrote,<\/p>\n

Making accessible content doesn\u2019t have to be complicated... Even small efforts make a big difference. Not only will your materials support students with disabilities, but you\u2019ll also improve the learning experience for everyone. Plus, if you reuse your course content each semester, accessibility updates you make now will continue to pay off in the future.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Brightspace, our Learning Management System (LMS), is designed with accessibility in mind<\/a>. However, it is the responsibility of the instructor and\/or course designer to ensure their course content is formatted using best practices for accessibility; including the use of good heading structure, text formatting, contrast and color, descriptive links, alternative text, tables, lists, etc.<\/p>\n

This first post focuses on headings. A good heading structure is an important accessibility consideration. Headings should be used to indicate main points and sub-points on a page. Like an outline, heading levels should appear in logical and consistent order.<\/p>\n

Headings allow screen reader users to easily navigate through the page and can make the page more usable for everyone. <\/p>\n

\"Page<\/a>
A text page showing \"Chapter 2 Great Design\" with heading levels identified.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When creating documents, many people do not use true \"heading styles.\" For example, when creating a heading, they simply change the font type, enlarge the font size, change the color, make it bold, etc. When this is done, the document has no real structure that can be detected by a screen reader program. While visual learners can scan the page for text that stands out from the rest, users who rely on a screen reader are not able to \"see\" these elements.<\/p>\n

IMPORTANT:<\/strong> When creating heading styles always use the proper heading level. Create uniform headings so that a screen reader can navigate the content and can understand how it is structured. Watch this short video for an explanation of heading structures and reading order.<\/p>\n