How Brightspace Delivers Beyond Accessibility Compliance

Brightspace is the learning platform built by and for people who care deeply about helping all learners reach their potential. D2L is the first—and only—learning management system (LMS) partner of the National Federation of the Blind’s Strategic Nonvisual Access Partnership (SNAP) program that works to ensure that websites, products and services are non-visually accessible.  

The Brightspace platform is designed with accessibility in mind for learners, instructors and admins with disabilities. Our design and development processes are built on inclusive design principles. 

• At D2L, we align our production processes with the latest web accessibility standards from the World Wide Web Consortium—the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1.  
• Our designers, developers and testers work with a community of users with disabilities to help provide the best user experience for all. 

We support you in accessible content creation through accessible content templates, built-in accessibility checker and an optional content accessibility audit service. 

• The accessibility checker built into the HTML editor assists in creating standards-compliant HTML for content, quizzing and discussions.  
• We have integrated Anthology Ally—a powerful content accessibility auditing service—within the Content tool in Brightspace.  
• Using Ally, instructors can create accessible content; learners can download content in alternative formats; and instructors and administrator can generate robust reports. 

“Because accessibility is a never-ending effort, it must be part of a company’s culture. Accessibility is not just a checklist we run through, but a way of approaching our work.” John Baker, CEO D2L Corporation 

Brightspace supports universal design for learning to help you reach your learners in ways that appeal to them and in modes that align with their cognitive styles. 

• Brightspace offers creative ways for your instructors to provide learning in multiple modes and supports learners with multiple ways of engaging and expression to reach their potential.  
• Inclusion is a part of D2L’s organizational culture. We design our products with empathy in order to enable and empower learners with disabilities to succeed.  
• We enable instructors and students to easily create accessible videos using our Video Note™ tool, which provides automated, editable closed captions. 

At D2L, we believe that learning technologies should never limit learning opportunities. For us, accessibility is a strategy to ensure that we reach every learner. 

• Brightspace is designed to address permanent, temporary and situational constraints to learning. Accessibility is an integral component of our development cycle.  
• Our robust support process ensures that your feedback is received, prioritized and acted upon to codesign the learning environment with you. 

Want to learn more about how D2L can work with you to make learning more accessible? Get in touch today, we’d love to tell you more. 

Written by

Paige O'Grady Product Marketing Manager

Paige O’Grady is a Product Marketing Manager at D2L, specializing in the education space. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, specializing in Marketing and Brand Communications.