Applying Alt text to Images in Moodle

Some students use screen readers to access online content. This is software that literally reads text on the screen. Images without or with poor alt text that normally add context or clarity to your content can be of little use without proper alternatives or informative alt-text.

Other Options

Sometimes you really like that graphic, it makes a lot of sense for sighted students. Consider choosing one of the following suggestions to provide an alternative to your less sighted students:

• Informatively caption your images (describe less of the visual makeup of the image and more of its worth to the content)
• Make images redundant to your text content and leave the alt text blank.
• If your image is of a visual representation of graphical data, create a data table instead or in addition to your image with blank alt text.

How

1. Edit the activity or resource that contains the image that you wish to apply alt text to.
2. Click on the image in question
3. Click the Edit Image button
                  OR
   Right click on the image and select Edit Image from the menu
4. Under the General tab, locate the text box labeled Image Description
5. I strongly recommend these sites for good practice on entering meaningful alt text intended for those with disability:
   Alternative Text (webaim.org/techniques/alttext/)
   How to Describe Complex Images for Accessibility (diagramcenter.org/diagramwebinars)
   Key points from article:
   • Keep it short, 5-15 words if you can.
   • Summarize the meaning not the appearance of the image.
   • If image is redundant or simply for appearance, leave it blank.
6. Click the Update button to apply the changes to the image.
7. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Save and display button to save your work.