Under the lens: Learning management system (LMS) platforms and DEIA components

Many global higher educational institutions speak of accessibility, diversity, and inclusivity for students in terms of assignments, documents and syllabi, and assessments, but most in academia have not fully addressed the need for true accessibility in the learning management system (LMS) environment. The chosen LMS must be able to translate course content into meaningful lexicon for all students, including those who are multilingual, and/or have learning differences, yet it is not yet inherently capable of doing so. Faculty and higher educational leaders throughout the halls of higher learning do not have a universal, mandatory, standardized means of being trained in LMS best practices. Selections of a primary language interface can be made, but content uploaded by American English professors, for example, cannot be automatically translated into another language by a LMS. Many issues arise with how to provide alternative text for images in the testing environment without revealing the assessment’s answers, yet providing enough context with which to select the appropriate answer choice. We will explore the delicate balance of using alt text, scripting, translation, and other existing accessibility, diversity, and inclusivity tools within LMS platforms, address the need for global, universal LMS best practices training for academics, and delve into other issues that inhibit student success within the online learning environment.