For individuals with disabilities, distance education and the technology used to deliver it can either increase or decrease accessibility. The Americans with Disability Act requires that accommodations be made to make distance education accessible to those with disabilities. "Providing accessibility means removing barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating in substantial life activities..." (Bergman & Johnson, 1995). For example, an online version of a course manual should be formatted so that a reader can be used by a student who is blind. Distance education developers should design courses and systems with ADA compliance in mind. Doing this can not only make it accessible to those with disabilities, but actually make the course easier for all students to use.

In addition to media selection principles, there are also guidelines for evaluating media for adoption for courses or a university. We will briefly consider these next. These will be important for you new media assignment.