Accessibility 101 Things to Consider Text Documents & Presentations: Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, and General D2L Accessibility Guidelines.
Things to Consider Structure Figures Hyperlinks Lists Columns Color & Contrast Tables
Structure In order for a document to be accessible, it must have organized Structure. Think of document structure as an outline. To view a document as an outline in MS Word, Click on the View tab, then Select Outline. Good document structure is achieved by applying Heading Styles. There are multiple levels of heading styles. Documents should not contain more than three or four Heading Levels. Microsoft Word > Outline View Microsoft Word > Heading Styles Ribbon
Structure: Headings & Table of Contents Heading 1: Used for document title. Heading 2: Used for all section titles. Heading 3: Used for all sub-section titles. Strong (Style) should be used to create bold text. Emphasis (Style) should be used to italicize text. Table of Contents should be provided based on the Headings used. Table of Figures should be provided if the document contains many images.
Figures A figure can be a drawing, chart, graph, image, or word art. All figures must have Alternative Text. There are two ways to add Alt Text to a figure in MS Word: You can double click on the image or figure, to bring up the Picture or Drawing Tools Format tab and then select Alt Text, OR, just right click on the figure and select Format Picture or Drawing. How to add Alt Text to an image: Option 1: Picture Tools Format tab > add Alt Text Option 2: Right click on image > select Format Picture
Hyperlinks Descriptive hyperlinks are extremely important to accessibility. Use meaningful text for hyperlinks. Hyperlink text should describe the destination, such as: website name, document name, or other resource. Avoid using the actual URL. Screen readers vocalize hyperlinks, therefore, the use of nondescriptive hyperlinks such as Click Here or For More Information will render a document inaccessible.
Lists When making lists, use List Styles. Types of list styles include; bulleted, numbered lettered, and paragraph. Always use true bulleted or numbered lists.
Columns Create columns using the Columns Tool. Columns are meant to be read from top to bottom, and left to right. A list created by using the tab key to give the appearance of a column, will not read from top to bottom, making it impossible for a screen reader to read the document properly.
Color & Contrast If you convey information using color, you must also convey the same information in another way. Good contrast is essential for many readers. Black on white is a good default combination. Yellow on white, for example, may be nearly invisible.
Tables Tables should be formatted correctly. Screen readers cannot read split or merged cells.
D2L Guidelines: Course Content Course Content: Documents that open in the same frame are inaccessible to screen readers. Consider setting the document default to open in a new window. Set up enumerations in the Content tool's Settings to establish a clear hierarchy in your course content. Well-defined course structure is easier to navigate for screen reader users and students with learning disabilities. If your readings and lecture materials use a lot of graphics, tables, and/or videos, you should also provide a text-only alternative. Provide readings and assignments well in advance of deadlines.
D2L Guidelines: HTML, Discussions HTML: Consider creating D2L webpages instead of documents. HTML is more reliable for screen readers. Discussions: Discussions are difficult to navigate with a screen reader. Set up discussion areas that encourage peer-to-peer support. Regularly review information in the forums and adjust your content appropriately. Consider instructing the students to use specific titles for their posts to aid in navigation.
D2L Guidelines: PDF Files PDF Formatting: If you create PDF documents from MS Word or another word processor, be sure to format titles and sections using headings so they are tagged correctly in the PDF. Run the MS Word Accessibility Checker and fix errors prior to saving as PDF. Scanned PDF s: Only use pdf files that have been scanned with optical character recognition (OCR), otherwise a screen reader will not be able to read the text. Scan pages with multiple columns, one column at a time so that OCR works correctly. Add bookmarks for major sections to make the content easier to navigate.
Tools You Can Use Microsoft Word Accessibility Checker Microsoft PowerPoint Accessibility Checker D2L Accessibility Templates
Microsoft Word Accessibility Checker Use the MS Word Accessibility Checker to check your document for accessibility errors. The checker flags three types of issues: Error occurs when content makes a file difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to understand. Warning occurs when content, in most (not all) cases makes a file difficult for people with disabilities to understand. Tip occurs when content that people with disabilities can understand, but that might be better organized or presented in a way that can improve their experience. To check a document with the MS Word Accessibility Checker, click on File. Click to expand the Check for Issues drop down menu > select Check Accessibility.
Microsoft PowerPoint Accessibility Checker Use the MS PowerPoint Accessibility Checker to check your presentation for accessibility errors. The checker flags three types of issues: Error occurs when content makes a file difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to understand. Warning occurs when content, in most (not all) cases makes a file difficult for people with disabilities to understand. Tip occurs when content that people with disabilities can understand, but that might be better organized or presented in a way that can improve their experience. To check a presentation with the MS PowerPoint Accessibility Checker, click on File. Click to expand the Check for Issues drop down menu > select Check Accessibility.