accessibility

Accessibility Checklists for Microsoft Word Documents, PowerPoint files, and Adobe PDF documents

Accessibility Checklists for Microsoft Word Documents, PowerPoint files, and Adobe PDF documents

The desire to improve the accessibility of documents and files increases as we become more aware of designing for universal learning. Common ways of presenting course content to students include Microsoft Word documents, PowerPoint files, Adobe PDF documents and web-based content, such as in a learning management system (LMS); for example, Brightspace.

This resource outlines design considerations for increasing a file or document’s accessibility. A checklist of items to consider in increasing the accessibility of content is presented for Word, PowerPoint and PDF types. Information on making web-based content accessible may be found at Web Content Accessibility Guidelines’ (WCAG) website.

Note:
The Canadian Government will publish its own web standard CAN-ASC-6.1 in 2024, in alignment with the “European harmonized standard”.

Applying Accessible Design Features in Applications

To learn more about how to apply accessible design features in these applications, please consult applications’ Help resources or the relative resources listed in the References section.

Definition of Terms

First of all, let’s look at a few definitions of terms related to accessibility.

  • Alternative Text: Text associated with non-textual content (e.g., an image) that conveys the same essential information. Also known as “Alt text”.
  • Bookmark: A type of link with representative text that makes it easier to navigate through documents.
  • Descriptive Text: The text that describes a form field’s contents to a screen reader user. Also known as a “label”. It should be vivid, colourful, and detailed.
  • Screen Reader: A software program used to allow reading of content and navigation of a screen using synthesized speech or Braille output. Used primarily by persons who are blind or have low vision.
  • Tags: The structured, textual representation of the PDF content that is accessed by screen readers, to read the document out-loud.

Please select the checklist, in MS Word or Adobe PDF format, for the following applications:

MS Word  

MS PowerPoint   

Adobe PDF

References

Created 20 October 2023
By Technology Coaches, Darlene F, Jason G, and Jane C

Assistive Technologies

Assistive Technologies

Before looking at Assistive Technologies, let’s look at some basic things that we can do to help learners with special challenges.

The Basics

Colour

Use of colour is attractive and can be helpful in categorizing information. However, it should not be the only method used as it puts those who are colour blind at a disadvantage. If colour is used as one method to categorize information, avoid using greens, oranges and reds.

ALT and Title Tags

The use of ALT tags on images and graphics is helpful for those who use screen readers. The ALT tag should be clear, concise and provide enough information that a blind reader will obtain the information being portrayed by the image or graphic. This page provides a good explanation of what makes Good vs Bad ALT text examples.

Close-up photo of a record player's needle touching a vinyl record.
Back before the era of iPods, when people used record players to hear music, putting the needle on the record was the equivalent of pressing the play button.

Here is an example of an image with ALT tag information.

When providing information to include in ALT tags, do not repeat the same information that is already provided in the content, or in the caption. The goal of ALT text is to help someone who is unable to see the image, so that they understand the context of the image, and why it was chosen to be included!

The image of the record player has ALT tag information which is only visible in the html markup or via an assistive device that reads out ALT tags. You can always add extra information in the TITLE tag since it will also be read by a screen reader. One possible use for the TITLE tag on an image could be “A larger version of this image will open in another window if you select this thumbnail.”

Headings

Clear headings help to organize material and help the vision impaired learner organize their mind map of the information.

Clean Code

Clean HTML code will help the screen reader technology provide clear and concise information to the student.

Below:  Example of messy code (left) vs cleaner code (right).

Screen shot showing messy code, much of the code is unnecessarily generated by copying content from MS-Word into an editor.
Cleaner code is shown here with any unnecessary formatting and "junk" code removed.

Closed Captioning

Closed captioning for the hard of hearing learner is important, especially if audio or video is the only way material is presented. If creating an audio or video clip, using a script from which the closed captioning can be created is very helpful.

Computer Assistive Technologies

Computer assistive technologies includes hardware and software that will help or enable persons with disabilities to use their computer, search the web, input information, etc.

Memorial University offers several assistive technologies for use in its Libraries and for its patrons to borrow. You can reserve assistive technologies from The Commons in person, or online. You can also obtain details of the assistive technologies offered from the Library, or you can visit The Commons’ Assistive Technologies page.

Here are some examples of assistive technologies.

Screen Readers

Screen Readers are software that are usually installed on a computer and will read the computer screen, often in a mechanical voice. Along with Zoom Text, the following may be useful:

Examples:

For Persons with Limited Mobility or Dexterity

There are a variety of navigation and input devices including:

Specific software for input and navigation include:

For Persons with Cognition Challenges

Other

Some major international organizations have made resources available for anyone wanting to know how to make applications or websites more accessible. Some examples are:

References

Resource created by Daph C.

Principles of Accessibility

Principles of Accessibility

Introduction

Universal Instructional Design (UID) is a way of thinking about course design and teaching in such a way that materials are accessible to all students regardless of their abilities.

Learning
Seeing
Hearing
Interacting

Four ways in which people with disabilities are challenged when seeking information include learning, seeing, hearing, and interacting.

  • For persons with cognition challenges: Icon of side on head showing the brain.
  • For persons with limited vision, there is an icon of an eye with diagonal lines over 1/2 of the eye to indicate vision impairment.
  • For persons with limited hearing: Icon of a front an ear with sound waves coming from the ear.
  • For persons with limited mobility: Icon with two fingers on a touch pad.

Memorial has the duty to provide course materials in formats that all students can easily use. For computer or online based materials we need to consider hearing, mobility, visual, and cognitive challenges. Providing accessible course content is not hard, it just requires a little planning.

Hearing

For a deaf or hard of hearing student auditory information needs to be presented visually. This includes closed captioning for audio and video course components.

Mobility

For a student with limited hand mobility, or limited fine motor control, consideration needs to be given for the amount of direct input required. Students with mobility challenges may need extra time to complete tasks. Often the students will use voice commands to operate the computer.

Visual

A visually challenged student may have low or no vision, or may be colour-blind. A low or no vision student will often have a screen reader which will read text from the screen. However, to help the screen reader and the student, we need to:

  • use clear headings,
  • provide detailed alt tags on graphics,
  • avoid using tables except for displaying data,
  • etc.

A low vision student may be able to use a screen magnifier. The magnifier limits the amount of content displayed at any time, thus it often takes more time for these learners to complete tasks.

A colour-blind student is challenged when content is differentiated by colour alone. Either avoid using colour to display content meaning or use colour with another feature, such as italics, font, clear headings, etc. (Using two or more features to display content may cause confusion for some learners.) Avoid using green, orange, and red as these colours are particularly challenging for colour-blind people.

Cognitive

This may be a learner with dyslexia, short-term memory loss, etc. Being consistent with layout throughout a website will help these learners. Also having content presented in a variety of formats will be a benefit.

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Show/Hide the transcript for the video above

Hi. My name is Daph Crane and I am a Senior Instructional Designer.

When developing online courses we often get questions about the importance of creating a syllabus for the course. A syllabus or outline can be looked at as a road map for students to follow as they navigate their way through the course. It will help students organize themselves throughout the semester and reduce the number of administrative questions that are sent to course instructors.

The syllabus should contain a number of pieces of information. It should have a description of the course, including any prerequisites a student must have. The course objectives, also known as learning outcomes, or goals, will also be listed. Essentially the course objectives are statements or perhaps questions that detail what a student should know at the end of a chapter, module, unit, or course. They form the skeleton for the course content and course assessments. Any textbooks, equipment or special tools required to complete the course would be included in the syllabus.

A study schedule should also be included in the syllabus. There are a variety of ways of doing this, but the most common ones are organized by week or module. For example: Week 1, September 4 to 11, will cover Module 1, the course introduction. September 6th at 8pm Newfoundland time, is a synchronous class session. Students will be able to learn about the assessment structure of the course from the syllabus. This will include the number of assignments and tests, the time and due dates of each one and the grade weight of each test and assignment.

Rules regarding late assignments or missed exams would also be included. A code of conduct can be written into the syllabus to set guidelines around the type of interactions that can occur between all course members during synchronous and non-synchronous contributions to the course content.

Finally you will want to share your contact information with your students through the syllabus. You can have students contact you in a number of ways. You can use a combination of these options or use only one. Some forms of individual communication include MUN e-mail, synchronous audio sessions or the course mail within the online course.

I hope this gives you an idea of the structure and value of a course syllabus. If you have any questions we are willing to help.

Resource created by Daph C.