Transcript Online Course Accessibility PowerPoint

Online Course
Accessibility
Technical and Pedagogical Strategies
March 2016
Melissa Messina, Instructional Designer
A growing problem
College students reporting
a disability
• 1999: 6%
• 2012: 11%
Technology
dominance worsens
accessibility issues
“
Agonizing and overwhelming
barriers to access for college
students today.
– Eve Hill, US DOJ, Civil Rights Division
”
Legal requirements
§ 1194.22 of Section 508: Federal agencies must make electronic information
accessible
 Applies to schools that receive federal funding
 Includes PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and any other files
hosted on the website, not just the website itself
 Upcoming “refresh” = stricter rules based on WCAG 2.0
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
 Title II prohibits discrimination by public entities
 Title III applies to “public accommodations” broadened to include online
programs at schools
Paradigm shift
Accommodations
Accessibility
• Reactive
• Customized
• Proactive, built-in
• Removes as many
barriers to instruction
as possible
Provides an improved
experience for all users:
• Speakers of other
languages
Accessible design
is good design
• Old technology, slow
connections
• Small devices, handhelds
• Scripts and captions create
searchable audio/video
– Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO 2000-2014
Accessibility challenges
Technical
 Lack of skills or time to
build in accessibility
 Nature of online instruction,
esp text-based discussion
boards
Pedagogical
 Audio presentation of
screen readers is linear and
continual; learning is not
 Meaningful adaption of
content requires significant
effort
Source: Moore, 2014
How does a screen reader work?
Screen Reader Reading Different
Table Layouts (< 2 min)
Introduction to the Screen Reader
(7 min)
Technical strategies
 Provide digital texts in HTML, structured Word docs, or tagged PDF
formats
 Use alt text for images
 Watch your color contrast
 Flatten navigational structures (i.e., single scrollable folder or file)
 Chunk videos and name the chunks
 Caption all videos
 Create human-readable links
Source: Moore, 2014
Pedagogical strategies
 Cut extraneous material
 Write clearly and succinctly
 Provide accessible alternatives to inaccessible materials or activities
 Annotate links meaningfully
 Uniquely identify and annotate all figures and illustrations
Source: Moore, 2014
Microsoft Word
Benefits
 Defined structure and navigation
 Information in multiple formats
 Improved readability and
comprehension
 Conversion to other file formats
Access Barriers
 Improperly formatted headings,
tables, lists, etc.
 Missing alt text
 Detailed or "busy" page
backgrounds or watermarks
 URLs as links
Word best practices
 Heading, list, and paragraph styles
 Alt text for images
 True columns
 True lists
 Meaningful descriptive text for links
 Clear table structure and headers
 Accessibility Checker tool
Save Word as PDF
 Export correctly: File > Save As
 Check setting: Acrobat tab > Create PDF > Options > Enable Accessibility
and Reflow
Microsoft PowerPoint
Benefits
Access Barriers
 Pre-set, accessible slide layouts
 Content within a text box
 Accommodation of visual learning
styles
 Images, animations, or videos
without alt text
 Information in multiple formats
 Low contrast or patterned
backgrounds
 Conversion to other file formats
 Slide transitions and animations
 URLs as links
Best Practices
Structure and Images
Content
 Pre-set slide templates
 Sans-serif fonts
 Unique heading titles
 Appropriate punctuation at the
end of each bullet point
 Logical reading order
 Charts, tables, graphs via slide
layout or Insert menu
 Alt text for all images
 Extended descriptions for charts
and other graphics
 Template text boxes
 Color contrast between text and
background
 Captioned video
Adding placeholders
1.
On the View tab, in the Master Layout group, click on Slide Master.
2.
Click the layout to which the Content Placeholder is to be added.
3.
In the Master Layout Group, click Insert Placeholder.
4.
Choose the type of Content Placeholder needed.
5.
Choose a location on the slide, and position the new Placeholder.
6.
In Edit Master Group, Rename the layout.
7.
In the Slide Master tab, Click on Close Master View.
Reading order
 To verify the order of slide elements:
 Go to the Home tab.
 Select the Arrange icon to see a drop-down list of commands
 Choose Selection Pane (PowerPoint 2013 for Windows) or Reorder Objects
(PowerPoint 2011 for Mac)
 Use the tools to place items in correct reading order.
 Windows: The bottom-most item is in the Arrange panel read first.
 Macintosh: Item #1 in the Rearrange panel is read last.
Save PowerPoint as PDF
File > Save As
OR:
Select Create PDF from Acrobat ribbon
Resources and Training
 Free accessibility workshops at UMKC: http://online.umkc.edu/faculty/
 Accessibility in Microsoft Office 2013:
https://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/office2013/#create
 Creating Accessible PowerPoint Presentations: https://support.office.com/enus/article/Creating-accessible-PowerPoint-presentations-6f7772b2-2f334bd2-8ca7-dae3b2b3ef25
 WebAIM Color Contrast Checker:
http://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/