Faculty Training on Accessibility

Most often, we tend to create our own PDFs from Word or PowerPoint files. Below are a few things to consider regarding accessibility when creating your own PDF.

Whatever format you are starting with, you need to make that source file is accessible first. If you are starting with a Word or PowerPoint file, be sure you are using the accessibility checker to identify and correct any potential issues.

NOTE: Making your source file accessible, does not guarantee …

Now that we've created a structure to our document, the next step is to make sure that students can access the content with in that structure.

Image Description Guidelines (Links to an external site.)

• Do one of the following:

  • For a shape, picture, chart, SmartArt graphic, or other object, right-…

What is Proctortrack?

How do I set up Proctortrack in my course?

What if the accommodation the student is requesting is not listed on the Letter of Accommodation submitted by the student? 

What other student accommodation needs are possible when using Proctortrack?

Students who are blind or visually impaired, in almost all cases, will use a specialized software known as a screen reader to access your content from their computer or mobile device. The most common screen readers include JAWS, VoiceOver, and NVDA.

Intro to Screen Readers Part 1:

Intro to Screen Readers Part 2

There are various forms of tactile graphics that our office has produced for students. Below are just a few examples:

For a student who was completely blind, we designed an accessible teaching and learning packet for both the student and professor. The course (Computer Organization) included a lot of visual diagrams which were drawn on the board during class. The professor had her notes pre-written, which she reused every semester. Our office spent the summer typing up her notes and creating swelled tactile…

• Not all disabilities are visible, such as heart disease, learning disabilities, ADHD, depression, or asthma.
• Many people have temporary disabilities which are equally as limiting as permanent disabilities.
• Not everyone with a disability wishes to discuss their disability or its limitations.
• Wait until you know an individual before asking personal questions.

• …

1. Highlight the word(s) or heading to which you would like to add a style.
2. In the Home tab, look in the Styles section. Here, you can select the style you would like to apply to the highlighted text.
3. When you choose a style, the highlighted text will appear to your left in a Navigation pane. 
…

Accessibility and disability-related accommodations must be taken into consideration throughout preparations and planning your online course to ensure that all students can fully participate.

This quick guide that will enable you to evaluate the most critical elements of your web-based course content.  For more detailed information on these topics and further topics of making your course accessible, please visit our faculty resource pages on …

Another software students might use is called ZoomText. ZoomText is a screen magnifier that enlarges everything on the screen and then smooths out the text and images so they are still identifiable (and not pixelated). ZoomText also allows for the student to adjust the screen colors (or students with contrast impairments, issues with managing bright lights, etc), and have the screen read aloud as they navigate through the screen.

When a student is using zoom text, they are often zooming to 300-400 times…