7 Simple Steps to Accessibility

Helping with visual and physical impairments

Software can present an outline view created from a document's headings thus allowing non-visual users to hear the list of headings and use them to navigate a document just as quickly as sighted users can. Similarly, such lists can minimize the movements users with physical impairments need make to find headings and navigate within a document.

Document editing programs have tools which allow content creators to indicate "real" structural headings (often referred to as "built-in" headings). Assistive technologies  (Links to an external site.) recognize these built-in headings and allow users with disabilities to get a list of just the headings and to navigate straight to the heading of their choice.

Helping Everyone: How headings support reading persistence

All readers benefit from having headings that allow skimming through a document to discover the topics covered, learn how it's organized, and to quickly find the desired content.

Descriptive section headings help by making it possible to predict which document sections to read. This aids readers with concussions, dyslexia, short-term memory loss, traumatic brain injury to non-native readers, readers with headaches, or anyone that reads slowly.

Helping Readers on Mobile Devices

Headings are a more robust means of delineating content sections than other means of document formatting. Background colors, borders, horizontal rules, and whitespace may change or be eliminated when responsive designs simplify and reflow content for viewing on small screens.

Using headings helps to organize, navigate, and reorganize your content.

• When created first, headings can help content writers stay organized and focused
• Use the Navigation Pane in Word Links to an external site. and the Document Outline in Google Docs Links to an external site. allow you to see all the headings in one place and quickly navigate between them in even the longest of documents.
• Headings can be used to collapse or expand parts of a document in Microsoft Word Links to an external site..
• Reorganize sections in a Word document by clicking and dragging headings in the Navigation Pane.
  • Windows Word users can See the "Reorganize your document" section on Use the Navigation Pane in Word Links to an external site.
  • Mac Word users can switch to the "Outline" view, select a heading, and then use the "Move Up" and "Move Down" controls.

Quickly Change Format of an Entire Document's Headings

You can quickly update the style of every heading of a particular heading level (style) in a Microsoft Word and Google Doc document at once both saving time and helping to provide a consistent look and feel. See:

• Microsoft Word: Modifying a Style's (including built-in headings) Format Links to an external site.
• Google Docs: See "Use a custom test style" on the "Add a title, heading, or table of contents in a document" Google support page. Links to an external site.

Automate Creating a Table of Contents

If headings and their subheadings are used correctly, they can be used to automatically generate and maintain a table of contents in Word and Google Docs. See:

• Microsoft Word: Insert a Table of Contents Links to an external site.
• Google Docs: Insert a Table of Contents Links to an external site.

• Do ensure heading text is brief, clear, and provides an appropriate way to identify and navigate content sections. A reader should be able to get the main ideas, or a list of topics covered, from the headings alone.
• Do use built-in document styles or HTML headings (<h1> … <h6>) to create real document structure.
  • Don’t use only the bold and font-size options in the formatting toolbar as these create only the visual appearance of headings. 
• Do use headings levels to describe the relationships between document sections.
  • Use one level 1 heading to begin the content.
  • Other heading levels can be used as needed to indicate document subsections. Content under a sub-heading should relate to the heading above it.
    • Headings should not skip levels
    • Subsections should begin with level 2 headings.
    • Subsections within level 2 sections should begin with a level 3 heading, and so on.
• Don’t use heading styles or heading levels for their visual particular appearance alone. Heading styles should only be used to provide an appropriate document structure.

Canvas

Note: When editing a page, assignment instructions, etc. using the Canvas Rich Content Editor (RCE), the headings start at heading level 2 (the title for the page, assignment, quiz, etc. is already a heading level 1).

See: Headings in Canvas: SBCTC's Library of Accessibility Resources

Google Docs

• Google Docs: Add a title, heading, or table of contents in a document Links to an external site.

Microsoft Word

• Microsoft Word: Add a heading Links to an external site.
• Microsoft Word: Improve accessibility with heading styles (video) Links to an external site.

Microsoft PowerPoint

Assistive technologies see the PowerPoint slide titles as headings. Be sure to use the built-in slide templates and ensure every slide has a title. Every slide's content should be simple enough to need only the one "heading" (title)

See: Microsoft PowerPoint: Title a slide Links to an external site.

Helping with visual impairments

Individuals with visual impairments use screen-reading software that converts text to speech and reads aloud software interfaces and text content. Unfortunately, artificial intelligence has not progressed to the point where computers can automatically provide meaningful descriptions of images.

Alternative text (alt-text) is the text that screen-reading software reads aloud in place of an image. By providing meaningful alt-text, individuals with visual impairments can have access to the information provided in images.

Helping Everyone: How alt-text increases engagement and support reading persistence

Programs like Ally Links to an external site. and Texthelp Read&Write Links to an external site. can convert documents and web content into audio formats. These tools increase engagement with course materials by making it possible to have documents read aloud so anyone can listen to content when too tired to it read off a screen, while driving, doing dishes, working out at the gym, etc.

By including meaningful alt-text for images, any individuals choosing to listen to content gets a complete experience. 

Writing image descriptions can make you more critical of the images you choose

Choosing or creating the right image can be difficult. The process of writing an image's description can help ensure the image really demonstrates the message you intended for a particular context.

• Answer the question: What is the content or function conveyed by the image in this particular context?

• Write in simple, precise language, and keep the description concise.

• Avoid starting with phrases such as "image of ..." or "graphic of ...“. Assistive technology will announce that it is an image.

• Keep alt-text short:

  • A good guideline is to keep alt-text on images to 125 or less characters.

  • If the image is described elsewhere in the document, indicate that.

  • Longer descriptions (more than about 125 characters) should be included in the body text of your document or as a long description that is linked to.

• Writing alt-text for complex images
  • Images in textbooks, especially Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) images can be complicated.
  • The DIAGRAM Center (a Benetech Initiative) provides image description guidelines and training Links to an external site. on creating long image descriptions for complex images. 

Canvas

• To add, check, or edit an image's description using the Canvas Rich Text Editor:
  • Select the image.
  • Click the "Image Options" pop-up that appears.
  • In the "Image Options" panel, either:
    • enter the image description into the "Alt Text" textbox or,
    • if decorative, check the "Decorative Image" checkbox.
• To find images that need their alt text set:
  
  • The Canvas Rich Content Editor has an Accessibility Checker that help find images that have suspicious or missing alt text. See: How do I use the Accessibility Checker in the Canvas Rich Content Editor Links to an external site.

Google Docs

• Google Docs: Add or edit alt-text Links to an external site.
• Mark an image decorative:
  • Currently Google Docs does not support marking an image as decorative.
  • For decorative images, simply leave the "Title" and "Description" Alt Text fields blank
• To find images that need their alt text set:
  
  • Google Docs does not have a built-in accessibility checker. 
  • To verify image descriptions you will need to right click and select "Alt text" on each image individually.

Microsoft Office - Word, PowerPoint, etc.:

• Microsoft Office: Add or edit alt-text Links to an external site.
• To find missing alternative text, use the Accessibility Checker Links to an external site..
• Microsoft Word: Improve accessibility with alt-text (video)  (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site.

Helping with visual and physical impairments

Screen-reading software can collect all of the links on a web page or from a document and present the list to non-visual users so they can hear the list of links and use them to navigate just as quickly as sighted users can.

Similarly, such lists can minimize the movements users with physical impairments need make to find links and use them to navigate.

When link texts are not descriptive, the list of links will not make sense out of context and such tools become useless:

Helping Everyone:

Consider the following text; wouldn't use feel more comfortable with or motivated to click the links if you all these links go?

• Click here for more info about link text.
• Read more about link text.
• Read about link texts at: http://go.iu.edu/Adfe Links to an external site.

Consider the following text; if you come back to it in a semester, are you going to remember where all these links go?

• Click here for more info about link text.
• Read more about link text.
• Read about link texts at: http://go.iu.edu/Adfe Links to an external site.

Quickly Change Format of an Entire Document's Headings

You can quickly update the style of every heading of a particular heading level (style) in a Microsoft Word and Google Doc document at once both saving time and helping to provide a consistent look and feel. See:

• Microsoft Word: Modifying a Style's (including built-in headings) Format  (Links to an external site.)
• Google Docs: See "Use a custom test style" on Add a title, heading, or table of contents in a document  (Links to an external site.)

Automate Creating a Table of Contents

If headings and their subheadings are used correctly, they can be used to automatically generate and maintain a table of contents in Word and Google Docs. See:

• Microsoft Word: Insert a Table of Contents  (Links to an external site.)
• Google Docs: Insert a Table of Contents  (Links to an external site.)

• Skim through the entire document or web page to get a sense of all the links. Does each unique link's text make sense and unambiguously describe the destination?
• Does the link text include the title of the destination page?
• If linking to a document, include the document type in the link text (.pdf, .txt, .csv, etc.)

Canvas

• Canvas: How to create links to course content Links to an external site.
• Canvas: How to create links to external content Links to an external site.

Google Docs

• Google Docs: Work with links Links to an external site.

Microsoft Office

• Microsoft Office: Add hyperlink text Links to an external site.

Helping with visual impairments

Many people have some form of color blindness and people with low-vision need high-contrast for ease of reading.

Helping Readers on Mobile Devices

Mobile devices are often used outside where bright sunlight can wash out a device's display. Higher contrast text and design features will be easier to read in these situations.

• Use document themes, document templates, style sheets, etc. that have color combinations that have been tested for accessibility.
• Use color contrast checkers to test color combinations you are not sure about 
  • PC and Mac OS: The Colour Contrast Analyzer (CCA) from TPGI Links to an external site.
  • Online: WebAIM Contrast Checker Links to an external site.
• Do not use color as the sole means of indicating information.
  
  • In the block of text below, only a change of color is being used to indicate vocabulary words. Who would not be able to find the vocabulary words?
    

    Each element contains a different number of protons and neutrons, giving it its own atomic number and mass number. The atomic number of an element is equal to the number of protons that element contains. The mass number is the number of protons plus the number of neutrons of that element. Therefore, it is possible to determine the number of neutrons by subtracting the atomic number from the mass number.

Helping with visual and physical impairments

Screen-reading software used by individuals with visual impairments will announce when it encounters a list. It will describe how many items are in the list and provide features for easily navigating to each list item or for skipping the list entirely.

Similarly, tools for users that have physical impairments can help them quickly navigate list items and skip past long lists.

Helping Everyone: How lists support reading comprehension and persistence

A “wall of text” in a document can discourage reading. Instead, present concepts as lists where possible. Use lists to:

• Present key terms and concepts
• Organize information into meaningful chunks
• Convey sequencing necessary for processes and procedures
• Provide links to additional information

Document editing programs provide built-in lists tools that 

• Allow for quickly creating well formatted list items with bullet symbols and attractive indentation. They eliminate the tedious wrangling with the tab key and space bar to create the appearance of a list.
• Will automatically maintain the numbering or lettering of ordered lists for you as you add, delete, or move list items around.

• Do use built-in list creation tools to create real document structure.
  
• Don’t fake the appearance of lists using dashes, minus signs, asterisks, etc. as screen-reading software and other text to speech programs will often ignore reading punctuation symbols.

Canvas

• Canvas: Making Lists Accessible Links to an external site.

Google Docs

• Google Docs: Add numbered or bulleted lists Links to an external site.

Microsoft Office

• Microsoft Office: Create accessible lists Links to an external site.

Helping with visual impairments

Tables can contain many rows and columns of data. Sighted users can easily perceive the columns and rows and can quickly find the headers associated with each number or data in the table.

However, if data from a large table was simply read aloud from top to bottom, left to right - an individual with visual impairment could easily get confused as to which value is in which column, struggle to remember the order of column headers, have difficulty knowing when a new row is started, etc.

When built-in table formatting tools are used correctly, then screen-reading software provides features that help non-visual users understand tables by listening as well as help them navigate large tables with confidence.

Helping Everyone: How built-in table tools help readability

The built-in table tools provide consistent and neat layout making it easier to detect rows and columns visually. They may also have many built in table styling tools that can alternate background colors of columns and/or rows to make it easier to follow a row or column. 

Using built-in table tools helps to:

• Speed the creation of tables by eliminating the need to wrangle with countless repeated tab and space characters.
• They make it easy to create tables that are professional in appearance.
• They speed editing of tables by providing controls for quickly inserting or deleting rows and columns along the entire table.

• Only use built-in table tools for conveying relationships between rows and/or columns of data.
• Don't use the built-in table tools for layout purposes as the table markup will often be read aloud by screen-reading software and may confuse listeners with all the extra information.
• Keep the table layout as simple as possible. A simple table structure means:
  • There is a maximum of one row of column headers and at most one column of row headers.
  • There are no merged cells (cells that span multiple columns and/or rows).
• Include meaningful column and/or row headers to describe the data.
• Provide a caption or alternative text that helps describe each table's content.

Canvas

• Canvas: How to insert a table Links to an external site.
• To learn more about creating tables with HTML, see: W3C's Tables Concepts Tutorial Links to an external site.

Google Docs

• It's not currently possible to create accessible tables in Google Docs. It does not provide tools for marking row or column headers. If you need a data table in a document, consider creating the document in a platform other than Google Docs.

Microsoft Word

• Microsoft Word: Creating accessible tables Links to an external site.
• Microsoft Word: Create accessible tables (video) Links to an external site.

Helping with hearing impairments

Captions provide access to a video's audio content to the deaf and hard of hearing. Captions include the spoken content, non-dialog content like sound effects, and speaker information. 

Helping Everyone: How captions support video engagement and persistence

• Captions allow viewing videos in locations where the audio cannot be heard or would disturb others - such as while riding on a bus, in a room with a sleeping baby, etc.
• Sight reading captions can make it easier to understand videos that are being viewed at a higher playback speed.
• Accurate captions make increase the comprehension for non-native speakers, ESL students, etc.

Helping Readers on Mobile Devices

Mobile devices are often used in environments that are noisy or where playing audio out loud is in appropriate.

Captions can help you find content

• Media systems (like Kaltura's mediaspace) can search for videos by searching video caption or transcript content.
• Some video players have interactive transcript features which allow quick navigation of the video by the spoken content.

• Do not rely on automatically generated captions for accommodating individuals with hearing impairment
• Consider getting videos that will be used across multiple semesters professionally captioned
• Getting videos professionally captioned can take time. Consider captioning and transcribing the first three weeks of assigned video and audio to prevent a hearing-impaired student from missing out on the content if they enroll at the last minute.

• See: Request captions suitable for the deaf or hard of hearing Links to an external site.