Creating Accessible PowerPoint Slides Michigan Colleges Online Webinar Professor Garry Brand, J.D.

Topics Creating Accessible Files Outline and Notes Panel Accessibility Checker Converting File to Other Formats Resources

Creating Accessible Files Templates/Themes Color and Text Reading Order Hyperlinks and ScreenTips Images Tables (Alt Text, Column Headers, Reading Order)

Templates/Themes Standard (comes “in the box”) Optimized (Sampler and Search) Custom (Guide) Built-in Slide Designs PowerPoint contains built-in slide layouts that you can apply to any slide. When you use them with a new slide, these layouts automatically make sure that the reading order works for everyone.

Color and Text Color Text can’t be only means of conveying information. use sufficient contrast for text and background colors. Text use unique slide titles for headings, add bold or use larger font. use bulleted and ordered lists use larger font (18pt or larger), sans serif, white space. avoid all caps, excessive italics or underlines.  Blind/low vision/colorblind might miss meaning conveyed by colors (e.g. underline color-coded hyperlink so people who are colorblind know text is linked).

Reading Order No Screen Reader - read text/picture in order elements appear on the slide. Screen Reader - reads elements in order added to slide (might be very different from order they appear).  To make sure everyone reads the contents in the order you intend, it's important to check the reading order.

Hyperlinks and ScreenTips Screen readers sometimes scan a list of links. Links should convey clear and accurate information about the destination. For example, instead of linking to the text Click here, include the full title of the destination page. Tip: You can also add ScreenTips that appear when your cursor hovers over text or images that include a hyperlink.

Images Alt Text Text in Images Pictures Smart Art Shapes Charts Should not be sole method of conveying information. If you must use image with text in it, repeat text in document. In the alt text, briefly describe the image and mention the existence of the text and its intent. Make sure any video is closed-captioned!

Tables Alt Text Reading Order Use Table Headers Simple Table Structure Class Group A Group B Class 1 82 85 Class 2 76 88 Class 3 84 90 Alt Text Reading Order Use Table Headers Simple Table Structure No split cells, merged cells, nested tables, or completely blank rows or columns!

Outline and Notes Panel Ensure all text appears here. Compose here and move to slide view to add images/design. Notes For information that will not appear on slides. Can be used for handouts. Outline - Students with visual disabilities may prefer. Ensure content is logically sequenced, slide titles are unique/meaningful, and reading order is appropriate. Notes – Not for alt text or accessed by a screen reader.

Accessibility Checker Mac Review, Check Accessibility PC File, Inspect Presentation, Check Accessibility Inspection Results Errors Tips Why Fix? Steps to Fix Expand errors and click on them to jump to error and fix it.

Converting Files to Other Formats PDF Smaller file size. Distractions removed. Word Handout HTML Not best format for the web.

Resources WebAIM Article Microsoft Article Portland Community College

Questions/Feedback Garry Brand, gbrand@grcc.edu Ronda Edwards, redwards@mccvlc.org