1. Help All Students Reach their Potential with Accessible Course Materials
January 12, 2016
Allison Kidd
IT Coordinator & Accessibility Specialist
Assistive Technology Resource Center

2. Assistive Technology Resource Center (ATRC)
Shannon
Ensuring equal access:
1. Direct Services: AT assessment, accommodation, training, equipment loans, and resources
Consultation and Education on campus regarding electronic accessibility, universal design, and ergonomics
Our Mission: Ensuring equal access to technology and electronic information for CSU students and employees with disabilities as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act and Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

3. Students Today Are Diverse
Ethnicity, Culture, Gender
Nontraditional
English Language Learners
Learning / Cognitive Styles
Disabilities

4. Types of Disabilities Apparent Non-Apparent Mobility Impairments
Visual Impairments / Blindness
Hearing Impairments / Deafness
Non-Apparent
Learning Disabilities
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD)
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Mental Illness
People often equate web accessibility with readability by screen readers (used by people with visual impairments) but 2/3rds of the students seeking accommodations follow under non-apparent disabilities.

5. Disabilities in Higher Education
Nationally, 11.3% of undergraduates report some type of disability.1
At Colorado State University2, 8%–11% report a disability.
Non-apparent disabilities are the largest proportion and growing
Even among students who say they have a disability, many do not seek accommodations
1National Center for Education Statistics, 2008; U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2009
2Schelly, Davies & Spooner, Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability (Feb. 2011)

6. Apparent vs non-apparent disabilities

7. Examples of Universal Design
Include accessibility as part of your work flow instead of scrambling to fix issues after the fact
Designing digital content to work for students with disabilities benefits all students
UDL is the same concept for electronic accessibility

8. Equity in an Electronic World
Steadily growing population of students with disabilities
Diverse ways that students access electronic content, including
Course and Instructional Materials (Word documents, PDFs, PowerPoints, videos, podcasts, etc.)
Online course delivery
LMS (Canvas)
Electronic Textbooks or Online Textbook Components
Electronic syllabi, quizzes, exams, homework, discussion boards
Websites
Content Management Systems (WordPress, etc.)
Online Applications, Registration, etc.
Mobile Devices
What types of content do you work with?
It’s going to take all of campus working together

9. What is Electronic Accessibility?
Electronic content (e.g. Word, PPT, PDF, and Web) is accessed using a wide variety of devices and software
Includes Assistive Technology used by students with disabilities, mobile devices, etc.
Content must be designed to interact well with these technologies.
Digital content that works is Accessible
Universal Design – Create with accessibility up front instead of fixing it later

10. Top Tips for Electronic Accessibility
PDFs
Make PDFs Searchable
Add Tags for Document Structure
Check Reading Order
Use Headings & Styles to Create Outline Structure
Canvas / Other Web
Word
PowerPoint
Provide Descriptive Alternate Text for:
Images, Graphs, Charts
Links
Video or Content (Captions)
Add Captions to Video

11. Chris – Non-Apparent Disability
Profile
Undeclared major – Sophomore
Student with a diagnosis of Dyslexia and ADD
Challenges he experiences in accessing coursework
Print books and handouts – unable to read efficiently
Poor quality PDF – small, faint and crowded font is hard to read
Written work – slow; loses train of thought
Difficulty proof-reading his own work; dependent on family members
Note taking – slow and laborious

12. AT Chris Used to Access Coursework
Read and Write Gold – literacy software
See and hear content simultaneously – digital books and content (text to speech)
Manipulate the display (background and highlight color)
Electronic highlighting and annotations
OCR and read PDF
Dragon Naturally Speaking – voice recognition software
Allows him to get ideas on paper using his voice
LiveScribe Pen
Synchronous written and audio notes for capturing lectures

13. Course Solutions for Chris
Giving notes ahead of time – lets him print out content on special Livescribe paper
Handouts in digital formats – lets him use text to speech software
Universally designed PDF – lets him read and create annotations with Read and Write Gold or other text to speech software
Marla - Demo of accessible PDF

14. Making Searchable PDFs (or What is OCR?)
OCR stands for “Optical Character Recognition.”
Software that takes an image, finds the text, and converts it to computer-recognized text.
Creates a document with text that is:
Searchable
Selectable
Text-to-Speech Capable
Text Resizable for Various Screen Sizes
More Usable for Everyone

15. Demo: Image-Only vs. Searchable PDF
Using Read & Write Gold – Popular Literacy Support Software
Search
Highlight, Copy, Paste
Text-to-Speech
Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

16. Creating a Searchable PDF
OCR at the Scanner or Copier
Look for “Searchable PDF” or “OCR” options before saving.
Morgan Library Course Reserves (
Requested articles are OCRd for you and posted online for your entire class.
Click on the “Reserves” tab on the Library Homepage and login as an instructor using your eid.
Edit Existing PDF with Adobe Acrobat Professional
Ask your IT Support about software availability

17. Acrobat Step 1: Text Recognition
Use the Text Recognition Tool to make the PDF Searchable

18. Acrobat Step 2: Add Tags to PDF
Once the document is searchable, add Tags using the Accessibility Tool

19. Acrobat Step 3: Reading Order
Check Reading Order using the TouchUp Reading Order Tool

20. Nate - Apparent Disability
Profile
Student who is legally blind
Computer Science major; Junior
Considered a power user of assistive technologies
Barriers he experiences in accessing coursework
Print textbooks
Print handouts and study guides
PDF’s that are image only
Visual graphics and formulas
Marla – case studies illustrate what is required today and what accessibility can mean and do for a student

21. AT Nate Used to Access Coursework
*Screen reading software
For most documents and web
Braille translation software for embossing
Refreshable Braille
Tactile graphics
Tiger pro graphics with Braille
Daisy book player - Stream

22. Course Solutions for Nate
Course content in digital formats
Allows for access with Braille or screen reading software
Needs lecture content in digital format and ideally ahead of time – allows him to use refreshable Braille or to emboss content
Universally designed course materials
PDF – has to be Searchable with Tags in correct order
Word documents – created with Styles
PPT presentations – descriptions of images, graphs. Reading order
Math Content – needs to be converted into code the computer can read
Web content
Video – descriptive audio
Needs content uploaded into Blackboard to be accessible (Word docs, PowerPoint, PDFs)

23. Demo Accessible vs. Inaccessible Word Doc
Using JAWS, a popular screen reader
Navigate using headings
Listen to images with alt text

24. Use Headings and Styles in Word
Use Headings to Provide Document Structure
Indicate Level of Importance
Don’t Skip Heading Levels
Check Your Table of Contents in the Navigation Pane
Use numbered lists, bullet lists, etc. on the Home Tab
Choose a Style
Save Your Own Style as a Template

25. Headings in Canvas / Web
Format text using the provided styles for headings, lists, and paragraph text
These choices are common in many html editors, including WordPress
Start with the biggest heading available, and don’t skip levels

26. PowerPoint Accessibility
Use Slide Layouts instead of drawing text boxes
Give Every Slide a Unique Title
Generates Table of Contents
Check Your Outline View
Check Reading Order
Home > Arrange > Selection Pane

27. Writing Good Alt Text for Images
Consider Context. Ask yourself…
What is the purpose of this image?
If the image were removed, how would I convey the information using text?
Other Tips…
Avoid redundant descriptions (e.g. “Image of”)
Avoid repeating the text already surrounding the image
Be concise

28. Context is Key
Consider the picture. How would the alt text change if the image is used for…
Ice Cream Manufacturer
Girl Scouts of America
Diversity Website
Source: Jesse Hausler, ATRC & The ACCESS Project

29. Practice Writing Alternate Text
Learning Styles VARK is an identified variety of learning styles: Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic. Many learners identify strongly with one of these styles, and approximately 60% learn best with a combination of styles (Multimodal).
Source: VARK (

30. Adding Alt Text in Canvas
When you insert an image in Canvas, add the text description in the “Alt text” box provided

31. Adding Alt Text in Word and PowerPoint
Right-Click on Image to Format Picture or Format Shape
Click on Layout & Properties in the Sidebar
Expand the Alt Text menu
Add the text in the Description field

32. Use the Accessibility Checker
Microsoft Word and PowerPoint have an accessibility checker built-in
File > Check for Issues > Check Accessibility
Manually check images, since the checker will not realize when the alt text is ‘junk’

33. Converting from Office to PDF
Start with an Accessible Source Document
Using Acrobat Professional Plugin
“Enable Accessibility and Reflow with Tagged Adobe PDF” in Plugin Preferences
Use “Save As PDF” or “Create PDF”
Avoid Printing to Adobe PDF in the Printers List!
Using Microsoft Built-in Converter
“Document structure tags for accessibility” in “Save as” Options

34. Fixing PDFs
Both Scanned and Converted PDFs need to be manually checked for accessibility within Acrobat
Check “Tags” for Correct Reading Order
Images will be out of order on converted PDFs
Images need to have tags and alt text added manually on scanned PDFs
Run the “Make Accessible” Action Wizard (v.XI) or the Accessibility Checker (earlier versions)

35. Add Captions to Videos
Captions benefit many users, including those who:
Have Hearing Impairments
Don’t have speakers / headphones
Are in a quiet workspace
Are in a loud workspace
Are learning English
Have difficulty understanding different accents
Want to search and jump to a specific point in the video
YouTube Auto-Captions – A good start, but make sure you edit for accuracy.
Amara – manually type captions while watching video. Canvas has links to Amara to add a transcript to video.

36. YouTube Auto-Captioning Fails!
Source: Funniest YouTube Captions Fails (CLONED) (

37. Campus Resources and Supports
Services for CSU students and employees with disabilities
Students need to register with Resources for Disabled Students first
ATRC Website (
(970)
ATRC Resources on Universal Design and Accessibility
– Accessibility Specialist
Trainings offered throughout the year (PDI, MTI) and by request
Tips and Guides at Accessibility By Design (
Video Tutorials at Atomic Learning ( (Contact ATRC for an account)
Allison