Notes
Accessibility Basics: Writing for Accessibility in Online Learning Environments
Erin Kathleen Bahl, Stephen Bartlett, Mary Margaret Cornwell, Laura Howard, and Jason Rodenbeck (Kennesaw State University)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Accessibility vs Accommodation
Chapter 1: Accessibility Basics
Chapter 2: Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
Accessibility Basics in PowerPoint
Chapter 3: Writing Accessible HTML
What Tools Can I Use to Make PDFs?
Adobe Acrobat and Acrobet Professional
Other PDF Editors and Free Editors
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The co-authors gratefully acknowledge the support of an Affordable Learning Georgia Continuous Improvement Grant to develop this resource, as well as the support of KSU’s Division for Diverse and Inclusive Excellence in developing early tutorial versions. Many thanks to KSU’s English department chair, Dr. John Havard, and graduate research assistant, Ms. Tyra Douyon, for their support in preparing this proposal. We are especially grateful to our KSU colleagues who graciously provided feedback on an early draft, including members of the Presidential Commission for Disability Strategies and Resources and accessibility assistants in the English department and Office of Digital Education. Most of all, we want to thank the many students, colleagues, and other members of the disability community who continue to share their time and expertise in educating us about improving accessible writing practices.
AUTHOR BIOS
- Erin Kathleen Bahl is an Associate Professor of English (Applied and Professional Writing) at Kennesaw State University. Her work explores the possibilities digital technologies offer for creating knowledge and telling stories. She is managing editor for Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, and was a 2021-2022 KSU Diversity Faculty Fellow for Disability Strategies and Resources.
- Stephen Bartlett is a Senior Lecturer of History at Kennesaw State University. As Associate Director of the Office of Digital Education in the Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences, he spent many years educating faculty and student assistants on accessibility in web, document, and presentation design.
- Mary Margaret Cornwell has worked in various roles at libraries, archives, and museums over the past ten years, most recently serving as the Research Consultation Coordinator at Kennesaw State University. Her mother, Anne Cornwell, a Special Education teacher, instilled in her the importance of creating an inclusive space for all. Mary Margaret enjoys traveling, baking, and spending time with her golden retriever, Milledge. She is currently the Media Specialist at her hometown elementary school.
- Laura Howard is a Senior Lecturer in English at Kennesaw State University. She teaches writing studies courses and serves as Technology Coordinator and Teaching Assistant Coordinator for the English department. Her teaching and service are linked by her passion for developing accessible and meaningful learning experiences aimed at academic, personal, and professional growth.
- Jason Rodenbeck is the Assistant Director of Academic Web Accessibility in Digital Learning Innovations, a unit of the office of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment at Kennesaw State University. He currently also chairs the Disability Access Coalition (DAC, formerly the Presidential Commission on Disability Strategies and Resources).
INTRODUCTION
The accessibility of materials used in e-learning environments has been a subject of growing concern over the past decade, especially with the significant turn to online education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This resource is designed to guide those new to the topic of accessibility and accessible design. While the various topics contained within are searchable on the web, this text strives to pull together disparate design resources for ensuring accessibility of content intended for electronic dissemination. In short, this is a basic “How-To” guide for making your media and documents accessible in e-learning environments and across the larger world wide web.
Accessibility vs Accommodation
What is “Accessibility”? Accessibility refers to the degree to which visual and auditory information can be used by as many people as possible through conscientious design and/or assistive technology. Its origin goes back to the very official (and boring) sounding “Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.” This law says federal agencies must use information and communication technology that can be immediately accessed by all individuals. For example, all videos made by the government must have closed captioning.
Most people confuse accessibility with the legal right to accommodate individuals with a diagnosed disability, as established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed in 1990. This is understandable because the two terms—accessibility and accommodation—are closely related and have been used interchangeably by businesses, academic institutions, and governmental agencies. The ADA protects people from discrimination based on disability by requiring accommodations be made to provide equal opportunities for all people to enjoy public spaces and services. In places of education, ADA accommodations may take many forms such as interpreters for those with hearing disabilities, specially printed texts for those with visual disabilities, and an array of time and environmental provisions for those with cognitive disabilities.
And then came the world wide web! While the internet post-dates the ADA, the Department of Justice and various courts of law have determined the web is a public space that falls under the “places of public accommodation” in the ADA. This means that effectively the two laws have merged. Any company or organization that puts information on publicly accessed websites must make these websites accessible.
You are probably saying to yourself, “I still don’t know the difference between accommodation and accessibility.” Quite simply, the difference is time. Let’s forget this legal language and use a practical example you are familiar with—curb ramps. Say there is a person using a wheelchair who needs to cross the street. Upon reaching the curb, they find there is no way to get up or down. They must find another route or workaround, or petition for a curb cut.
Figure 0.1: An empty wheelchair at an inaccessible curb.
Attribution: Bart Everson
Source: Flickr
License: CC BY 2.0
Now imagine how long it would take for city officials to draw up plans and secure approvals to accommodate the needs of this individual. (See this example of the lengthy process of submitting a curb cut application in Cambridge, Massachusetts.) Then there is more delay while the curb is cut and a new ramp is installed. Meanwhile, the person using the wheelchair has long gone on their way. The time it took to resolve the problem was as much a factor in limiting access as the physical barrier itself. To avoid such situations, curb cuts and ramps are regularly included when curbs are constructed in anticipation of individuals needing the ramp. Because the resulting access is immediate, there is no need to wait for accommodation. In short, accommodation is when we change our structures and resources after we find someone is unable to use them, while accessibility means building with the needs of others already in mind.
Likewise, individuals with visual or auditory disabilities should not have to wait around for documents or media to be accommodated so they can access the materials. They should be able to access the knowledge immediately, just as non-disabled individuals do. A recent court decision supports this idea. In 2021, the 9th Circuit Court upheld a lower court ruling in the case of Payan v. Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). In this case, a student claimed the college had discriminated against him by not providing access to comparable materials in a timely manner. The college argued that it did not discriminate because the alleged discrimination was unintentional. And that is the point of the ADA: it requires us to design with accessibility in mind, so that “unintentional discrimination” does not occur. More importantly, the court decision closed an often-used loophole by defining timely manner as “prior to or at the same time [non-disabled] students are provided access to those . . . resources, including outside of the classroom” (US District Court Permanent Injunction and Final Judgement on Payan, Mason, and NFB vs LACCD p. 2). In other words, the time gap between accommodation and accessibility has been closed regarding education.
What does all this mean for you? Well, it means you should expect all class content, including digital content, to be immediately accessible to you when offered to the class. It also means that when you create documents or media that will be viewed by classmates, you should design with accessibility needs in mind so that classmates with disabilities are not discriminated against unintentionally.
As a conscientious student, you might have looked around your classroom and noticed there are no classmates with observable disabilities. You might assume there is no need to worry about accessibility then, right? Physical and neurological disabilities exist on a degree spectrum and in different varieties, many of which are not visible or immediately recognizable. In most cases, individuals do not self-disclose disabilities for one reason or another. Take, for example, color blindness, which impacts about 8% of all men; however, for societal reasons, men rarely self-identify as having color blindness. Figure 0.2 illustrates one example of how color blindness may affect the way audiences perceive images through two versions of a photographed pair of shoes. The shoes in the left photograph are turquoise with dark purple shoelaces, while the shoes in the right photograph appear light grey with dark grey shoelaces.
Figure 0.2: One possible variation in image perception due to color blindness.
Attribution: Justin Morgan
Source: Flickr
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
If you are creating a document, PowerPoint, poster, etc. that uses color to communicate information, it may not be as clear to everyone as you hoped. In the case of neurodiverse individuals, many find accessible design and adaptive technology to be extremely helpful in their learning. Both groups are significantly less likely to self-identify out of fear of stigmatization and, therefore, benefit more from accessible design than accommodation.
Let’s not forget there are many more non-disabled people who are taking advantage of accessible design than those with disabilities. Think back to the curb ramp example. Think about all those without a physical disability who benefit from those ramps, including people with carts, baby carriages, skates, bicycles, etc. The same is true for accessibly designed digital content.
Figure 0.3: Child watching television with captions.
Attribution: User “oddharmonic”
Source: Flickr
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
A 2016 Oregon State University study found that 75% of students used captions and 85% saw transcripts as a learning tool despite only 13% identifying with a hearing disability. Why are students using these accessibility features at such a high rate? According to the report, “more than half of students surveyed said captions help by improving comprehension. The most common reasons students use captions are to help them focus, retain information, and overcome poor audio quality of the videos, while transcripts are often used as study guides and to find and retain information” (Doherty). What started out as an accessibility necessity for a few has become a cognitive tool for the masses.
In other words, accessible design can benefit all people.
Now that you know why making accessible content is so important, it is time to learn how to do it. Thankfully, modern technology is coming to our aid with increasingly effective software. The development of artificial intelligence is making it easier for content creators to design with accessibility in mind. Auto captioning and transcription programs have reduced processing times dramatically. Document checker tools built into software like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint can alert you to most accessibility issues. Even notoriously difficult content such as PDFs can be rendered accessible quickly with new third-party software programs. After an introduction to accessibility basics across platforms, this resource is divided into three main topic areas of content creation. The first looks at accessibility features in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint products and best practices like descriptive links and heading structure. The second topic covered is web writing with an emphasis on HTML. Finally, we tackle PDFs by looking at “tagging” and Optical Character Recognition (OCR).
As you progress through this resource, remember that creating accessible digital content does not have to be difficult, especially if you keep a few basic design principles in mind. And as technology continues to make inclusive participation in educational opportunities easier for people with all levels of ability, you will find accessible design becoming as second nature as tagging your friends on social media.
A note on language choices: In this resource, we follow guidelines recommended by the Center for Disability Rights’ “Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines.” As the guidelines highlight,
Always ask a disabled person how they wish to identify, and respect that. If you find the term problematic, you can always say this is how the person self-identifies in your article, video, or other pieces of media . . . It is up to each individual to determine how they wish to identify, and that should be respected. Please make sure you know and respect the preferences of those you feature in your work. (Center for Disability Rights)
We acknowledge that disabled individuals and disability communities have their own preferred language reflecting disability identities, which continues to evolve, and we encourage the use of preferred language situated in the lived experiences of disabled individuals and communities, particularly in classroom contexts.
References
Center for Disability Rights (n.d.). Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://cdrnys.org/disability-writing-journalism-guidelines/
Doherty, H. (2016, October 31). Students say closed captions, transcripts aid learning, Oregon State study finds. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/news/2016/closed-captions/
US District Court Permanent Injunction and Final Judgement on Payan, Mason, and NFB vs LACCD, Case No. 2:17-cv-01697-SVW-SK (Central District of California 2019), 2.
CHAPTER 1: ACCESSIBILITY BASICS
Introduction
Many people rely on assistive technology to access online course materials—maybe it’s you, or a classmate, or even your instructor. When these materials are created using accessibility best practices, you receive the same information as others who do not rely on assistive technology. When these materials are created without an awareness of accessibility best practices, you miss essential information those around you can access. This is unfair: why should you (or your child or your classmate or your colleague) be excluded? You should not be excluded; everyone should do their part to make online documents as easy as possible to access by the widest range of diverse users. Working to raise awareness about the relative ease and efficiency of accessibility best practices is an important way we commit to upholding diversity, equity, and inclusion in our personal, academic, civic, and professional lives.
When we adhere to accessibility best practices, we anticipate a broad range of audience access needs in the ways we write and design:
- We add detailed, text-based descriptions to pictures and visual images, which is as simple as right-clicking the imaging and inserting alternative text for users who cannot see. Instead of pasting lengthy URLs into text, we right click a word or series of words that describe the linked material and insert the URL when prompted, creating a descriptive hyperlink.
- We avoid ascribing meaning to color since not everyone can see color. Instead, we rely on text formatting features like bold, italics, and underline, which are compatible with assistive technology.
- We choose highly contrasting colors for document design (such as white and black, navy and white, black and yellow, etc.).
- We use larger font sizes (at least 18 point font for PowerPoints, for example) and avoid serif fonts (fonts that include small extra strokes at the end of longer strokes, such as Times New Roman) that are ornate or otherwise hard to see.
- We caption our videos and make simple, straightforward charts and graphs that also include alternate text.
The following terms, addressed at various times in this resource, are often missed by the artificial intelligence of accessibility checkers. It is important to keep these items in mind when making content accessible.
Heading Structure
Heading structure makes a document easier to navigate by labeling major sections and subsections (like a navigation menu on a website). Heading structure is not required of all documents and, technically, assistive technology can function without them. So, what is their purpose and when are they needed? Headings function as an outline to your document or webpage. They are usually created by designating subtitles or titles of divided texts as a certain heading level (Title Heading, Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.). Headings are commonly used for longer texts or documents with several sub-headings. By creating headings in an outline format, individuals using screen readers can jump from heading to heading just as a sighted readers would jump to certain sections of a document. Without the headings, those using a screen reader would have to listen to the entire document again to find the desired section. Would you listen to five pages of texts again just to find out a certain piece of information?
Figure 1.1: Headings as seen in the “Navigation” pane in Microsoft Word.
Attribution: Stephen Bartlett
Source: Original Work
License: CC BY 4.0
Alternative Text (Alt Text)
Alternative Text, or Alt Text as it is more commonly referred to, was initially a brief description of an image on a website that would appear when an image failed to load. However, with the advancement of technology and the creation of screen readers, image description became vital for persons with visual disabilities. This alt text helps screen readers describe images to blind or low vision readers/users. In most cases, you can add alt text to an image by right-clicking (or control-click on a Mac) the image and selecting "Edit Alt Text . . ."
Including alt text is easy but making sure the description is appropriate is often much more difficult. The alt text should contain all information depicted in the image necessary for the reader to understand the image content. At the same time, images not necessary to convey meaning or content should be marked as decorative. Some programs and platforms allow users to select a "Decoration" box. The goal is to simplify the screen reader material to only that which is critical for understanding the content. Maps and infographics are some of the most difficult images for which to create alt texts. For example, let’s look at the following map:
Figure 1.2: Map depicting Georgia’s “Fall Line.”
Attribution: Stephen Bartlett
Source: Original Work
License: CC BY 4.0
This map represents what is called the “Fall Line” (the prehistoric Atlantic shoreline and a contemporary geological feature dividing the Piedmont and Coastal regions) in the state of Georgia. What would be a good alt text for this image? “Map,” “Map of Georgia,” “Map of Fall Line,” “Map of Fall Line in Georgia” are all alternative texts that do not describe the map adequately. A better description would be, “an outline map of Georgia depicting the fall line stretching diagonally across roughly the middle of the state with a slight northeasterly curve.”
A good rule of thumb is to keep alt text at less than 125 characters (but still highly descriptive). Please review these image description tutorials for more information about image concepts and using alt text.
OK, time to test yourself! Consider the following example:
Figure 1.3: Hammock on a beach.
Attribution: Dreamstime
Source: User “Goncharov2006”
License: Royalty Free (RF) License
Which of the following is the most appropriate alt text for the above image?
- alt="hammock">
- alt="hammock on a beach">
- alt="A hammock suspended over sand on a beach with clear blue water and lush green mountains in the background.">
The answer is “All of the Above.” Each description could be appropriate depending on the image's context and the message the author is trying to convey by choosing this image. The first choice of “hammock” is likely not the best alt text description, but options two and three could both be appropriate depending on the textual context. For an article on leisure activity, “hammock on a beach” might be most appropriate. For an article on vacationing in Southeast Asia, the last option would be the best.
But wait, there is a fourth option! Remember that the goal is “to simplify the screen reader material to only that which is critical for understanding the content.” While the image may enhance the experience of sighted readers, it could add clutter and confusion for someone using a reader. You should stop and ask yourself, “is a description of the image necessary to understand the content of the text and, would a description of this image enhance, rather than complicate, the experience of someone using a screen reader?” If the answer is no to either question, marking the image as decorative is the most appropriate option.
Image Description
As stated above, alt text is a high-level description that only conveys basic information to the user. On the other hand, image description provides detailed descriptions, including salient features, individuals' identities (race, gender, disability identity, etc.), patterns, colors, and room or location details in the image. Writing image descriptions is time-consuming and can be challenging depending on the image. Due to the amount of detail provided, image descriptions usually are longer than alt text. So, when should you use them? That is entirely up to the author of the text. If the image included is meant to provide essential information, use alt text. If you are using the image to enhance your story, use image description. If you choose to use image description, it is recommended that you keep to the length of a tweet (a max of around 280 characters).
For social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, the image description is more commonly used and can be added in the "Write a caption" section of the posting process. Friendly reminder that hashtags should not be used as the only way of describing your image.
Tables Headings
Tables are some of the most confusing content for users of screen readers. A table constructed without headings for rows or columns is read horizontally without breaks that normally define the cell categories. Using headings in rows and columns allows users to work through the table in a clear cell by cell basis.
Lists
Lists, whether ordered (numbers/letters) or unordered (bulleted), are much more complicated for screen readers than they may appear. While sighted individuals can visually see the columned nature of a list, screen readers read the list as a continuously running horizon. The “list” coding in Microsoft, Adobe, and HTML documents alerts assistive technology to the fact there is a list and to read those items with breaks as individual list items. Without the “list” coding, users of screen readers will have a difficult, if not impossible, time breaking apart the information into understandable content.
Descriptive Links
Back when the internet was still new, documents often included the full URL of any website they referenced. That was in part because documents tended to exist wholly in one state or another and needed the full URL for print-form distribution. With most documents now created, maintained, and distributed electronically, the inclusion of full URL links is not necessary. Even worse is how they sound using a screen reader. Imagine having to listen to the following long URL link read out “https://www.amazon.com/Queens-Age-Chivalry-Englands-Medieval/dp/1101966726#:~:text=Marguerite%20of%20France%2C%20Isabella%20of,and%20presented%20within%20this%20volume.” Now imagine having to listen through several of these links in a single document. Technically, the document is accessible with these URL links because the screen reader can read them, but they are not very user friendly. Instead, you should create hyperlinks tied to the description of the link. The description should also be clear and individualized. For example, you could hyperlink “book of medieval queens” in the sentence “Here is a book of medieval queens of England.” You would not want to hyperlink the word “Here” because the assistive technology can skip between links. Tabbing from “Here” to “Here” to “Here” makes it difficult to know which “Here” link is the desired link upon which to stop. A clear, individualized description is more user friendly.
Captions and Transcripts
Both captions and transcripts help make videos more accessible. Captions run across the screen in time with the audio. Transcripts are presented in text blocks that are read independently of the visual presented. Videos and presentations such as PowerPoints can make use of transcripts as long as the transcript is divided and titled to match each slide. This is allowed because the image is static and someone reading along could do so in time with the slides. Moving images, like movies, require captions because it is difficult to match a transcript to a moving image. Caption all videos and, if available, include an audio description. Instructions for editing computer-generated captions are available on the websites for each individual platform. However, many platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn require users to upload a SubRip (.srt) to edit the captions. All platforms have an auto-caption feature (or add a caption sticker) for their videos. However, these are not editable and are constantly wrong due to a person's accent. Please see specific platforms for their recommendations on captioning.
Practice
Scenario: In the first week of an online course, your instructor gives the class the following prompt to share introductions while practicing online writing and design. Use the tutorials in this resource to create your own post!
In this “Getting Started: Introductions!” discussion forum, upload the following files as a single new post:
- A brief bio of yourself with one first-level header, one bulleted list, and one descriptive link;
- An image of yourself, your pet, or your favorite animal with descriptive alt text;
- A three-second video of you saying hello with captions;
- A one-sentence audio file introducing yourself with a transcript.
References
AccessiblePublishing.ca (n.d.). Guide to Image Descriptions. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://www.accessiblepublishing.ca/a-guide-to-image-description/
Center for Plain Language (n.d.). Five Steps to Plain Language. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://centerforplainlanguage.org/learning-training/five-steps-plain-language/
Digital.gov (2022, December 29). Federal Social Media Accessibility Toolkit Hackpad. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://digital.gov/resources/federal-social-media-accessibility-toolkit-hackpad/
Disability:IN (2022, April 22). Creating Accessible Social Media Content – GAAD Toolkit. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://disabilityin.org/resource/creating-accessible-social-media-content/
DO-IT: Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology (2022, May 23). What are tips for creating accessible social media posts? Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://www.washington.edu/doit/what-are-tips-creating-accessible-social-media-posts
Pennsylvania State University (n.d.). Charts & Accessibility. Pennsylvania State University Accessibility. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://accessibility.psu.edu/images/charts/
Lewis, V. (n.d.). How to Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for Instagram. Perkins School for the Blind. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://www.perkins.org/resource/how-write-alt-text-and-image-descriptions-instagram/#:~:text=An%20image%20description%20gives%20more,image%20descriptions%20provide%20further%20detail
University of Rochester (n.d.). Ensuring accessibility. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://www.rochester.edu/communications/resources/social-media-guide/ensuring-accessibility/
CHAPTER 2: MICROSOFT WORD AND POWERPOINT
Introduction
Microsoft Word (MS Word) and Microsoft PowerPoint (MS PPT) are two of the most often used technologies among college students. Word and PowerPoint are also used frequently in the workplace. MS Word allows users to create simple or sophisticated documents with built-in document design functionality and intelligent features. MS PowerPoint allows users to create dynamic slide decks for presentations with design functionality allowing users to select their design style. Both programs offer the option to embed images, charts, graphs, and other visual elements. Users have many options for formatting, colors, and text features. The ubiquitous mainstream use of these accessibility channels demands an awareness of accessibility features and best practices. Moreover, this is knowledge you can apply and share with others to support inclusivity and create a culture of accessibility.
As discussed, accessibility is an important consideration for students like you and for professionals who use MS Word and MS PPT. According to MS Word Customer Support, “Word has many features built-in that help people with different abilities to read and author documents” (Microsoft). You may notice the “accessibility check” features already included in the programs; however, it’s important to remember that an accessibility check by a human user is the only way to ensure 100 percent accessibility.
An accessibility check is an operation the user initiates by selecting all or part of a document, clicking the accessibility check icon, and reading the results. Based on the results, users may decide to make changes to improve accessibility. Some people mistakenly believe that a particular accessibility score or color means that a document is accessible. Remember, however, that you can only determine if a document is accessible by reviewing it yourself. The accessibility checker can be helpful by providing resources and suggestions for correcting accessibility issues.
Figure 2.1: MS Word toolbar showing accessibility checker.
Attribution: Corey Parson
Source: Original Work
License: CC BY 4.0
Similarly, MS PPT includes an Accessibility Checker feature: “The Accessibility Checker is a tool that reviews your content and flags accessibility issues it comes across. It explains why each issue might be a potential problem for someone with a disability. The Accessibility Checker also suggests how you can resolve the issues that appear” (LineZero). (See also “Make Your PowerPoint Presentations Accessible.”)
Figure 2.2: MS PPT Accessibility tool.
Attribution: WebAIM
Source: WebAIM
License: © WebAIM. Used with permission in accordance to Terms of Use.
Again, a best practice is not to rely on the checker but to review your PowerPoint presentations for the following accessibility concerns:
- Inaccurate Reading order
- Insufficient Alt text
- Non-Descriptive or vaguely descriptive links
- Use of Color with ascribed meaning
- Low contrast colors
- Untitled slides
- Overly complex graphs or charts
- Small, serif fonts
- Insufficient white space
- Videos that are not captioned
Resources
In addition to resources provided by Microsoft, there are many other online resources that support accessibility best practices in these channels. One particularly useful resource is WAVE, which stands for Web Accessibility Evaluation tool. According to WAVE’s website, “WAVE® is a suite of evaluation tools that helps authors make their web content more accessible to individuals with disabilities. WAVE can identify many accessibility and Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) errors, but also facilitates human evaluation of web content” (WebAIM n.d. -b) WAVE tools include browser extensions that help evaluate whether web content is accessible (though human evaluation is the only way to determine true accessibility) (WebAIM n.d. -a).
Like WAVE, the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative is a web resource dedicated to “strategies, standards, and resources to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities” (W3C Web Accessibility Initiative). Here you will find information on topics such as “Components of Web Accessibility,” “Accessibility Principles,” and “Perspective Videos,” as well as content addressing accessibility, usability, and inclusion more broadly.
Kennesaw State University’s Office of Digital Learning Innovation also boasts many accessibility resources to support equity and inclusion, and these are accessible to students and faculty. Examples include:
- Universal Design for Learning page
- Basic Accessibility Solutions
- Advanced Accessibility Solutions
- Academic Web Accessibility
- Academic Web Accessibility Student Module
Additional resources include:
- Designing Word Documents to be Accessible
- Designing Excel Spreadsheets to be Accessible
- Designing PowerPoint Presentations to be Accessible
- CDC Guide to Communicating With and About People with Disabilities
Accessibility Basics in MS Word
As mentioned above, some of the most common accessibility concerns in MS Word include alt text, descriptive links, heading structure, and reading order. Other important considerations include using the listing and numbers features and using the “styles pane” instead of bold and italics for emphasis. Using the features in Word and the styles pane will embed necessary information into the code of the document, which will tell a screen reader what to read.
Figure 2.3: MS Word Home Toolbar showing Styles Pane.
Attribution: Corey Parson
Source: Original Work
License: CC BY 4.0
Alt Text
To insert alt text in MS Word, follow these steps:
- Right click on the image that needs alt text.
- Select “edit alt text” from the drop-down menu.
- Check box to “mark as decorative” if desired, though best practice is to include alt text for all images.
- Hover over the image to check for alt text.
Note that newer versions of Word offer to generate the alt text for you. Remember that humans are best at generating alt text. If you use this feature, read it with a critical eye and be prepared to edit.
Descriptive Links
When referencing a specific web page, you should include descriptive hyperlinks, not long URLs (or even shortened URLs generated by bit.ly and others). This is because screen readers, for example, will read every character of the URL. Descriptive hyperlinks are much more accessible, and most readers will prefer their seamless integration in the text.
To create a descriptive link, follow these instructions:
- Type a descriptive name for the link. Or you might locate text that references the link you want to include.
- Highlight and right-click on text to link.
- Choose “link” from the drop-down menu.
- Type or paste the URL into the “address” space on the “Insert Hyperlink” menu.
- Click ok.
- Check your link for functionality by clicking on it in the text. If it does not open, repeat steps 1-6.
Heading Structure
Always pay attention to your heading structure in MS Word and make sure you are using the Styles pane to set title, subtitle, header 1, header 2, header 3, etc. Simply bolding text or changing the size does not communicate to non-visual learners that an organization structure has been put into place. To communicate the organization structure to those using assistive technology, you must introduce this into the html code itself, and using the Styles pane in Word is the easiest way to do this.
To set the heading structure, follow these instructions:
- Type the text of the heading (for example, an essay title).
- Highlight the text you want to set as a heading.
- In the Home section of the Toolbar, select the button labeled “Styles Pane.” This will open the Styles pane on the right side of the Word window.
- Select the appropriate heading level (in the case of an essay title, select “title”).
- Change the color, size, and font of the heading if desired.
- Continue repeating these steps for every header and level of organization in your document.
Remember that colors should not denote meaning and that text features such as bold, underline, and italics do not convey the full meaning in the case of document organization structure.
Reading Order
Reading order is particularly important in the case of tables: you must direct assistive technology on what to read in which order. To check for reading order, you can simply place your cursor in the first cell of a table and use the tab key to click through the table. If you notice the cursor going in a different order through the table than you intended, you know changes are necessary.
Example:
Reading Assignment | Homework | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
Moby Dick, chapters 1-3 | 1-page reflection | October 1st |
Moby Dick, chapters 4-6 | 1-page reflection | October 3rd |
Moby Dick, chapters 7-9 | 1-page reflection | October 5th |
Once you know the reading order is as you intended, there are still some steps you must take to ensure accessibility:
- Right click on the table and select “Table Properties” from the dropdown menu.
- Click on the tab that says “rows” and check the box for “repeat as header at the top of each page.”
- Click on the tab for “alt text” and enter alt text that conveys the same meaning as your table. For the table above, I entered: “This table explains our class reading assignments, homework, and due dates. Chapters 1-3 of Moby Dick and a one-page reflection are due on October 1st. Chapters 4-6 and a one-page reflection is due on October 3rd. Chapters 7-10 of Moby Dick and a one-page reflection are due on October 5th.”
- Click “okay” to save changes.
Avoid merging cells in tables to aid in accessibility.
Accessibility Basics in MS PowerPoint
Some of the same accessibility strategies we use in MS Word apply in MS PowerPoint. For example, alt text is inserted the same way in PowerPoint as it is in Word. Tables should also be formatted in the same manner as in Word. If you use a chart, make it as simple as possible and include alt text following the instructions in the previous section. Use the list feature for numbering and bullets. Be sure to use unique titles for each slide. The best practice is to use the slide templates available in PowerPoint to help with reading order.
According to Microsoft Support, follow the instructions below to check the reading order for your PowerPoint.
- Check the reading order of slides.
- With your presentation open, select Review > Check Accessibility.
- Select the Check reading order category in the Warnings section to open the list. When the reading order of the objects on a slide doesn't match one of the common ways objects are spatially ordered, Accessibility Checker lists the slide here.
- Point at a slide number in the list, then select the adjoining drop-down arrow. Select the Verify object order command.
Figure 2.4: Screenshot of Accessibility Checker showing “Check reading order” in MS PPT.
Attribution: Laura Howard
Source: Original Work
License: CC BY 4.0
This opens the Reading Order pane:
Figure 2.5: Reading Order Pane in MS PPT.
Attribution: Laura Howard
Source: Original Work
License: CC BY 4.0
Objects are listed in the order in which the screen reader will read them.. The number next to each object indicates the position in the sequence. Objects without a number will be skipped because they are marked decorative. If the order of the objects is not logical, people using screen readers will have a tough time understanding the slide.
To edit the order of objects:
- Review the objects listed.
- Check that objects are listed in a logical order. If they are not, then move on to step 3.
- Select one or more items in the list. (Use Ctrl+Click to multi-select). Drag the selection upward or downward or click the up arrow (Move Up) or down arrow (Move Down).
Note: Changing the order of objects can affect how the slide looks when there are overlapping objects. If the slide does not look the way you want after changing the order, press Ctrl+Z to undo the change. You may still be able to improve how the slide is read by grouping objects in logical units and removing objects from the reading order by marking them as “decorative.”
From a design perspective, there are additional considerations when creating a PowerPoint to share with your professor, fellow students, or colleagues. One tip is to avoid using colors with low levels of contrast. See the example below:
Figure 2.6: Examples of high and low contrast colors.
Attribution: Corey Parson
Source: Original Work, adapted from Harvard University Digital Accessibility webpage
License: CC BY 4.0
Another tip along these lines is to reconsider design templates and slide transitions that might not be readable for those without vision.
Exercises
Practicing accessibility basics demonstrates your respect for others and your commitment to equality and inclusion. Special activities such as exercises also provide the opportunity to hone those skills and are appropriate for educators, educational developers, and students. Please try the exercises below to practice the strategies discussed in this chapter.
Exercise 1:
Click here to play a matching game based on MS Word and MS PowerPoint accessibility best practices.
Exercise 2:
Choose an image from the internet, social media, or your own personal photo collection. Check for alt text. If there is alt text, rate it on a scale from one to ten, with one being “not helpful at all” and ten being “exceeds expectations for helpfulness.” Next, note any revisions that would make the alt text better or identify and discuss its helpful qualities.
If your image does not have alt text, write alt text for your image using the following prompts:
- Basic alt text:
- Better alt text:
- Best alt text:
(See example in alt text section earlier in chapter).
Discuss the results of your exercise with a partner. What is their reaction to your responses? What have you learned from this activity? How will you apply what you have learned in the future?
References
LineZero (n.d.). How to Use Accessibility and Inclusivity Features in Word & Outlook. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://www.linezero.com/blog/accessibility-inclusivity-features-word-outlook
Microsoft (n.d.). Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/make-your-powerpoint-presentations-accessible-to-people-with-disabilities-6f7772b2-2f33-4bd2-8ca7-dae3b2b3ef25
Microsoft (n.d.). Make your Word documents accessible to people with disabilities. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/make-your-word-documents-accessible-to-people-with-disabilities-d9bf3683-87ac-47ea-b91a-78dcacb3c66d
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (n.d.). Making the Web Accessible. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://www.w3.org/WAI/
WebAIM (n.d. -a). WAVE Help. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://wave.webaim.org/help
WebAIM (n.d. -b). WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://wave.webaim.org
CHAPTER 3: WRITING ACCESSIBLE HTML
Introduction
In this chapter, you’ll learn how to practice academic web accessibility in writing for online environments. Specifically, we’ll focus on writing accessible HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). We’ll also address how this knowledge will help you write accessible posts in your university’s LMS or learning management system. (For our co-author team, that’s currently D2L Brightspace, but your institution may use a different system).
Unless you’re a web designer or comp sci/communications major, writing accessible HTML may seem vastly different from the way you usually write for the web or otherwise use the internet to communicate. And it’s true that you may never need to know how to write a full page in HTML, let alone write the code for an entire website from scratch. However, knowing how to strategically tinker with the markup language on which a page is built can be extremely useful in the following cases:
- when platform formatting constraints get wonky and you need to edit the markup directly,
- when you need to view a page’s source code to double-check your alt text and page structure
- when you just want a deeper understanding of how a digital document works on a technical level, and why it needs to be written in a particular way to be read by screen readers and other assistive technologies.
For more on coding literacy from writing and humanities perspectives, please see Vee (2017) and Marino (2020). Also, we note that this chapter was written when WCAG 2.2 guidelines were in effect. Please see the current WCAG version for the most up-to-date recommendations.
Context
As this overall resource emphasizes, so much contemporary communication takes place online or in digital environments and connects us to people around the world from multiple communities and contexts. It’s important to make online communication accessible from the start, especially since you never know who will visit it. You’re likely already writing for the web in your personal, professional, and academic writing (especially if you’re reading this textbook or taking online courses).
We focus on HTML 5 in this chapter because it’s the foundation of the web and crucial for structuring content in a way that any web browser can present. (For a more comprehensive and hands-on introduction to HTML, check out some of the user-friendly tutorials from W3 Schools and Mozilla Developer’s MDN Web Docs.) Working with HTML is an important professional skill that can open a lot of doors even with introductory knowledge. Knowing how it works can help give you additional critical insight in both creating and consuming web content (especially as a web writer who may be collaborating with a technical team).
A university learning management system, or LMS (such as D2L Brightspace, Blackboard, or Canvas) offers a central space for sharing online educational content, whether for in-person, hybrid, or online classes. It’s important for educational settings, but you’ll likely use other communication/content management tools in professional settings in your future careers.
Regardless of the web environment you’re writing in or how you’re structuring your content, it’s important to know how various devices interact with content at the code level so you know not only what to do to make it accessible, but why and how it works (and how to tweak it if necessary).
Examples
All HTML documents follow the same basic structure:
Figure 3.1: Basic structure of an HTML document.
Attribution: Erin Bahl
Source: Original Work
License: CC BY 4.0
There’s a lot more to add, but this is the main underlying structure for all webpages that lets a web browser know how the document should be read and presented.
PRACTICE: Take a look now at your favorite webpage (or the web version of this resource!) and use your web browser’s “View Source” tool to examine the HTML on which the page is built. (In Chrome, for example, look under “View” --> “Developer --> “View Source.” In Safari, go to “Develop” --> “Show Page Source.”) Can you find the major structure components identified above?
Figure 3.2. HTML source code for the Affordable Learning Georgia homepage.
Attribution: Erin Bahl
Source: Original Work
License: CC BY 4.0
When you work with creating posts via your university’s LMS, you don’t have access to edit the full HTML underlying the page. However, you CAN typically edit the source code for a specific post. (In D2L Brightspace, the button is called “View Source Code” and looks like this: </>)
PRACTICE: Create a new draft post in your LMS and write a sentence or two, then view the source code. What do you notice?
This chapter will give you the tools you need to start filling in an HTML page or post with accessible content.
Resources
There are many tools you can use to write and design HTML documents. For example, simple text tools like TextEdit can be used to write and save plain-text markup, and you can even save Word documents as HTML files (though that can get tricky with trying to manage formatting). You can also edit post source code directly in your university’s LMS, for which your university manages access.
At the time of writing, for more robust software that lets you build full webpages and websites, Atom.io is a great free/open-source option, and Adobe Dreamweaver is an industry standard proprietary option. (WYSIWYG, or “What You See Is What You Get” programs like WordPress and Wix that let you build webpages by directly manipulating images and text rather than source code, also offer options to tinker with the source code.)
There are also plenty of free tools to help you practice. For example, W3 Schools offers “sandbox” tutorials that let you try out a line of source code and see how it looks, and CodePen offers space both to build projects and view other developers’ work as examples. Depending on your preferred web browser, you can also use “View Source Code” and “Inspect Elements” to look under the hood and see for yourself what makes a page “tick.”
Even if you’re not writing a lot of HTML, knowing how to read and edit it can help you review a page for accessibility and make sure nothing is missing or incorrectly formatted. Resources like WebAIM’s Web Accessibility Evaluation (WAVE) tool can help identify errors on any page with a live web address and highlight how to improve a page’s accessibility.
Accessibility Basics in HTML
When it comes to writing accessible online content with HTML, here are a few useful tags to know: [also ordered/unordered lists??]
Headings: <h1>Heading 1</h1>, <h2>Heading 2</h2>, etc.
Marking heading levels will help readers using assistive technologies to navigate the document more easily and find the information they need, especially if they want to skip to a specific section rather than reading from start to finish.
Images: <img src=“filename.png” alt=“description of the image”>
Including alt text with your image makes it possible for a screen reader to read that description aloud. If your image doesn’t load for some reason (which can often happen with university LMS posts), your alt text will also appear as a backup to give some context for the missing content.
Descriptive links: <a href=“http://google.com” alt=“link to search engine”>Google</a>
Using descriptive links makes reading a passage clearer and more coherent for someone using assistive technologies. For example, a screen reader will read every single character of a URL in order, which doesn’t communicate much useful information (and which a sighted reader would typically skim over). Using a descriptive link, however, embeds the link in meaningful contextual information while still ensuring the reader can navigate to the linked source.
Emphasis: <strong>Lorem Ipsum</strong> and <em>Lorem Ipsum</em>
The <b> and <i> tags are usually used to mark text as bold or italic, respectively. That marks the emphasis visually, but it doesn’t carry over to how the text is read aloud. Instead, you can use <strong> and <em> for the screen reader to emphasize the selected content. Then style the content for visual emphasis using cascading style sheets (CSS), a stylesheet language that specifies how web content is presented.
Lists: Ordered for numbered,
<ol>
<li>List item 1</li>
<li>List item 2</li>
</ol>
OR unordered for bullet points,
<ul>
<li>List item 1</li>
<li>List item 2</li>
</ul>
Sequential information needs to be marked as an ordered or unordered list to be recognized as such by assistive technology. Just visually marking the list (whether through hyphens or starting new indented lines) may mean the listed information is communicated in a jumble rather than a sequence distinct from the rest of the text.
Exercises
Here are a few practice exercises to test it out:
- Add a strong emphasis to this sentence.
- Add a light emphasis to this sentence.
- Make this sentence a first-level heading.
- Fill in alt text for this image placeholder tag based on the last photo you posted online: <img src=“filename.png” alt=“_______” >
- Make this URL a descriptive link: https://www.affordablelearninggeorgia.org/
- Write these exercises as both an ordered and unordered list.
- Copy a sample passage of your choice from Wikipedia into another document, then edit it so it includes the following HTML elements:
- A structured heading
- A strong emphasis
- A descriptive link
- An image with alt text
Application
Now you know how to make sure online content is accessible, not just in how it’s presented on the page, but also in how it’s encoded via markup in a webpage’s fundamental design. (This is also an incredibly useful skill from a professional standpoint in expanding your technical knowledge.)
As you move forward, you likely won’t turn straight to the source code for every post you write. However, you can use this knowledge to write accessible online content from the start because you know not just what to include, but also how it works and why it’s important. (You can also use this knowledge to control and fix your formatting in WordPress or your university’s LMS, for example, if it’s formatting strangely and you’re not sure why.)
- View HTML for a page you visit frequently and check out the page structure
- Try using HTML view in university LMS to double-check the underlying structure of your post for accessibility
- Consider what role online content plays in your own professional writing goals, and how you might make accessible web writing part of your ongoing practice
Even knowing how to fix a few lines of HTML can be a great first step into learning how to build and edit websites. We hope you’ll consider exploring how you can craft your own corner of the internet for greater accessibility, from your course content to your own website and beyond.
References
Horton, S. & W. Quesenbery. (2014). A web for everyone: Designing accessible user experiences. Rosenfeld Media.
Marino, M. C. (2020). Critical code studies. The MIT Press.
Vee, A. (2017). Coding literacy: How computer programming is changing writing. The MIT Press.
W3C (2008, December 11). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
CHAPTER 4: PDFs
Introduction
The Portable Document File (PDF) was created by Adobe in 1992 (Adobe). Prior to the emergence of the internet, when the public was just beginning to share documents over computer networks, it wasn’t always the case that a document sent from one computer would look the same or would maintain its structure when opened on another. Adobe’s goal was to create a kind of document file that would be easy to send from one computer to another and would maintain its format integrity when it was opened. It used a special kind of language called “post-script” language and has been an essential file format ever since, although it is arguable that it is a far less necessary format now. You can read more about Adobe, its history, and its features at Adobe’s About Adobe webpage.
Context
Why do People Use PDF?
PDF is still an extremely popular format, especially for sharing on the internet. Aside from the fact that online creators can trust that their document is going to look the way they intended, no matter who opens it, the PDF format has evolved and can do more than it was originally designed to do. It can be used to create forms, include links and interactive footnotes, and have complex navigation structures built in.
Nowadays, PDFs can be easily opened within a browser and can contain metadata (background information that lives in the code of the document) such as the author’s name, the subject, and key words, meaning that the document can be indexed by search engines and be discoverable when you conduct a web search. In this way, a PDF hosted on a server can virtually function as a web page.
Many teachers like to use PDF because they feel the format and content of the document is important and they don’t want it changed. They may use fonts or styles which their students’ computers don’t have (such as characters from a foreign language) and those can be saved as an image on a PDF and be opened by anyone. They may also like the fact that most of their students are not likely to have an expensive PDF editor and are just using a free PDF reader, which means that they can be sure that the content of their document is not easily changed.
Another important reason PDF is such a standard format is that many formerly print-only resources, especially in academic contexts (such as journal articles or papers), have been scanned from hard copies. These are nearly always saved as PDFs. However, these PDFs, especially, have a unique problem. Rather than being recognizable as text, these pages are frequently saved as images of the scanned document in the PDF. While this does not affect sighted readers, those using screen readers or braille readers will not be able to access any of that content without significant changes to the file. For them, it's as if the PDF is a blank page.
Examples
The Problems with PDFs
This brief section will describe two major problems involving PDFs and accessibility.
Scanned PDFs and OCR
When a person converts a Word document or PowerPoint presentation to a PDF, if they do it properly, the text content is labeled as text in the “Content” navigation tool in the navigation pane in Adobe Acrobat. (Please see Kennesaw’s accessibility webpage on using the Adobe PDF Converter.) However, if someone scans a document, the scanned text is an image of text, and Adobe’s Content navigator may not recognize the text or the text’s structure. It may see what it thinks is random text, or it may see the whole page as an image. In either case, the content will not be available to screen readers. The screenshot below will illustrate how the content is readable or not readable in a scanned PDF.
Figure 4.1: The top PDF is a non-scanned PDF. Notice how the text is cleanly labeled in lines. However, on the scanned PDF, the text is not easily recognized or may look like gibberish. Also, the entire page is recognized as an image.
Attribution: Jason Rodenbeck
Source: Original Work
License: CC BY 4.0
The only way to fix this issue is to run an “OCR” scan. OCR means “Optical Character Recognition.” This uses artificial intelligence to create text containers in the content pane for what the computer suspects is text. Depending on the quality of the original scan, the age of the document, and other factors, this may produce mixed results. Older fonts may be mistaken for the wrong letters and fuzzy text may just be translated as gibberish. And, importantly, even after this process is done, that content will still need to be tagged in the tags pane, to identify headings, tables, and other types of content.
Untagged PDFs
From our earlier chapters, you’ll remember that to set some text as headings (H1, H2, etc.) in Microsoft Word, you use the styles pane. In fact, when working with Office products, any extra information added for accessibility, such as alt-text, bulleted or numbered lists, etc., is easily done through the tool ribbons. Microsoft’s user interface makes it easy to “tag” this information without having to understand the higher level codes which computers use to communicate. By “tags” we are referring to structured metadata code that is included in the document file which communicates data about the text to computer applications such as screen readers.
For PDFs, however, the interface to create these tags is not as user friendly. PDFs that are not saved properly may be completely “untagged,” which means that the computer is not sure where there are paragraphs, what text is a heading, a list, or even a table, until the document’s text is tagged manually. Even if the text of the document is easily identifiable (the document does not need to be OCRed), a person using a screen reader will not be able to navigate from heading to heading, or paragraph to paragraph, because the content is not properly “tagged.”
There are several reasons why this can present a problem for PDF users. First, the software necessary to OCR documents and tag them (most often Adobe Acrobat Pro) is expensive, and most people simply don’t have it on their computers unless they work for a company who buys a site license. Second, the process of tagging is very time-consuming and labor-intensive. It can require extensive familiarity with codes that you will use in virtually no other context, so it’s a very niche skill to learn.
What about autotagging? There is an autotagging option available in Adobe Acrobat DC. However, it frequently mistags items and may not be able to recognize page structure. If you don’t understand how tagging is supposed to work, it will be difficult for you to correct any inaccurately tagged content.
Figure 4.: The Tags button in the navigation pane is how you view the "tags tree" or tag structure of a PDF. In this case, you can see the number of tags in just a brief section of a PDF document.
Attribution: Jason Rodenbeck
Source: Original Work
License: CC BY 4.0
Resources
What Tools Can I Use to Make PDFs Accessible?
In our opinion, when it comes to accessibility, the best option with PDFs is to avoid them if possible. If you have the document in another format, leave it in that format! It will be easier to edit for accessibility and easier for the person reading it. In fact, the best format, the one most read by readers using assistive technology, is HTML.
However, there are simply times when you don’t have an option. In that case, you’ll need to find a way to edit for accessibility.
Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Professional
The most obvious option is to go straight to Adobe Acrobat. It is important to remember that the free version of Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Reader, will not help us. To edit documents, you’ll need the professional version. Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Professional. These are available for monthly subscriptions. It is also available with the Adobe Suite of products. It is possible that your college offers students the Adobe suite for free, so you may want to check with your institution’s IT (Information Technology) department to find out if it is available to you. One of the primary benefits of using Adobe is that Adobe created PDF, and as such they have innumerable resources for creating and editing them.
Exercises
If you would like to learn more about how to use Adobe Acrobat to make your PDFs accessible, the Kennesaw State University Digital Learning Innovations department has produced an extensive PDF Accessibility resource that breaks down PDF accessibility into small bites that take you step-by-step through the process of tagging PDFs using Adobe Acrobat Pro. Each step includes a brief video with a practice document.
Figure 4.3: Index of tutorials available at the Kennesaw State University Digital Learning Innovations department’s PDF accessibility resource.
Attribution: Kennesaw State University
Source: Kennesaw State University
License: © Kennesaw State University. Used with permission.
A full breakdown of the resource with links is available here:
- Set Title and Language
- Tag Paragraphs, Headings, and Images
- Create Accessible Tables
- Set Tab Order
- Tag Lists
- Delete Empty Containers
- Check Reading Order
- Break a Large PDF into Smaller PDFs
- Structure and Tag Scanned PDFs
- Create PDFs in Office
- Rotate One or More (or all) Pages
- Use the Adobe Acrobat PDF Converter
- Background Artifacts and Footnotes
- Walking the Tags Tree and Paragraph Continuity
- Create a Bookmark Structure
Other PDF Editors or Free Editors
There are some free PDF editing options available. However, very few of these include the option to tag for accessibility.
There is, however, a resource called PAVE which looks very promising. Pave is a product created by the Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften (ZHAW) School of Engineering. This product does seem to be able to do some basic tagging of documents. A video tutorial is also available on their site.
Application
Because PDF documents present such a unique challenge to accessibility, your best bet is to always use other options first. Ideally, HTML documents are always the easiest to make accessible and the most readable to people who use assistive technology. Office documents, such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, are typically just as easy to remediate and present little difficulty.
However, as we noted above, sometimes PDF is unavoidable. In that case, here are the steps you need to take.
- You’ll need to determine if the document is a scanned document and whether it needs to be OCRed. If so, the OCR process is simple due to using Adobe Acrobat.
- If your document is already OCRed or does not need to be, then you’ll need to find out if it has been tagged. Running the Adobe accessibility check is a good place to start.
- Then, you’ll need to tag all the content, including tables and lists, and ensure the reading order is correct. In fact, there may be many things you’ll need to check!
References
PAVE (n.d.). Four steps to an accessible PDF. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://pave-pdf.org/?lang=en
Adobe (n.d.). Everything you need to know about the PDF. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/about-adobe-pdf.html
Rodenbeck, J. (n.d.). PDF Accessibility Solutions. Kennesaw State University. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://accessibility.kennesaw.edu/advanced_accessibility_solutions/pdf_accessibility_solutions/index.php
FINAL THOUGHTS
There’s a lot to think about when it comes to writing for accessibility, and we know it can be a little overwhelming at first if you’re new to these conversations. It helps to make accessibility an essential part of your writing and designing practices from the start so that it’s already incorporated into your writing practice (like spelling and grammar), rather than something to add on at the end or revise after the project is already finished. Consider checking out what resources are available at your university or workplace to support academic and/or professional web accessibility.
We encourage you to start with small, strategic steps in incorporating accessibility practices into your writing—even a little goes a long way! It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and something we can all work to improve at a little at a time. And in the end, it makes a significant difference in making your digital writing a welcoming, hospitable place for readers to engage your work—in making your writing a place that includes as many readers as possible, with a full range of needs, hopes, goals, and ideas of their own. It’s an ongoing conversation that needs your ideas, suggestions, and skills, and we invite you to jump in!