The document provides an overview of an accessibility webinar that discusses how to create accessible learning content. The webinar objectives are to learn and share knowledge about accessibility best practices, understand how digital accessibility affects user interactions with libraries, and provide an opportunity to discuss tips for creating accessible materials quickly. The webinar covers why accessibility matters, universal design for learning principles, specific accessibility best practices like alternative text, captions and transcripts, and tools and resources for creating and checking accessibility.

1. Accessibility Tips: How to create
accessible learning content
TRAILS Webinar
September 2020

2. Jacqueline L. Frank
Instruction & Accessibility Librarian
jacqueline.frank@montana.edu
Your Presenter

3. Objectives
• Learn & share knowledge on accessibility best practices for creating
learning content
• Understand how digital accessibility affects the ways users interact with
libraries
• Provide opportunity to converse, share tips, advice, and information on
how to get started creating accessible materials quickly.

4. Outline
• Why Accessibility Matters
• Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
• Accessibility Best Practices
• Examples of how to use them in Word
• Accessibility checker for Word & Adobe Pro
• Tools & Resources
• Accessibility checkers
• Instructions by document type
• Montana Talking Book Library

5. Why Accessibility
Matters
How digital accessibility affects
the way users interact libraries.Poll question!

6. 19%
Undergraduates
with a disability
(NCES)
100%
Will experience a
disability in life.
(Access Lab)
26%
People with a
disability
(CDC)
Why Accessibility Matters

7. Why Accessibility Matters, cont.
(Microsoft Inclusive Design Toolkit) (Access Lab)

8. Access as Student Success
• Student success hinges on access
• Without access, students will not fully succeed.
• As instructors, we strive to support student success,
not hinder it.

9. Accessibility for All: Everyone Benefits
• Automatic door openers
• Closed Captioning
• Noisy environments
• ESL learners
• Help follow along in lecture
• Multiple Instruction Formats
• Watch, Listen, or Read transcript for a recorded lectures or video
• I like to listen to webinars while taking my dog for a walk.

10. Universal Design for
Learning
(UDL)Group Discussion: Who can offer a brief
description of UDL, and how you think it
differs or relate to accessibility?

11. Accessibility Vs. UDL
• What’s the Difference?
• Accessibility has historically been about offering a
[hopefully equal] alternative
• UDL is about designing the experience to eliminate
any barriers so an alternative is not needed

12. Accessibility Vs. UDL: Shared Goal
• Design content in a way that users can access it
easily, in the way they need to

13. Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
• “A framework to improve and optimize teaching
and learning for all people.” –CAST
• Eliminates barriers from beginning
• Recognizes various learning styles
• Offers options for students that fit their learning
styles and preferences, including using assistive
technologies
(CAST UDL Framework)

14. Accessibility & UDL
Best Practices
& Tips!
Poll question!

15. Accessibility & UDL Best Practices, cont.
Accessibility: WCAG 2.0
• Alt-text for images
• Descriptive, underlined links
• Heading styles
• High color contrast
• Captions and Transcripts
• Clear, concise, language
• Avoid or explain jargon
• Spell out acronyms
• Avoid abbreviations
• Compatibility with assistive
technologies
UDL Guidelines (CAST)
Engagement*
• Involve learners in goal setting
Representation*
• Offer alternatives for audio/visual: captions
& transcripts
• Promote understanding across languages:
avoid jargon, acronyms, & abbreviations
Action & Expression*
• Optimize access to assistive technologies:
Keyboard use, Headers, etc.
*not a complete list; for a full list, see (WCAG 2.0 Checklist by WebAim) or (CAST UDL Framework)
Group Discussion &
Poll question!

16. Alternative Text (Alt-Text)
• Written description of an
image
• Read by screen readers
in place of images
• Displayed if an image
file doesn’t load properly
• Displayed when the user
has chosen not to view
images

17. Descriptive Hyperlink Text
• Tell the user where the
link is going to take
them
• Avoid pasting the full
URL
• Avoid using click here as
a link
• Let the link be the title
of the content itself

18. Descriptive Hyperlink Text
• Formatting tool
• Used to separate
sections of a document
• Help all users and
screen readers navigate
content
• Apply in outline format

19. Captions
• Benefit people with hearing
impairments or without
access to audio.
• English as a second
language
• Noisy, or quiet environments
• Generate automatic captions
for videos using TechSmith
• Live captions in Powerpoint
365!

20. Transcripts
• Benefit people with vision impairments without access to video
• Separate written document of the audio
• Do not have to be verbatim accounts of the spoken word in a video
• Can be written before hand
• Searchable

21. Print Best Practices
• Use non-serif fonts (e.g. Helvetica, Veranda, Arial).
• Contrast font color with background color (e.g. black text, white
background).
• Use 1.5–2.0 line spacing.
• Optimize white space.
• Do not place text over images.
• Posters
• Font Size: Title: 72 point, Section Title: 46–56 point, Block Text: 24–36 point
• Ensure adequate resolution of graphics (visible from 6 feet when printed).
• Provide online copy.
(solopress.com, asha.org, Gilson & Kitchin, 2007)

22. Word Accessibility Checker
• Check your Word
documents for accessibility
using the built-in Word
accessibility checker.

23. Adobe Pro Accessibility Checker
• Check your PDFs for
accessibility using the
built-in Adobe Acrobat Pro
Accessibility Checker.

24. Tips
• Think about accessibility from the start –it’s much
easier than trying to go back and make something
accessible later on
• Use the accessibility checkers in Word & Adobe Pro
• Create templates for yourself
• When recording video, speak loud & clear which will
help with generating captions
• Write transcript before a webinar, video, etc.
• Others?
Group Discussion

25. Tools & Resources

26. Content
Accessibility & Instruction
Online Guide
• Accessibility Best
Practices & Resources
• Instructions & Tutorials
for creating accessible
documents
• Accessibility Checkers,
including color contrast
MT Talking Book
Library
• Residents unable to use
standard print materials due
to visual, physical, and/or
reading disabilities can
request
• Braille or high quality audio
books and magazines
recorded by trained narrators
Funkify
• Disability
simulator for
the web
Closing Poll question!

27. UDL Slides Check
 Minimum 24 sans serif font
 Use of bullets/numbers for lists
 Correct reading order
 Sufficient color contrast
 Plain language
 Alt-text for images
 Descriptive links

28. Final Poll Review &
Questions?