Accessibility Webinar Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Microsoft Word Documents Word documents should be accessible to most screen readers and electronic braille devices Using a narrative format is preferable to a table Information in Word document tables should be kept simple.

PowerPoint Include narratives which describe pictures and graphics if the pictures/graphics are needed to clarify content. Make the PowerPoint available to participants before it is needed. When referring to the PowerPoint, say the number and the title of the slide.

PowerPoint (cont.) Ensure backgrounds are uncluttered and provide a high contrast with text Do not use colored lettering Recommended fonts include Calibri or Helvetica Do not put too much information on the slides Use symbols (such as *) instead of/or with color coding

Excel Simple Excel spreadsheets should work with a screen reader. Screen readers will not read charts and graphs in an Excel Spreadsheet Do not leave blank rows in the spreadsheet Make Excel charts available ahead of need so individual can review Provide coordinates of where information is located Example: Column C, Row 47

Videos Provide descriptions Give simple descriptions of needed information that clarifies or explains the content Example: The student is reading his paper from a 3 inch working distance. Non Example: The blond teacher in the blue dress is talking to …

Charts and Graphs Information in charts and graphs should be included in the narrative. If a chart or graph is needed, a detailed description should be included as well as a tactual representation. Description of graphics Right click on graphic, select ALT text to add a description

Ask the Audience Member with the Accessibility Need These are general guidelines used to address accessibility. Please consult with the individual in your audience who needs the accommodation to ensure accessibility prior to the event when possible. Example-Send a Word document with a table to staff member to review for accessibility. At this time closed captioning and audio description will not be used unless required by an attendee. Jennifer Bliss (jbliss@iowa-braille.k12.ia.us) would be available to assist if help is needed with adding audio description to video. Registration forms should allow audience members to make their needs known.

Other Resources Creating Nonvisually Accessible Documents https://nfb.org/images/nfb/products.../creating_accessible_documents.docx A Guide to Making Documents Accessible to People who are Blind or Visually Impaired http://www.sabeusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/A-Guide-to-Making-Documents-Accessible-to-People-Who-are-Blind-or-Visually-Impaired.pdf Brief Summary on Creating Accessible Documents for People who are Blind https://brailleworks.com/creating-accessible-documents-brief/ Accessibility Matters www.iowaat.org