1. Native Documents vs PDF at MSU
Prepared by DCAT
February 2019
Native Documents vs PDF at MSU

2. Digital Content Provost Memo, February 2019
Guidance (no absolutes)
Digital Content (books, web, documents, e.g., Word)
For Teaching
Student selection of Digital Text Books OK
Faculty selection requires accessibility review
By the Faculty
Cost cannot exceed less accessible equal alternatives
No endorsement implied if in D2L, or other MSU route
Faculty again responsible for accessibility
February 2019
Native Documents vs PDF at MSU

3. Native Documents vs PDF at MSU
Resources
Faculty Accessibility Questions about Digital Content
(see slide 5 for details)
Web Accessibility Policy Liaison
The first line of assistance
MSU Library Office of Copyright
Particularly for Third Party Materials
Accessible PDFs Tutorial
Make It Accessible or Don’t Make a PDF
February 2019
Native Documents vs PDF at MSU

4. MSU Accessibility Review Committee Reasoning
Native Microsoft files are more accessible than before
And screen readers have changed over the years
Cost – Microsoft Office Suite free to MSU Spartan 365
Value – 24/7 Central IT Help Desk support
Accessibility – Re-remediation not required
MathType with MathML supported
Versioning – Mark as Final, Read-only locations
Preferred by RCPD, Student/Faculty AT Users, & DCAT
February 2019
Native Documents vs PDF at MSU

5. Native Documents vs PDF at MSU
Faculty Accessibility Questions about Digital Content Before Adopting it for Class
Ask the publisher for their accessibility evaluation
Not always trustworthy; B1G Academic Alliance; Check
Workarounds provided? Support?
Review Quizzes for Accessible Question Types
Consult with MSU Resources
MSU Accessibility Policy Liaisons
Webaccess.msu.edu,
February 2019
Native Documents vs PDF at MSU

6. Faculty Concerns (page 1 of 2)
Students can NOT change the Faculty document
Downloaded PDF’s are easily modified
Faculty document online (D2L, etc.) is behind Faculty login
Faculty should not release non-final documents and must announce corrections/updates to all students
Page number citing won’t work
It’s only effective for print sources anyway
Students should understand the cite rules of each publisher
Phrase use & indexing work for paper & electronic search
No PDF’s means LESS accessibility detail to learn/do
February 2019
Native Documents vs PDF at MSU

7. Faculty Concerns (page 2 of 2)
Extra Step for Word from D2L
On Chrome, visit the page with the Word document link, click the link, (each time) double click the download OR (open Word always) click ^ beside download and select “Always open files of this type” (to turn off: Settings > Advanced > Downloads > Clear). Other Browsers …
Secret Stuff (e.g., comments, change tracking, …)
In separate copy, Review > Accept All Changes, Delete All Comments in Document, (optionally) File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document > Remove All (reenter Title, Author)
February 2019
Native Documents vs PDF at MSU

8. Internal to MSU vs External
The preceding slides were specifically for class
Document type by accessibility level
HTML web pages are most accessible
Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel are next most
PDF’s are least accessible and require the most effort
All document types require attention to accessibility
For internal to MSU (behind logins) native (?+PDF)
For external to MSU Native plus remediated PDF
February 2019
Native Documents vs PDF at MSU

9. WCAG 2.0 AA Applies to All Document types
MSU Evaluation Protocol for WCAG 2.0 AA
Microsoft Word Tutorial
Microsoft PowerPoint Tutorial
MathType for Equations
Math and Equations in D2L
Accessible PDFs
More Tutorials and More on the Way
February 2019
Native Documents vs PDF at MSU

10. Always and At the Very Least, Run Internal Accessibility Checkers
Microsoft Standalone Word, PowerPoint, Excel
File > Check for Issues > Check Accessibility
D2L
For Web Page > Edit HTML File > Check Accessibility
PDF (Adobe Acrobat Pro, or equivalent)
[Tools] > Accessibility > Full Check (Plus Reading Order and Alternative Text)
February 2019
Native Documents vs PDF at MSU

11. Native Documents vs PDF at MSU
Questions?
February 2019
Native Documents vs PDF at MSU