Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

How to Create Accessible Course Materials Using Microsoft Word 2010

Naming Your File (Part 1) 

This tutorial briefly explains how to name a file in word 2010 so it is accessible for students who use screen reading software. This is important as it allows for ease of navigation for the student using this software.

Adding Headers to Word Documents (Part 2) 

This tutorial briefly explains how to add headers to word documents making it easier for students who use screen reading software to navigate to different sections within the document. This is particularly important documents that are several pages long with multiple sections, i.e., a syllabus.

Fix Excessive Spacing (Part 3)

This tutorial briefly explains how to remove excessive spaces from your word documents making it easier for students who use screen reading software to navigate through and read the document. Spaces are “spoken" by screen readers so when you inadvertently place extra spaces between sentences for aesthetic purposes the screen reader will “speak" or read the space because it does not understand why it is there it only knows it is there. For example, let’s say you have the sentence The cow jumped over the moon and for whatever reason you want to divide it into separate lines for aesthetic purposes so you type it:  

The Cow 

Jumped Over 

The Moon 

The screen reader will read it out loud like this:

The Cow space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space 

Jumped Over space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space 

Creating Accessible Tables (Part 4)

This tutorial briefly explains how to create accessible tables in word documents. A student who can see a table can quickly determine the order in which it is suppose to be read across and down or left to right however this is not true of screen reading technology. Again, it needs to be “told” how to read the table for it to understand. It is not intuitive like a human. Many faculty use tables in their syllabi so this tutorial would be highly beneficial to both the faculty who do and the students who use screen readers and take their courses. 

Adding Alt Tags to Images (Part 5)

This tutorial briefly explains how to add an Alt Tag or description to an image embedded in a document so that the screen reader can read that description to the student. Images in documents and books without Alt Tags are not being conveyed to students who solely rely on screen readers to obtain their information

Fixing Links (Part 6)

This tutorial briefly explains how to fix hyperlinks in your documents so that students using screen readers can easilyidentify and access them.

Using the Accessibility Checker (Part 7)

This tutorial briefly explains how to use the built-in Word Accessibility Checker to review your document for accessibility once you have created it. The checker is easy to use identifying non-accessible content and providing solutions for making it accessible. This is a great feature built into most newer software packages.

YouTube Videos with Ken Petri from The Ohio State University

Additional Web Resources for Making Course Materials Accessible

PowerPoint Presentation Accessibility 
Comprehensive instructions on how to make PowerPoint Presentations Accessible visit: http://webaim.org/techniques/powerpoint/ 

Adobe® Acrobat® Accessible Content 
 A variety of training resources are available online directly through Adobe at:  http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/acrobat/training.html

Microsoft Accessibility Checker - Screen Shots and step-by-step instructions on how to use the Microsoft Accessibility Checker are available at: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/check-for-accessibility-issues-HA010369192.aspx