About
Digital accessibility is the practice of insuring that all people, including those with disabilities, can access and use our electronic resources and communications. It encompasses common elements such as:
- Websites
- Software
- Computer hardware and software
- Videos
- Documents
- Presentations
- Mobile devices
Who Benefits?
Accessibility, usability, and inclusive design are all closely related. While the main focus of digital and web accessibility is people with disabilities, accessibility also benefits people without disabilities, including:
- people using mobile phones, smart watches, smart TVs, and other devices with small screens, different input modes, etc.
- older people with changing abilities due to aging
- people with “temporary disabilities" such as a broken arm or lost glasses
- people with “situational limitations” such as in bright sunlight or in an environment where they cannot listen to audio
- people with low literacy or not fluent in the language
- people using a slow Internet connection, or who have limited or expensive bandwidth
- new and infrequent users
Steps
Any website, learning management system, or other software product, however, is only as accessible as the sum of its parts. Almost every employee has some part in contributing, uploading, and publishing digital resources, the most common and ubiquitous being documents in Word and PDF format, as well as some basic HTML created using WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors.
So how do we get started? Each application one uses for document creation contains tools that enable the creation of accessible documents. Using these tools is the single simplest and most important step in creating accessible documents. Microsoft Word is perhaps the easiest way to make your documents accessible.
Windows: Converting to PDF in Microsoft Office
- To convert a Word Doc to PDF using Microsoft Word on Windows, select File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document and select the Create PDF/XPS Document button.
- To convert a Powerpoint to PDF using Microsoft Powerpoint on Windows, select File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document and select the Create PDF/XPS Document button.
- To convert an Excel spreadsheet to PDF using Microsoft Excel on Windows, select: File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document and select the Create PDF/XPS Document button.
MacOS: Converting to PDF in Microsoft Office
- To convert a Word, Powerpoint, and Excel file as a PDF in Office for Mac select File > Save As and besides File Format you will specify PDF as the File Format that you would like to export to.
- When you are finished, select Export.
So in support of #Global Accessibility Awareness Day (#GAAD), Manhattan College ITS is encouraging employees to begin to take some simple steps to make your documents accessible.
- Use (built-in) Headings
- Use Lists
- Add Alternate Text for Images
- Use Descriptive Text for Links
- Use Tables Wisely (and for Data) and Markup Appropriately
- When Exporting to PDF, Understand How to Preserve Accessibility
Other Resources for learning more about digital accessibility: