Resources for Identifying, Creating, and Sharing Accessible Information
Compiled by Nikki Jeffords, Rebecca Sheffield, and Becca Smith
Part 1: Checking for Accessibility of Information
General
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- The Office for Civil Rights Video Series recently published a series of videos about
digital access in education, including videos about laws (like Section 504 of the Rehab
Act and Title II of the ADA), example uses of technologies, vendor partnerships, etc.- We caution against the reliance on web accessibility widgets or overlays which claim to
“fix” inaccessible websites by providing a set of tools specifically for website visitors with
disabilities. These widgets often do not work well with website visitors’ preferred
assistive technology tools (such as screen-reading software), and they don’t resolve the
underlying problems with inaccessible websites. Read more about the problems with
these widgets in For Blind Internet Users, the Fix Can Be Worse Than the Flaws,
published in the New York Times, July 2022.- Remember that designations like “508 Compliant” do not necessarily guarantee that an
information source is usable and useful! Check out Usability and Accessibility: Looking
at User Experience through Two Lenses, from usability.gov- Beware of some online accessibility checker tools – they may be marketing tools for
companies that want to sell you accessibility products and services. If you’re exploring
on your own to find accessibility checking tools, look for resources that are vetted or
created by national/international standards organizations, major technology providers
(e.g., Apple, Microsoft, etc.), and universities.Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, and Outlook (email)
Improve accessibility with the Accessibility Checker (Microsoft Support)
PDFs / Adobe Acrobat
PDF accessibility testing generally requires Adobe Acrobat Professional. Read in Part 2 about
steps you can take to increase the accessibility of documents before they’re converted into
PDFs; this will help to ensure you produce an accessible PDF.- Check accessibility of PDFs (Acrobat Pro)
- Testing a PDF for Accessibility (Section508.gov)
Webpages
WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool and WAVE Browser Extensions (may be
blocked by security settings)Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools List (W3C Web Accessibility Initiative)
Bookmarklets are small tools that you can drag into your internet browser’s bookmarks menu
and then turn on/off to check for accessibility features when you are exploring webpages.- ANDI – Accessible Name and Description Inspector (Social Security Administration)
- tota11y (Khan Academy)
- JavaScript Bookmarklets for Accessibility Testing (PaulJAdam.com)
Color Contrast
Whether you’re creating a document, email, webpage, or PowerPoint, your color choices will
impact how well your audience (especially people with low vision and color blindness) can
understand your information. A color contrast checker helps you determine the level of contrast
between two colors (e.g., background and foreground).- CCA – Colour Contrast Analyser (TPGi)
- WCAG Color Contrast Checker (AccessibleWeb)
Part 2: Creating and Sharing Information Accessibly
General
- Creating Accessible Documents (National Center on Accessible Educational Materials)
- Create Electronic Signatures (Section508.gov, applicable to PDFs and websites)
Microsoft Word
- Make your Word documents accessible to people with disabilities (Microsoft)
- Microsoft Word: Creating Accessible Documents (WebAIM)
- How to Make an Accessible Document in Microsoft Word (training video series from
Section508.gov)
Microsoft PowerPoint
video series from Section508.gov)
Microsoft Excel
- How to Make an Accessible Spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel (training video series from
Section508.gov)
Microsoft Outlook (email)
Online
Social Media
- Creating Accessible Social Media Posts (National Center on Accessible Educational
Materials)
- Accessibility at Twitter
- Accessibility – Facebook Help Center
- Accessibility – Instagram Help Center
- Accessibility on Linked In
- Create Accessible Video, Audio and Social Media (Section508.gov)
Websites
- Creating Accessible Websites (National Center on Accessible Educational Materials)
- Guide to Accessible Web Design & Development (Section508.gov – has a useful topic list but is pretty technical)
This version of this handout was developed for State DeafBlind projects. Suggestions/additions welcome.