Accessible Content That Looks Great Too Best Practices for Creating Userfriendly Presentations and Documents Presented by Kelli Ham MLIS Midday at the Oasis November 18 2015 Objectives By the end of webinar participants will ID: 773570
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Accessible Content That Looks Great Too: Best Practices for Creating User-friendly Presentations and Documents Presented by Kelli Ham, MLIS Midday at the Oasis November 18, 2015
Objectives By the end of webinar, participants will:Understand online accessibility issues Know about Section 508 See best practices and creative solutions in action Know how to use built-in tools in Microsoft Office products to create accessible documentsBe equipped to create compliant and visually compelling content
Topics & Techniques Accessibility checkers (that includes you!)Importance of structureTechniques in Word and PowerPointBest practices Alt text Text boxes Reading orderGrouping imagesHiding elementsShortcuts& much more!
Just so you know… 90 minutes will just scratch the surfaceLots of differing opinions; the one that matters most is the userMultiple methods to get same resultResources in handout will take you further
A Few Acronyms and TermsOrganizationsWebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind)W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) CIOC (U.S. Chief Information Officer Council) NCDAE (National Center on Disability and Access to Education )WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) Section 508 ( law)
Making Content Accessible (Groan)It’s too hardTakes too much timeTraining is expensive or unavailableDozens of guidelines to sort throughIt’s recommended, but not required where you work Accessible means boring and dull!
Why You Must Not that hard, once you know howLots of free resources and training materials It’s required for federally-funded & many other institutionsProper techniques make content accessible, usable, and interesting – for everyone! It’s the right thing to do
What is Section 508?Federally-funded organizations must comply with the law Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L.105-220), August 7, 1998. http:// section508.gov/content/learn/laws-and-policies
In a Nutshell When seeking information or services from a Federal department or agency, people with disabilities must have access and use of information that is comparable to that of people without disabilities.
Not Just FederalMany public agencies, including libraries, may have to follow state statutes requiring accessible content. In the United States: 20.6 million people have a visual disability (8.8%)37.6 million people have a hearing disability (16%) 35.2 million people have physical functioning difficulty (15%) Cognitive disabilities and other types of limitations present additional concerns and challenges. Millions of people in the United States have at least one disability that will benefit from these efforts. http :// www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/disability.htm
The Physical Library
The Library’s Virtual Presence:Is it User Friendly?
The Reality for Some UsersLow vision or blindnessHearing loss or deafnessMobility issuesOther issues
A Modern Challenge Recent trends in presentation design toolsImage heavy with little to no text or bulletsAnimations and special effects Very problematic for accessibility Depends on users’ ability to SEE, HEAR & NAVIGATEScreen Readers need built-in structure to work Can be problematic for other users too
Accessibility: The Concept A few examples (there are many more!)Images – need textual descriptionVideo – need captioning and video descriptionAudio – need transcript Text boxes – screen readers ignore completely Hyperlinks – need to be meaningful Color – special formatting that conveys meaning needs an explanation
Accessibility = Usability? Related concepts, but not exactly the same. When interacting with electronic or web-based content:Usability refers to an effective, enjoyable, and easy-to-do user experience Accessibility refers to an equivalent user experience for people with disabilities
Consider the User Experience (Walk a Mile in Their Shoes)
Example – Usability Issue
Accessibility:Technologies + PracticesTechnologies Screen readers Video captions Text-to-voiceAssistive devicesA keyboard Practices Awareness Good design practices Administrative policies Staff training Commitment
Web Content vs. Other ContentMany elements required in webpages are also required in documents and other files. Learn the common concepts; apply across all content Make accessibility a natural part of the workflowAccessibility doesn’t happen by chance – build it in to all online content
Some Specifics for Microsoft Word and PowerPointScreen readers take advantage of order and rely on built-in structureWord: Use styles indicating title, headings, body PowerPoint: Use pre-defined layouts
MS Office Accessibility CheckersMicrosoft Office 2007 or laterFiles must be created (or saved) as .docx or . pptx to use built-in checker Inspection Results panel lists problems and gives suggestions for fixingImportant: the checker can find and flag some problems; the human needs to do the rest!
Checking WORD DocumentsFile > Info > Check for Issues > AccessibilityIt looks for things like headings that indicate structure Alt text for images and objectsHyperlinksIn line text and objects
Microsoft Word 2010 Checker
MS WORD 2013 Checker
Errors, Warnings, and Tips
Required Elements: Alt Text
The Art of Writing Alt Text Include all meaningful text in Description field Explain meaning, not just literal description Limit repetition ( photo of x, photo of y, photo of z) Goal is to provide the equivalent experience Meaningless objects can be ignored (screen readers ignore double quotes in description field)
What Is This?
Meaningful Hyperlinks – Many Options
Changing Text Display and Adding Screen Tips
Text to Display
Screen Tips
Table Formatting Note: Be sure to use “insert” function; don’t copy and paste!
Notes About Tables Accessible tables need row and column headers, no blank cells, logical order when navigating based on table content (left to right, top to bottom). In documents, use the Insert Table function rather than copying and pasting. Use Tab to check order.Or, consider inserting table as an image, with all of the information in the description.
WebAim Guide for Wordhttp://webaim.org/techniques/word/
Techniques Unique to PowerPoint Start building slides using Outline viewEach slide needs a title (which can be hidden from view if necessary)Reading order is important for keyboard useAvoid using text boxes – screen readers can’t “see” the content. Use the layout and content boxes instead
Start in Outline View
Always Use Layouts
Resize and Reposition Content Boxes
One Example Join us for the Library Book Club! Sign up at: www.library.org/goodbooks
Another Example Join us for the Library Book Club! Sign up at: www.library.org/goodbooks
Upon InspectionErrors are mostly missing alt text and missing titlesWarnings – hyperlinks, duplicate titlesReading order – take note!
Each element needs to be in orderUsing the built-in layouts and “insert” function insures proper reading orderCopying and pasting triggers the “Check Reading Order” tip in the Accessibility CheckerWhat About Reading Order?
Check Reading Order with the Selection and Visibility Pane
Reading Order Oddity:From Bottom Up
Content Visibility:Toggle On and Off
Multiple Images
WebAIM Guide - PowerPointhttp://webaim.org/techniques/powerpoint /
Shortcuts: One-click Access to Important Tools (2010)Add shortcuts to Quick Access toolbar: Right click in Quick Access toolbar Choose Customize Quick Access Toolbar In dropdown under “Choose Commands From” choose “Commands Not in the Ribbon”Add Accessibility Checker, Alt Text and Selection Pane (PowerPoint)
Shortcuts: Quick Access for Commands in Ribbon (2013)Example – Selection Pane Under home, look for Arrange. Open menu below by clicking on down arrow Find and right-click on Selection Pane for options Choose “Add to Quick Access Toolbar”
Better to Create Than Remediate Break your old habitsCreate proper workflowSave time and effort
Since You Asked What about workarounds? Can’t we just provide a text version as an alternative? NONo one wants to read pages of text. Images and other objects can convey meaning and be more interesting for all users Plan for equivalent experience to extent possible It will be boring if I just use bullet points and can’t include animations or lots of images! What can I do?Learn which techniques work for in-person sessions and use good accessible design practices for electronic versions
Form and FunctionWe can have our cake and eat it too Content that is accessible User-friendly design Better communicationBetter experience for all!
A Drop in the Bucket
Any requests?Technique Demos
Use insert tool rather than copy & paste Images and objects need alt text (or need to be “ignored”)Hyperlinks need to be meaningfulCreate from scratch when you can; remediate when you must A Few Best Practices - Recap
Takeways Just because it passes the test… Ask for feedback from your users with disabilities to identify problem areasBuild accessibility techniques into the workflow Find solutions, not workaroundsImproving accessibility improves usability for all It’s the right thing to do
Thank You!Kelli Ham, MLIS NN/LM Pacific Southwest Region UCLA Biomedical Library kkham@library.ucla.eduhttp://nnlm.gov/psr/ 1-800-338-7657 This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, under Contract No. HHS-N-276-2011-00009-C with the UCLA Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library .