Note that for the end user, Google Docs are more cumbersome to navigate with a screen reader than Microsoft files or pages in the LMS (Moodle or Canvas).

For Google products, install and use Grackle as an accessibility checker, but remediate any issues you find using Google, not Grackle.

• This checker is thorough, but there can sometimes be a delay when Google makes updates to Docs (since it’s a different company).
• Be sure to check each tab of a Google Doc separately as Grackle only checks the page tab that is being viewed.
• While Grackle does provide an interface to correct some issues, changes do not reliably “stick” when the document is opened in an account without Grackle installed.

Note: learners will need to (1) Go to Tools > Accessibility and (2) Tick “Turn on screen reader support” to use a screen reader with Google docs, sheets or slides.

Learn more:

• NC State Accessibility Hub’s Document page.
• Using screen readers with Google products

For making Microsoft documents and slides accessible, use Microsoft’s built-in accessibility checker. To maintain accessibility work you do in Microsoft, share and collaborate on Microsoft files through Microsoft OneDrive, which will maintain the accessibility features of your Microsoft files.

Important! If you plan to upload your Microsoft files into the Google environment, upload them to Google and then run Grackle to address find accessibility issues as described above. Uploading accessible Microsoft files to Google will overwrite the accessibility work you have done in Microsoft.

Another consideration: you can to ensure your Microsoft presentations are accessible.

Learn more:

• Microsoft’s built-in accessibility checker
• Rules for the Accessibility Checker
• Add closed captions or subtitles to media in PowerPoint

PDFs are challenging to make accessible, and the best practice is to avoid them altogether. See the section of this article on ensuring accessible PDF’s for more information and tools that are available.

• Creating an Accessible Canvas Course – Use Pope Tech’s tools within Canvas to identify and fix accessibility issues at the point of editing, and scan your whole course to find any lingering issues to correct.
• Finding and Fixing Accessibility Issues in Your Moodle Course – Use Moodle tools to identify and correct accessibility issues.

Ensure that the color contrast in any image is sufficient that adjacent parts of the image can be distinguished. This is especially important for images that contain text and for graphs or charts with different colored elements. Avoid color pairings that are challenging for individuals who are colorblind (red and green, for example).

Learn more: Accessible Color Use and Color Contrast

Use images with a high enough resolution (usually >300 dpi) so that they can be zoomed in without losing definition. Using scalable vector images (.svg) rather than .jpeg, makes images generally much more zoomable.

• WebAIM Contrast Checker
• Color Blind Simulator
• Refining images for accessibility with AI
• How to Create High Resolution Images for Users with Low Vision

Accessible Images from WebAIM (web accessibility in mind)

An alt text tag provides a textual description of an image, figure, or graph that is stored in the background and readable by screen-reading software as well as web browsers. Adding an alt text tag to an image ensures that the instructional content conveyed through the image is perceivable by all.

Unless your image does not contain any instructional content (is purely decorative), or the content is available elsewhere on the page, it needs alt text. If the program allows for marking as decorative, do so. If you included the content elsewhere, simply identify the image in the alt text without repeating the content description.

Supplemental resources:

• Understanding Alternative Text (Video, 5 min 13 sec).
• Pope Tech’s guide to alt text across popular tools.
• “Alternative Text” article by WebAIM

An alt text tag should offer a complete, text-based version of all relevant and unique instructional content that is provided in an image. Consider the intention, context, and purpose of the image. Note that the same image could have very different alt text in different contexts.

Tips:

• Don’t include “Image of…” in your alt text.
• Make your alt text very short to keep it from distracting the audience; 125 characters is a good guideline.
• Complex or detailed images and graphs may need a more thorough description than is possible in 125 characters. In this case, add a link nearby to a full text description that conveys the full meaning of the item.
• Some programs will try to automatically identify and describe your images using AI; it’s a good idea to check all your images manually, as the Microsoft Accessibility Checker cannot check if the alt text is appropriate.

Tools:

• Using AI to help with writing image descriptions

• In Google Docs / Slides: Right click (PC) or Ctrl+click (Mac) the image and select “Alt text.” Or, select the image and press “Ctrl+Alt+Y”. If the image is decorative, make the description very short, or just type, “decorative.”
• In Moodle and Canvas:
  • When you upload an image to the LMS, both Moodle and Canvas will ask you to describe the image or mark it as decorative only. This description becomes the alt text.
  • If you copy and paste an image directly into the text editor instead of uploading the image, open the image properties to add alt text.
  • Each LMS’s accessibility checker (Brickfield for Moodle and Pope Tech for Canvas) find images with common alt text issues, including missing alt text, alt text that is placeholder text like “image,” and alt text that is a file name (e.g. image.jpg) and provide an interface for fixing these.
    • In Moodle, click the accessibility icon/button in the editor toolbar to access Brickfield
    • In Canvas, click the button to the left of Cancel / Save & Publish / Save to open the Pope Tech Accessibility Guide.
• In Microsoft Office products: Right-click on the image and select “View Alt Text” from the menu. Write your alt text in the box in the pane that appears on the right, or check “mark as decorative” if that is appropriate.
• For social media posts, create alt text following the instructions on the Accessibility Hub Social Media page.

Approach quiz alt text by asking yourself, “What would a student who can’t see this image need to know to be able to answer the questions? What would I hope they will notice or recognize in this image?”

Feeling concerned about giving “clues?” Remember that sighted students have the benefit of several visual clues, and that the only students who will “see” your alt text on quiz images will be those students using screen readers.

Learn more: Tips on using AI to help with composing alt text for quizzes.

DIAGRAM center:

• Description templates from DIAGRAM Center: guidelines and examples for common types of graphs and visualizations.
• Image Sample book from DIAGRAM Center
• POET by DIAGRAM Center: suggestions and recommendations for alt text

If text cannot be highlighted and copied/pasted, it is likely an image of text and is not accessible.

• PDFs: many PDF’s are scans of text. For more information, see the section on accessible PDFs below.
• Tables are commonly shared as images rather than text. Recreate a text-based table of the data to replace the image.
  • Learn how AI can help convert data tables presented as images (see the section on refining images).
  • Learn more in the accessible tables section below. 

Do not use color alone (either the text or highlighting, etc.) to convey meaning, as that meaning will be lost on those with colorblindness or those using screen readers. It’s okay to use color, but convey that meaning or emphasis in another way as well (bold, italics, etc).

Make sure your text color adequately contrasts with its background. On a light background, the text should be at least 4.5 times darker than the background; on a dark background, the text should be at least 4.5 times lighter (tools provided below).

Avoid color pairings that are challenging for individuals who are colorblind (red and green, for example).

Give hyperlink text a different color that contrasts from surrounding text, and underline it. Use the same color for all hyperlinks in a given document or web page.

Tools:

• WebAIM Contrast Checker
• Color Contrast Analyzer for Chrome
• Contrast Analyzer for Windows and Mac
• Color Blind Simulator

Screen readers cannot tell that simple formatting changes signify a heading, so you must use heading styles. Microsoft Word and Google Docs use heading styles to automatically generate a document outline, which is useful for anyone.

Tips:

• Use Heading 1 for the title of a Microsoft or Google document; use Heading 2 for the title of a Canvas page.
• Following a logical order for heading levels – don’t skip them.

Instructions for applying headings:

• How to apply headings in Microsoft Word
• How to apply headings in Google Docs
• To apply headings in Moodle’s text editor, select the text and click on Format > Headings OR select the accessibility button in the toolbar to open an accessibility side panel, which will identify any heading issues and provide an interface to correct them.
• To apply headings in Canvas’s text editor, select the text and click on Format > Formats > Headings OR click the Pope Tech Accessibility Guide button at the bottom right (next to the Cancel button) to open an accessibility side panel. Then, click on the “Headings” button in the side panel.

Built-in lists help anyone easily understand better the structure of text.

Instructions for using lists:

• Lists in Microsoft Word
• Lists in Google Docs
• To use lists in Moodle and Canvas, find the list button in the toolbar of the editor.

• Use simple, easy-to-read typefaces. Sans serif typefaces (e.g., Arial, Calibri, Verdana, Roboto) are usually safe choices.
• Limit the number used to no more than 2 in a given document/page.
• In a print document, use a text size of at least 12
• In a presentation to be shown live, use a text size of at least 24.
• Limit font variations (e.g., bold, italics)
• Avoid strings of words written in all caps, which are particularly difficult to read.

Learn more: WebAIM: Typefaces and Fonts

• Avoid using text that blinks or moves.
• Eliminate distracting grammatical, spelling, and syntax errors.

• Do not use unnecessarily complex language where simpler language will do. Generative AI tools can help you simplify complex language while keeping the content’s integrity.
• If you use acronyms and jargon, be sure to define them clearly and provide a glossary.
• Avoid the use of idioms, which are often unique to one culture and do not translate well to other languages.
• Don’t underline text that is NOT a hyperlink.

• Avoid pressing “Enter” multiple times to create space or move text. If done incorrectly, screen readers announce each blank line (e.g., “blank, blank, blank…”), which can be frustrating. Instead, use built-in spacing tools: 
  • “Add space before/after paragraph” in the Line & Spacing menu
  • Use standard line spacing options (Single, 1.15, 1.5, Double)
  • Use “Custom spacing” to specify exact spacing (e.g., 18 pt) between paragraphs or list items
  • After adding or removing space around a heading, use “Update style to match” to apply the same spacing across all instances of that style.
• Use “Insert page break” when content should start on a new page. Screen readers will announce a true page break as “page break,” providing a clear navigation cue.

• Link descriptive text instead of a URL. URLs are meant to be read by web browsers, not screen readers or people. They are meaningless and can be quite tedious to hear if using text-to-speech programs. The only time it is important to include a URL is in material that is likely to be used as a printed resource.
• Be precise. Can someone scan the page and quickly determine what is linked and where each link will take them?
• Be concise. Link text should be just long enough to make it clear where the link will take someone.
• Write out email addresses to make it clear that the link is an email address and not a webpage.
• Alert users if a hyperlink downloads a file [for example, “Campus Map (PDF, 5.62 MB)”] or if a hyperlink opens in a new browser tab or window [for example: NC State University Homepage (opens in new tab)].

Emojis and icons add a visual layer to communication within a document, but may create confusion for individuals using assistive technology. There are a few strategies for using icons without increasing cognitive friction:

• Focus on intent. If you’re using the “hands pressed together” emoji to say thank you, consider if it’s easier to write out “thank you” instead.
• Use alternative text for emojis and icons so screen reader users can understand the images.
• Add emojis and icons to the end of sentences so they don’t break the flow of information.

Data tables are used to indicate the relationship between variables using rows and columns. Data tables must have header rows and columns identified.

Tip: Check out PopeTech’s article on how to make complex data accessible for data that might not fit into a simple table.

Instructions for tagging header rows/columns:

• In Moodle, place your cursor in the header row. Then, select “Table” in the editor menu, then Row > Row properties, and choose “Header” as the row type.
• In Canvas, put your cursor in the header row and select “Table” in the toolbar of the editor, then hover over “Row” and click on “Row Properties. In the Row Type field, select “Header.”
• In Microsoft Word, right-click on the header row and select “Table Properties.” In the Table Properties dialog box, click the Row tab and check the box that says, “Repeat as header row at the top of each page.” Learn more about the built-in Microsoft Accessibility Checker.
• In Google Docs, built-in accessibility options for tables are limited. Select the header row and pin it at the top. See support documentation on editing tables, scrolling down to “Pin header rows in Google.”
• It is not possible to define a header row in Google Slides.

Other important practices include:

• Avoiding empty cells and merged cells.
• Using color and contrast as a second visual clue, but not to convey information. Consult the WebAIM Contrast Checker.
• Give each sheet in a spreadsheet a unique, descriptive name.

Layout tables are used to arrange images visually. Layout tables are used to control the visual formatting of images and text, rather than to convey relational information. For example, using a table to position six images in two rows of three pictures each.

Do not apply headers to layout tables. According to WebAIM’s article on tables, “it’s vital that data table markup, such as captions and header rows are NEVER used within layout tables, otherwise the screen reader may incorrectly present the table as a data table causing increased overhead and confusion.”

Narrate your content fully when creating a video. Ideally, for an instructional video, the transcript and captions of a video will include full narration of anything happening on screen that is necessary for learning the content. For example, instead of simply saying, “Watch an animation of this process,” or using other follow along language like “as you can see here,” a narrator should describe what is being shown fully.

Check existing videos for remediation needs. If you have an existing video, try watching it, or imagining watching it, with your eyes closed. If there is any key content that you’re missing because you’re not watching the screen, that content must be provided outside of the video.

Provide descriptions of purely visual content if needed. Use the same strategies discussed in this guide under alt text and complex image description to write your descriptions. Include these descriptions in an annotated transcript or in a separate document linked near the video or within the video transcript.

AI may be helpful. The article AI for Multimedia Accessibility offers ways AI can assist with providing drafting descriptions of visual-only content in multimedia.

Audio-only content as well as audio within videos must be supplemented with a text-based version of the audio. That way, if a learner has permanent or temporary hearing loss, has a native language other than English, is neurodiverse or has a learning difference or cognitive impairment, needs to be quiet due to their environment, or is in a noisy location that makes it hard to hear, they can still fully interact with the content.

Text-based versions of audio content include captions and transcripts.

Panopto and Zoom both provide automatic captions, but these should be corrected for accuracy. AI can help; see the article linked in the previous section on using AI for multimedia accessibility for more information.

• General resources
  • Accessibility Hub’s Multimedia page
  • Using Transcripts and Captions in Videos (video, 56 sec)
• Tools
  • Apply for an NC State captioning grant, which will provide funds to have your videos captioned accurately by a third-party vendor.
  • Zoom – Audio transcription for cloud recordings
  • YouTube – Help documentation for subtitles and captions
  • Complete Guide to Captioning on YouTube 

Indicating the language of a document ensures that screen readers will read documents with the correct pronunciation. This is especially important for teaching material in non-English languages or for learners with low vision who speak English as a second language, since screen readers default to a primary language. For example, if a screen reader set to English read a Spanish document, the accent and mispronunciation would be quite confusing. When we document in Spanish, the screen reader adapts correctly.

For Google Docs, go to File >  Language > select the appropriate language/dialect.

On the other hand, to set the language of a Word Document, select the text, go to Review > Language > Set Proofing Language > select the appropriate language/dialect. While Word may automatically detect languages, it is still important to ensure that the settings match.

See SensusAccess information from NC State Accessibility to learn how to use SensusAccess to convert a file, URL or text to another format.

See the Teaching Resources article on STEM Accessibility for information on how to make STEM content accessible.

• Handwriting Recognition in Google Docs
• Handwriting Recognition in Microsoft Word
• Try prompting AI to convert a handwritten document to text. Providing the tool with your course context may help it to identify vocabulary in the document. Once you have the text, copy/paste it into a document, add headings and other formatting changes to make it accessible.