When creating a PowerPoint presentation for your students, you want to be proactive in ensuring that your course content is accessible for all. The Accessibility Checker is a valuable resource to rely on not only as you are creating your presentation, but to utilize for suggestions in making the presentations more accessible. By making your PowerPoint presentations accessible, you are optimizing the information for all users. Below are five accessibility considerations to be mindful of when developing your PowerPoint presentation.
1: Establish a logical slide reading order.
When creating a PowerPoint presentation, it is critical to develop the content of each slide in a logical reading order. A screen reader reads the slide’s contents in the order in which they were added to the slide. This may be different from the order in which they appear. When you are developing the contents, you can check their order to assure that the screen reader understands them. For step-by-step instructions on how to check the reading order of your slides, visit Make Slides easier to read by using the Reading Order pane on the Microsoft Support page.
2: Add alternative text to images.
Adding images to PowerPoint is a way to make your presentation more interesting and engaging. However, you want to make sure that your images have alternative text to ensure that individuals with visual disabilities understand the pictures or other graphical content. Alternative (Alt) text is essential for making images accessible to all users, particularly to those who can’t see them. The Accessibility Checker is a great way to locate missing alt text.
3: Use contrasting colors for text and backgrounds.
When developing your PowerPoint presentation, you must use sufficient contrast for them. In your presentation’s design, you want to ensure there is sufficient contrast between the background and the text color schemes, including black and white. As you create your presentation, look for text that is hard to read or differentiate from the background. A stronger contrast between the background and the text makes it more visible for individuals with low vision or colorblindness to read the content. The Accessibility Checker can locate insufficient color contrast.
4: Develop PowerPoints using accessible Master Slides.
Developing a PowerPoint Presentation using a Master Slide has a great benefit. It allows you to create a unique template that is unlike the others. Master Slides control the overall appearance, like the design and formatting. When any changes are made to the Master Slide in the presentation, the changes will be applied to each slide layout. Using a Master Slide can also ensure that you are developing your slides to be accessibility friendly for all users. When developing your Master Slide, keep these suggestions in mind to make the slide accessible:
Default fonts, colors, and sizes
- Use sans serif or similar font styles.
- Remember that color is not the only means of sharing information. Review each slide in your presentation for instances of color-coding. The Grayscale setting can help to search for this. Color is also important for contrast between the text and the background.
- A larger font size makes content more accessible for users. Sans serif fonts sized 20 or greater create a more accessible slide.
Transitions and animations
- Transitions and animations should be used sparingly in a PowerPoint presentation. They can be distracting to viewers and difficult for assistive technologies to use.
- Transitions can be used if they are under 3 seconds long.
- Avoid using endless animations.
- There are no specific guidelines for either transitions or animations. However, be aware of your audience.
- The simpler, the better.
5: Choose media wisely.
When selecting media for PPT Presentations, be sure to choose the media wisely. You want to make sure the videos are accessible to individuals who have a hearing or vision impairment. Remember to include the following in any added media to a PPT Presentation:
- Subtitles: captioning used to translate or transcribe the dialogue of the media from one language to another. This can include alternative audio tracks.
- Closed captions: subtitles of content in the same language. Closed captions will also describe music and sound effects that occur throughout the media.
- Video description: an audio narrated description of the video’s key visual elements. The descriptions are inserted into natural pauses within the program’s dialogue. This is beneficial for those who have a vision impairment.
Additional Resources
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PowerPoint Accessibility Tips (PSU Accessibility)
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Make your Power Point presentations accessible to people with disabilities (Microsoft Support)