{"id":7603,"date":"2020-04-08T10:46:05","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T09:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldevelopment\/?p=7603"},"modified":"2025-01-16T08:53:49","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T08:53:49","slug":"accessible-design-text","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitallearning\/blog\/accessible-design-text\/","title":{"rendered":"Accessible design for learner variability: Text"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Text Documents, Word and PDF<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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When planning for\u00a0alternative approaches to assessment<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0which the University are advising at this time, it is more important than ever to ensure all documents designed and developed are inclusive and accessible to all students. This blog post outlines how to ensure that text documents (Microsoft Word and PDF) uploaded for online assessments are fully compliant in terms of accessibility.<\/p>\n

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When creating content, there are a few basic steps that should be followed in order to assure your content is accessible. The core steps needed for accessibility are the same regardless of whether your document is in HTML, Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, or another document format. Content needs to be accessible. Accessibility is about designing out any unnecessary barriers that make it harder to engage and take part in any educational activities, such as assessments. For example, a screen reader will enable a blind user to access online content whilst text-to-speech will make it easier for a dyslexic student to read on screen.<\/p>\n

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CED have developed an Accessibility Checklist<\/a><\/strong> for staff that incorporates a full list of inclusive accessible design practices when developing content, that is underpinned by Universal Design for Learning<\/a><\/strong> (UDL) principles.<\/p>\n

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For a quick view on accessibility take a look at our short video or download the Accessible Poster for text documents<\/strong><\/a> or audio version<\/a><\/strong> of key tips developed by CED.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Accessible Content Design: Text Documents<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Being fully compliant in Accessibility is now legislation in the UK<\/strong> <\/a>where all content developers must follow the core principles outlined below:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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1. Headings<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Use a hierarchy of headings (e.g. by using the Styles pane toolbar in Word), such as Title, Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 etc. This enables screen readers to identify headings for the listener and ease of navigation through the document for everyone. You may not like the default setting so if you want to change the font.<\/p>\n

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Right click the Heading > Click modify > Choose the font you want to change to.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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2. Font and text<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Use a minimum of font size 12 and 1.5 line spacing. Where there is sequential information use bullet points or visually represent content using a flowchart or timeline to make is easier to follow while avoiding large blocks of text. Avoid light coloured fonts as these are difficult to read.<\/p>\n

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Use Sans Serif font (e.g. Arial, Calibri, Century Gothic, Helvetica, Tahoma and Verdana) as they are more accessible. San Serif means \u2018without the decorative line\u2019 where letter shapes are well defined and regular in shape and size and display better on computers and mobile devices. Text is read from left to right and top to bottom for clear navigation, so use left aligned text for readability.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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3. Plain Language<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ensure the document is written in clear, simple language using explicit terminology to communicate effectively. Avoid acronyms and jargon. You could include a glossary of terms for any difficult content that learners need to know throughout the module\/course.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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4. Alt text<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ensure to use alternative text or ‘Alt text’ to provide a meaningful description of an image, table, chart, graph, infographic or diagram. Alt Text or Image Description allows people using screen readers and text-to-speech tools to hear the content of an image read aloud. Alt text should be clear and concise (1-2 sentences) and explain the relevant content of an image. Alt text only has 125 characters so just point out key elements of the visual or graphic. If the visual is complex you may need to add a summary to describe it, outlining the key elements. If your graphic has text in it, this should be added to the Alt text or the longer description. If an image is there only for appearance, you can mark it as decorative or tag it as an artefact. Depending on the authoring tool you are using, select the \u201cMark as decorative box\u201d or add \u201c\u201d in the description field.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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5. Use Tables for Tabular Data<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Tables can be a great way to organise information, but if they aren\u2019t done correctly, they can be difficult for people to navigate using asisstive technologies. If you add a table to your document, make sure that you are using the table for data and not for layout. This means that your rows and columns align and you don\u2019t have any blank cells. You also want to make sure your table has a repeating header row. When deciding on a structure for tables, remember they are read from left to right and top to bottom.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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6. Hyperlinks<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Use hyperlinks to describe where the reader will end up. You may want to link to additional resources from your document but it is better not to add a long URL directly to your document. It is recommended that you create descriptive text about where the URL is directing the reader so it can be easily read by a screen reader. For example, the \u2018Formative Assessment\u2019 details can be found on the home page, where formative assessment is the hyperlink. There is no need to write \u2018click here\u2019, \u2018read more\u2019 or \u2018for more info\u2019. Avoid underlining text for emphasis but rather use the bold<\/strong> function.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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7. Style and Formatting<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Use short sentences \u2013 approximately\u00a015 to 20 words in length is\u00a0plenty. If using longer sentences ensure you do not have more than three items of information. Use active verbs rather than passive. For example: ‘I will communicate to you through email’ (active) rather than ‘an email will be issued through the communication of email (passive).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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8. Be Consistent<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Like all documents be consistent with the layout, style and structure, use of colour and font.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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9. Accessibility Checker<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Use built-in accessibility checkers to identify any accessibility issues in the document.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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10. Upload Content to Canvas or Email Students<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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After you\u2019ve finished writing your document, you\u2019re ready to upload it into Canvas or email it to students. For best access, upload it as both as a Word Doc<\/strong> and a PDF<\/strong>. The native file format (Word) is better for accessibility, while PDF can ensure students on devices without MS Office can still access it. To ensure hyperlinks work and retain formatting when converting to PDF, ensure the following:<\/p>\n

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