Creating Accessible Documents

Kara Zirkle, IT Accessibility Coordinator, George Mason University

Accessing Higher Ground 2012

Why documents should be made

accessible Types of documents How to create accessible documents Built-In technology to help test documents for

accessibility Third Party Solutions DEMO Questions

What will be covered:

Law Applies to Mandates

Section 504

Federal, State and Local government, Educational agencies, Companies (Corporate – Private), any facility receiving Federal funds

No otherwise qualified individual with a disability shall, solely by reason of his/ her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of a public entity.

Section 508

Federal entities and States that have adopted similar regulations

Requires that any electronic and information technology (EIT) procured, developed, used or maintained by Federal agencies must be accessible to employees and members of the public with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. Section 508 was enacted to: 1) eliminate barriers in information technology, 2) make available new opportunities for people with disabilities, and 3) encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals.

Rehabilitation Act

Law Applies to Mandates

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Unlike section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which only covers programs receiving Federal financial assistance, title II extends to all the activities of State and local governments whether or not they receive Federal funds.

May not refuse to allow a person with a disability to participate in a service, program, or activity simply because the person has a disability. Must provide programs and services in an integrated setting, unless separate or different measures are necessary to ensure equal opportunity.

Virginia Information Technology Accessibility Standard (GOV 103-00)

All Commonwealth of Virginia Executive Branch agencies and institutions of higher learning.

Outlines the minimum accessibility requirements for procurement, development, or maintenance of electronic and information technology systems. The Standard also requires that Commonwealth of Virginia (COV) employees with disabilities and members of the public with disabilities have access to and use of information and data comparable to the access and use of Commonwealth employees and the public who do not have disabilities.

ADA/VITA

What is included in Section 508? …. Electronic and

Information Technology

1194.21 Software Applications and Operating Systems

1194.22 Web-Based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications

1194.23 Telecommunications Products (If it is a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) or software then it may also include 1194.21 and/or 1194.22)

1194.24 Video and Multimedia Products (If implemented on the web will also require 1194.22)

1194.25 Self Contained and Closed Products (Ex:

Copiers, Fax and Kiosks) 1194.26 Desktop and Portable Computers 1194.31 Functional Performance Criteria (Must be

accessible with assistive technology) 1194.41 Information, Documentation and Support

(Must also be accessible)

**Section 508 only applies to

visual, hearing and mobility impairments**

Cliché, but correct answer: Because it’s the law!!

ADA/Section 508 Helps Mason comply with Federal, State, and Local government

standards (i.e., Penn State, Arizona State, Google Apps for Education) Penn State (settled Sept 2011) – library’s online database, Angel LMS,

departmental websites, “smart” podiums, ATMs Arizona State (settled Jan. 2010) – Kindle Reader pilot Google (initiated March 2011) Just recently

DOJ under ADA created a settlement agreement with Fairfax County, VA to ensure accessibility of both physical and online material.

Other reasons: Reaches a wider audience (i.e., captioning, older users, ESL) Search engines optimization favors accessible websites Mobile phone access

Why documents should be made accessible

Mason has policy and an ATI Committee put in place:

ATI Office has worked with ITU Instructional Designers and are available to provide support and consultation to faculty who needs assistance with building accessible courses, administration who needs assistance with designing accessible sites and content and work closely with ODS who determines appropriate accommodations.

Where does this apply? Online courses Face-to-Face Courses that use online resources

For example: Blackboard and Piazza Websites

For example: CommonSpot, Word Press, 3rd Party Services Website Content

For example: Documents, Videos, etc. Online and Desktop Applications Library Databases

What role can you play to help increase accessibility?

What does IT Accessibility Mean to you?

Do you use Blackboard or another Learning

Management System (LMS)?Do you create or post

documents or videos online for class?

Do you use technology (i.e., wikis, etc.) for your class

assignments?Do you use websites in class or for posting information?Do you use visuals or play

audio/video in the classroom that give

important info pertaining to the class?

Do you use webinars, or other classroom capture or conference technology or

record your class for review?

Roles and Responsibilities: How are you involved with accessibility?

Teac

hing

Fac

ulty

and

Staff

When overseeing or working on projects do you integrate

accessibility into the planning process?Do you train your staff on

accessibility so it comes from a top-down approach?Do you influence or decide on technology purchases, if

so have you considered accessibility?Do you oversee computer

classroom settings, is it accessible?Do you develop Policies,

procedures or guidelines for you offices or employees? If

so, have you included accessibility?

When creating committees, have you included someone from the ATI office to help

with accessibility?

Adm

inist

rativ

e St

aff

Roles and Responsibilities: How are you involved with accessibility?

Do you influence or decide on technology purchases?

Do you develop websites, applications or documents?

Do you oversee computer classroom settings?

Do you manage others who may work on the above

mentioned?Do you work in multimedia

or telecommunications?Do you use or help faculty

use webinars, other classroom capture or

conference technology?IT P

rofe

ssio

nals

Roles and Responsibilities: How are you involved with accessibility?

Posting, Distributing, Creating/Developing, Using, Maintaining …… Inaccessible Information.

What can you do to make it accessible?

If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions,

you may be …..

Visual

Images should be optimized and include descriptive “alt” tags Description of the file you have uploaded Text description provides access to understanding what is being

conveyed Brief, clear, and contextual

Learning/Mobility/Visual/Other Alternative formats of materials for students who require them

(e.g. optional print packet of extensive online reading materials, CD of audio clips)

ODS provides students an accommodation to receive these materials in an accessible electronic format ATI works to cut, scan, and re-format!

Hearing/ESL/Learning Caption video or transcribed audio

Design Considerations

Text should be legible and re-sizeable

14 point font size is ideal Using a clear sans serif font such as Helvetica or Arial

Document compatibility and accessibility Is the document in a format that can be opened on various

machines, versions of software or mobile? If the format isn’t accessible, is an alternative available?

Use of color should add interest and indicate interface choices, but should not disadvantage those with color blindness White text on a black background is usually best

Overall Usability Considerations

Why documents should be made accessible Types of documents How to create accessible documents Built-In technology to help test documents for

accessibility Third Party Solutions DEMO Questions

What will be covered:

Document Accessibility

Increasing number of distance education courses…

Number of electronic documents posted on websites are not accessible E.g., PDFs scanned with no tags E.g., Word documents designed without

styles E.g., forms are inaccessible

Creation of Documents

Scanning of hard copies Converting Documents Creating Electronic Documents

Microsoft Word Microsoft PowerPoint Adobe Acrobat

Accessible Text

To qualify to receive material in alternative formats, students, staff and faculty must have a documented “print” related disability. (Referrals are made by our Office of Disability Services and our ADA Coordinator.)

Learning disabilities related to reading

Visual impairments Some mobility

impairments Some other cognitive

impairments

Scanning Documents

Things you CAN do to help make it accessible.

Scanning: Whether you have an

electronic file or a hardcopy: Use software that came

with your scanner to import document– this will produce a TIFF file.

Save file

What NOT to do ….

Always use OCR Never assume that a copy is screen reader ready because it “looks” clean.

Converting Documents

OCR software – open your scanned document with: ABBYY Pro Adobe Acrobat Pro Read & Write Gold

Save to desired format(s) – PDF, Word, RTF,Text etc.

Editing Some editing may be

needed to assure accessibility

Depending on final format needed -editing can be performed through OCR software or Word.

Adobe Reader and Acrobat Professional Adobe LiveCycle Designer Microsoft Office

Word PowerPoint

Electronic Documents

Add alt text to images and objects Specify column headers information in tables Use styles in long documents Use short titles in headings Ensure all heading styles are in the correct order and are unique Use hyperlink text that is meaningful Use simple table structure Ensure that the reading order of each slide is logical Increase visibility for colorblind viewers Avoid using blank cells for formatting Structure layout tables for easy navigation Avoid using repeated blank characters Avoid using floating objects Avoid image watermarks Include closed captions for video

Microsoft Office 2010: Word and PowerPoint

Why documents should be made accessible Types of documents How to create accessible documents Built-In technology to help test

documents for accessibility Third Party Solutions DEMO Questions

What will be covered:

Mac Operating System Windows Operating System

Built – In Accessibility

Built – In Accessibility: Mac

To open the Built-In Accessibility open System Preferences.

Here you can use Speech (Speech Recognition or Text to Speech), or you can open Universal Access to see features based upon disability.

Mac Speech• Text to Speech,

highlighted here, allows you to read documents, websites, etc.

• Speech Recognition allows you to talk into the computer and it will “type” for you.

Mac Universal Access Universal

Access helps you determine your needs based upon your preference as seen here.

Built – In Accessibility: PC

Windows 7, Vista and XP http://windows.microsoft.c

om/en-US/windows/help/accessibility/getting-started

Showing Windows 7 - Go to your Start panel, select Accessories and “open” Ease of Access folder.

Ease of Access Center

This takes you through a wizard process helping you select what is needed.

This is where you can use the voice recognition system to speak to the computer.

You can also get to Ease of Access Center using the Control Panel

Under the Ease of Access Folder you’ll also see On-Screen Keyboard and Windows Speech Recognition

There are some helpful accessibility features in the free Adobe PDF

reader. For example, any PDF file open in Adobe reader can be read aloud with the "Read  Out Loud" option. 

Under the 'View' menu, select 'Read Out Loud', then 'Activate Read Outloud‘.

The Read Out Loud feature of Adobe Reader can be accessed with Keyboard Commands, as listed below.

Activate Read Out Loud:  Shift + Ctrl + Y Read This Page Only:  Shift + Ctrl + V Read To End of Document:  Shift + Ctrl + B Pause/Resume:  Shift + Ctrl + C Stop:  Shift + Ctrl + E

Adobe Reader Accessibility Features

Features for making PDF files accessible for reading Ability to add text to scanned pages to improve

accessibility Tools for creating accessible PDF forms Conversion of untagged to tagged PDF files Tools for editing reading order and document structure Security setting that allows screen readers to access

text while preventing users from copying, printing, editing, and extracting text

Action Wizard to make PDF Accessible

Adobe Acrobat Professional

Where to find accessibility in Adobe X

Accessibility Palettes Support for Screen Readers Adding Structural Navigation to Forms Tabbing Order for Accessible Forms Accessible Form Properties Accessibility of Imported Content Accessibility for Authors

http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/livecycle/overview.html

Adobe LiveCycle Designer

How to include Accessibility in LiveCycle Designer

Before starting any document, Right click, scroll to Palettes and select Accessibility. This will continue to show up throughout the document.

When choosing a text box selection look to the far right of the screen to accessibility. Select “Caption” to tag the text box name.

Including Accessibility in LiveCycle

You can check the tab/reading order and change it as needed.

Livecycle allows designers to specify the embedding of accessibility information within files that are saved in PDF.

Microsoft Built-In Accessibility Checker

When you go to file, you’ll see on the left side a “Check for Issues” and when selecting that you’ll find “Check Accessibility”

http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/office2010/default.aspx

Microsoft Office 2008 does not offer Alt Text

for images

Microsoft Office 2011 does offer Alt Text – Click on the image, Control + Click on the

image (equivalent of right clicking in PC). Then go to Format Picture and to Alt Text.

http://adod.idrc.ocad.ca/node/1 http://mac2.microsoft.com/help/office/14/en-u

s/word/category/0fd37350-97cb-4c7b-bc4d-1725e279a4cd

Mac Info

Commonlook Office

Plug-in installs directly into MS Office 2007 and 2010 Walks document creator through issues within the

document and tags the document to make it an accessible PDF.

Accessible Wizard for MS Office

Plug-in installs directly into any MS Office app (2007 - i.e., Word, PPT)

Walks document creator through issues within document and how to make them accessible

Third Party Solutions

How to use the Built –in Accessibility Checker

to make sure your document is accessible.

How to use Commonlook Office.

Example of a Bad Document

Kara Zirkle, IT Accessibility Coordinator, phone:

703-993-9815 or kzirkle1@gmu.edu

http://webaccessibility.gmu.edu

George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MSN 6A11,

Aquia Building, Room 238, Fairfax, VA 22030 Phone: 703-993-4329 Fax: 703-993-4743

ati@gmu.edu Website: http://ati.gmu.edu

Questions