Accessibility

The consistent layout is particularly important for students relying on assistive technology, such as screen readers. The easiest way to achieve this is by using one of the recommended templates (CBS template). If not using a template, ensure that the presentation is compatible with screen readers by running the presentation through the Assist tool.

Remember:

• Where possible, use the built-in layout options rather than adding text boxes to a blank slide.
• Give each slide a different title and number so students can navigate using assistive technology.

 For students with dyslexia, the fonts that are used in a presentation can be crucial to enable – or hinder – their engagement with the content. It is estimated that up to 7% of the population has been diagnosed with dyslexia (Peterson, Robin L.; Pennington, Bruce F. (May 2012). “Developmental dyslexia”. Lancet. 379 (9830): 1997–2007. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60198-6).
To make your presentation accessible for them, pay attention to the font you use, its size, and its purpose.

Remember:

• Use a sans-serif font (e.g. Calibri, Arial, or Verdana) in 24-28 point size for main text and 34-36 point size for headings/titles (NB. some font sizes appear bigger than others).
• For people with dyslexia, underlining and italics can make letters and words run together, rendering them harder to read. Use bold text instead for emphasis.

There are two accessibility issues related to the choice of color:

• The use of color to communicate information

Some people are unable to perceive color differences or may not perceive color the same way you do. Therefore, it is important to avoid using color alone to communicate information. For example, if the link text is blue, it should also be underlined so students who are unable to perceive color differences can distinguish links from surrounding text. Do not use color as the only indicator of meaning, such as marking priority items in red.

• The contrast between text and background

Some students may have difficulty perceiving text if there is too little contrast between foreground and background. To create the best experience for your readers, ensure that

• the writing is in a dark font
• the background is light enough to provide clear contrast. A cream background is often more accessible than pure white.
• avoid backgrounds that are overly ‘fussy’
• avoid contrasting colors such as red and green as these colors can be difficult for people with color blindness to differentiate.

The W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 require that color combinations meet clearly defined contrast ratios. To meet the guidelines at Level AA, text or images of text must have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 (or 3:1 for large text). Several free tools have been developed that make it easy to check color combinations for WCAG 2.0 compliance, such as Colour Contrast Analyser (for Windows or Mac) (https://www.tpgi.com/color-contrast-checker/) and WebAIM Color Contrast Checker (https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/ ).

Remember:

• Ensure that colors are not the only means of conveying information: use bold and underline text to help students distinguish between content elements.
• Be aware of the color contrast. Make sure your text is legible.

A presentation that has a clear structure and a limited amount of information on each slide is easier to read for all, but it is particularly important for neurodiverse students (e.g. those with Dyslexia, ADHD, Autism).

To avoid overwhelming the students, minimize the amount of text on each slide and avoid long sentences. Try to make it easy for learners to identify the main points – bullet points make slides easier to follow as well as help students rely on assistive technology, such as screen readers. If you find yourself putting a lot of text on a slide, consider providing this information as a separate file instead.

Remember:

• A simple consistent layout without too much text and information.
• Use keywords and bullet points.
• Use plain English/Danish and avoid the use of abbreviations

The use of images and multimedia in presentations supports student learning by offering multiple channels of engaging with the course material, which is especially valuable for neurodiverse students. At the same time, these students are highly susceptible to the sensory overload that can be triggered, for example, by animations and sounds that are not immediately relevant to the content of the presentation.

When using images or graphs, it is also necessary to consider the needs of students with visual impairment. To provide text descriptions, right-click on ‘Image’, select ‘format picture’, click the third icon along and select ‘alt text’ and then add in the title and description and click ‘OK’.

‘Click here’ to mark a hyperlink may show action, but this has been shown to slow down screen readers and increase cognitive load for their users. Instead, try to use descriptive hyperlinks that explain more clearly what information they link to.

Captions and transcripts must be available for all multimedia elements to ensure audio content is accessible to students with a hearing impairment. They also help non-native speakers, neurodiverse students who process information better if presented in multiple modes (sound and text), students who are unfamiliar with the vocabulary used in the video, students who have the sound turned off on their devices, and students in noisy environments who are unable to hear the sound from their devices. Also, captions make it possible for users to search the video and can be repurposed as an interactive transcript so users can jump directly to particular points in the video from the transcript text.

Remember

• Only use images that enhance the understanding.
• When using complex charts and tables, make sure to explain them.
• Caption your multimedia.

The Slide Rules
Mads Højlyng has written an article on how to teach with slides and set up slides in your PowerPoint presentation. The article is from 2017, and you can read it here.