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Digital Accessibility for Academics: Basic Skills Workshop

Basics of accessibility for digital and print documents; tips and tools for academics. This workshop was presented on January 31, 2024 for the Center for the Humanities.

Common Campus Tools & Accessibility Features

Accessible Software

Microsoft Office

  • The Microsoft Office suite has accessibility checkers built in. For example, in Word in the Review ribbon, look for "Check Accessibility"

Canvas

  • CatCourses has a built-in accessibility tool as well. Check out the video below.

Adobe for PDFs

  • Adobe Acrobat provides an accessibility checker for PDFs. You may want to seek additional support for PDFs if you use them a lot.
More:

Web Accessibility Tools and Resources

Accessibility on the Web

Below are several resources to help you make your content more accessible on the web.

Accessible colors

"Contrast and color use are vital to accessibility. Users, including users with visual disabilities, must be able to perceive content on the page. There is a great deal of fine print and complexity within the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2 that can easily confuse web content creators and web accessibility evaluators." For more, see WebAIM's Contrast and Color Accessibility: Understanding WCAG 2 Contrast and Color Requirements.

Accessible Language 

Keep English Language Learners (ELLs) in mind too!

Writing for the Web

Writing tips for making online content clear and easy to understand.

Screen Readers

Screen readers describe software designed to turn visual textual information into audible content for accessibility.

Design for Neurodiversity

UC Merced Campus Resources

University of California Resources