With new regulations for federal, provincial, state and municipal governments requiring that ‘public’ documentation must be made accessible, there is a need to have staff create such documentation. During this course students will discuss printed and digital requirements for public documentation and review the methods and features within Microsoft® Office to author these.

Learning Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

– Evaluate Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents for accessibility

– Use the tools within the applications to correct accessibility concerns

– Modify the Quick Access Toolbar to include the accessibility checker

– Properly convert your document to PDF and preserve accessibility formatting

– Create ePub publications using WordToEPUB

Target Student:
This course is designed for students who have a working knowledge of Office products and a basic understanding of accessibility.

Course Outline

Section 1: Introduction to Accessibility

– Understanding Accessibility

– Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)

– The Accessible Canada Act (ACA)

– WCAG Guidelines

Section 2: Writing with Accessibility in Mind

– Clear and Simple Writing Techniques

– Sentence Structure and Word Use

– Readability Statistics and Grade Level

– Page Organization

Section 3: Accessibility Checks

– Clear Print Guidelines Test

– High Contrast and Magnification Test

– Screen Reader Test

– Accessibility Checker

Section 4: Accessibility and Word

– Understanding Proper Document Structure

– Understanding the Importance of Meta Data

– Creating Accessible Word Templates

– Working with Heading Styles

– Using the Navigation Pane and Selection Pane

– Formatting Text for Accessibility

– Issues with Colour and Contrast

– Creating Column, Section, and Page Breaks

– Understanding How Spacing Affects Screen Readers

– Inserting Images and Objects and Making Them Accessible

– Avoiding Text Boxes and WordArt

– Adding Accessible Tables and Restructuring Complex Tables

– Creating Accessible Charts

– Working with Auto Lists

– Headers and Footers and Accessibility

– Formatting Hyperlinks

– Creating Accessible Forms

Section 5: Accessibility and Excel

– Creating Worksheet Summaries

– Creating Contents/Index Pages

– Working with Blank Columns and Rows

– Table Formats

– Creating Named Ranges

– Creating a Logical Layout

– Avoiding Merged Cells

– Using Freeze Panes

– Protecting your Spreadsheets

– Accessible Chart Formatting

Section 6: Accessibility and PowerPoint

– Using Templates and Themes

– Proper Slide Layouts

– Working with Slide Masters

– Best Selection of Fonts and Font Sizes

– Working with Colour and Contrast

– Adjusting Slide Reading Order

– Avoiding Animations and Slide Transitions

– Creating Audio Transcriptions and Video Captions

– Converting PowerPoint to Other Formats

Section 7: Planning for the Intended Output

– Preparing the Document for PDF Conversion

– Understanding the Impact of the Output Format on Workflow

– Using the Acrobat Accessibility Checker

– Opening the Acrobat Bookmarks Pane Automatically