CREATING ACCESSIBLE DOCUMENTS

Karen Wilson, Web DesignerWeb Servicesx6147

REGULATIONS

Section 508 of The Rehabilitation Act Electronic and Information Technology

Currently going through modifications to move away from web accessibility standards from the late 1990s

WCAG 2.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0) Standards that the new Section 508 rule is going to reference

SWOSU WEBSITE

Redesign that will address many accessibility issues

How will departments be involved? Information submitted to post on the SWOSU website

Media (audio and video) must contain captions

Electronic documents Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, etc. must be accessible

CONTENT REVIEW

Determine the purpose and intended audienceWriting should match the way users read on website

Headings and subheadings are scanned Content should be written in short, concise paragraphs Most important information needs to be placed “above the fold” to ensure that it

is visible to a reader who does not scroll Content should be written to work as a stand-alone webpage and not presume

that the reader has arrived through a certain path

Page title must be meaningful and reflect the content of a webpage Extremely important for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

CONTENT REVIEW

Links should be descriptive of the information they link to Example: “Online University Application” NOT “Click Here to Apply”

Images should not contain important text, such as headings

Captions must be used for audio and video If accessibility standards cannot be met, the information

should be available by alternative means

ORIGINAL DOCUMENT IN WORD

http://webaim.org/techniques/word/ Create documentRun “Check Accessibility”

File / Info / Inspect Document

Convert to PDF

ACROBAT XI PRO

http://webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/ Run “Make Accessible” wizard

Tools / Action Wizard / Make Accessible

TURO (TouchUp Reading Order)

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Install Acrobat XI ProCompile list of existing documents on website

Filtered list on Publications Database

Random documents linked within the department website

Find original documents, if possible, and work through accessibility issues OR recreate documents with proper accessibility steps taken

Convert to PDF, if necessary, making sure the file passes accessibility standards

Send updated files to Web Services (Hayden Harrington)

TIMELINE

August 1, 2015-have updated accessible documents to Web Services NOTE: This deadline is dependent upon individuals having access to Acrobat X

Pro or Acrobat XI Pro by June 2015.

The goal is to meet accessibility standards on 100% of electronic documents by the beginning of Fall 2015 semester

Early summer Similar workshop as a refresher or for additional department employees