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Course Design

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  • Backward Design Basics
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  • Universal Design for Learning
    • UDL in Practice
      • Accessible Documents and Universal Design
      • Accessible Word Documents
      • Accessible PDFs
      • Accessible PowerPoint
      • Accessible Excel
      • Accessible Videos
        • Using YouTube to Caption a Video
      • Accessible Canvas Design
        • UDOIT Accessibility
  • Copyright Guidelines
  • Designing Major Assignments
    • Get Started with Assignment Design
    • Communicating Assignment Instructions
    • Providing Opportunities to Practice
    • Works Cited
    • BC Faculty Members' Creative Assignments
      • Can Erbil & Kalpana Seshardi's Multi-Media Essay Project
      • Heather Olins' Nature Walk Assignment
      • Emine Fetvaci's Exhibition Catalog Assignment
      • Tom Sapsford's Performance Assignment
      • Douglas Warner's Scientific Manuscript Assignment
      • Alexander Auner's Visualization of Physics Project
      • Ethan Baxter & Natana DeLong-Bas' Video Project
      • Angela Ards's "Outsider Press Outlet" Group Project
      • Ángeles Picone's "Unessay" Midterm
      • Nora Gross's Creative Final Project
  • Additional Course Design Resources

Accessible PowerPoint

Updated on March 14, 2024

Powerpoint presentations can allow instructors to meaningfully curate and organize content, and Powerpoint features a number of tools that can make that content accessible to all students. Making use of the following features and processes can result in slide decks that are easy for everyone to access and navigate.

Major Points To Keep In Mind

  1. Use built in slide templates 
  2. Use simple style layouts and transitions
  3. Select simple san serif fonts (e.g. Arial, Verdana, Calibri, Helvetica) to increase readability and default to 18 pt or larger font
  4. Avoid slides that are too “text-heavy” 
  5. Use the list and bullet features to organize content
  6. Add alternative text to images, graphs, and figures
  7. Add column header rows in tables and avoid blank characters
  8. Ensure hyperlinked text is descriptive
  9. Provide transcripts or captions for any embedded audio and video content
  10. Use the built in accessibility checker

Other Points To Keep In Mind

  1. Ensure reading order is correct
  2. Ensure sufficient color contrast between content and background
  3. Avoid using color as the only way to convey meaning. Check for this by asking if the graphic would make sense in black and white. 
  4. Avoid using watermarks and automatic transitions

See The Following For More Comprehensive Guidance

  • WebAIM Guidance on Creating Accessible PowerPoints
  • Microsoft Guidance on Creating Accessible PowerPoints
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