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Course Design

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  • Backward Design Basics
  • Learning Objectives
  • 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 Word Documents

Updated on March 14, 2024

Microsoft Word has a number of powerful accessibility features. Making the most of those features does sometimes require a shift in habits or processes.

Major Points To Keep In Mind

  1. Select simple san serif fonts (e.g. Arial, Verdana, Calibri, Helvetica) to increase readability and default to 12-14 pt font
  2. Format text appropriately with titles, headings, and other styles
  3. Use the list and bullet features to organize content
  4. Add alternative text to images, graphs, and figures
  5. Add column header rows in tables and avoid blank rows or columns
  6. Ensure hyperlinked text is descriptive
  7. Provide transcripts or captions for embedded audio and video
  8. Use the built in accessibility checker

Other Points To Keep In Mind

  1. Provide a table of contents for longer documents
  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

See The Following For More Comprehensive Guidance

  • WebAIM Guidance on Creating Accessible Word Documents
  • Microsoft Guidance on Creating Accessible Word Documents
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