Make your PDFs Accessible
Be an Accessible Content Ally with your PDFs!
Location
Online
Date & Time
October 14, 2019, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm – Canceled
Description
Are your PDFs accessible to every student in your course? Instructors routinely upload PDFs into their course, but this doesn't mean that every student has the same opportunity to access the materials, based on an individual's abilities.
PDFs are widely used to distribute content and information. Unfortunately, students with disabilities are often faced with an array of challenges when accessing these files. According to the Quality Matters rubric for assessing courses, “course design [and content] should reflect a commitment to accessibility and usability for all learners, ensuring they can access all course content and activities.”
Join us to learn how you can make your PDFs more accessible. Remember: accessible content is good content!
Objectives
Upon completion of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Update to the latest version of Adobe Creative Cloud through UMBC's Creative Cloud license for faculty and staff
- Utilize headers, formatting tools, and text styles rather than stylizing text
- Modify alt text on images and shapes for screen-readers
- Explain the importance of layout stylization and its impact on accessibility, like creating table headers, or splitting text into multiple columns
- Review accessibility through the Read Aloud, Check Accessibility, and Ally tools
About Ally
Ally is a tool used for instructors to receive feedback on the accessibility of their content, coupled with instructions on how to improve the accessibility of their content. Additionally, Ally automatically creates alternative versions of files which allows students to choose the type of file they want that best suits their needs. To learn more about Ally, visit our extensive FAQ collection.
Accessible Content Ally Badge
Instructional Technology will be awarding the Accessible Content Ally Badge to instructors who complete all of the following trainings:
- Making Word Docs Accessible -- 1 training OR 1 webinar
- Making PowerPoints Accessible -- 1 training OR 1 webinar
- Making PDFs Accessible -- 1 training OR 1 webinar
- Any Ally Orientation -- 1 training OR 1 webinar
Webinar
Prior to the session
If this is your first time joining one of our webinars, please review Getting Started Guide. You will also find additional helpful information for using Blackboard Collaborate at our extensive FAQs.
For the best viewing experience, we recommend using Chrome or a recent browser update. Webinars are bandwidth intensive, so closing any unnecessary browser tabs will help conserve your bandwidth. After joining the session, please configure your audio.
The session will be recorded if two or more people attend and the link will be distributed to everyone who registered.
