[music playing]

Speaker 1: OTAN, Outreach and Technical Assistance Network.

Debbie Jensen: A11y you often see, and it's a numeronym. I had never in my life heard of what an numeronym is. But it's something in which they use a number to represent the number of letters. And apparently, they thought accessibility was too long a word, so it starts with an A, it ends with a Y, and there are 11 letters in between.

Literally, that's what it is, which I thought was clever. All right. So as you see, this is accessibility. Welcome. Come on in. Join us. Hi. Welcome in, everyone.

A little about me, I taught since 1987. And basic skills is what I ended up in, various programs. And that gave me a lot of sympathy and understanding for the various programs that we have older adults, adults with disabilities, high school distance learning.

I was right on the cusp of distance learning when I retired, which was that summer after COVID started. My grandkids moved in with me. And so that is my focus now. So I work with OTAN and with my grandkids.

I'm a jack of all trades in the way of many things with OTAN. I write courses. Right now, the normal courses are being changed into Canvas courses. So now, I'm learning about Canvas.

And I work with teaching with technology as well. And I do presentations. The things that I'm focused on at OTAN, the specific ones that I've kind of been-- the umbrella that they've given me, one is tips. And there is a presentation on tips later on.

It's the Triple E Framework. And this is a framework for teaching that is simplified. And it's so-- once you learn it, it's like you go, well, this just makes sense, how to make technology serve the students and the learning rather than just be the fun stuff that technology is. And so we work with that. We're presenting that.

I also work with CK-12. If you are involved with materials, resources, I need things for my students, CK-12's one that you want to know about because it's free, and it's excellent. And it is like having a textbook online that has everything in it, including videos, simulations, all of this, AI in the course. And it's free. And you can customize it, so that what happened today in the news, you can put in the course tonight and talk about it with students.

So that's another one that's very important. And I love Google. I never feel that I'm not satisfied. Of course, they keep changing stuff.

All right, the goals today, accessibility issues. And I promise you, you're going to feel overwhelmed. The first time it was presented to me some years ago, my first comment was, crap, oh my goodness, because I realized everything I was doing was wrong.

All the presentations, all of my resources, everything that I was so proud that I created that looked so good was wrong. And so I'm expecting that response from everyone else. But I wanted you to understand why it's important.

We're going to look at how California stacks up with the nation. I want to teach you how to fish because if you know how to fish, you need to have a tackle box full of tools. And so that's one of my primary focuses today is to have you have that experience.

I want you to have the experience--

Speaker 2: [inaudible] share the screen.

Debbie Jensen: Oh.

Speaker 2: Right here. Share it to Zoom.

Debbie Jensen: Oh, thank you. So they're all kind of sitting there. I should have known better because I use Zoom all the time. And I know you're supposed to share your screen.

And so-- go ahead. Get out and do what you need to do. OK, can they see that?

Speaker 2: Yes.

Debbie Jensen: All right. Oh, look. Now we get to see everybody. Oh, OK. All right.

OK, so I want you to have an experience with a screen reader. That's important because that's what you're creating too. And so I want you to have that experience.

We're going to look at something that's called POUR. And it's an acronym for various aspects of accessibility. So we're going to look at that.

We are going to focus on Microsoft not because it's the best, but because in a real way, it was one of the first that actually started addressing accessibility. So many of the features that Microsoft has been focused on for quite a few years, others are now getting to do. And so we're going to do Microsoft not because I'm getting an endorsement, just because you will have many, many materials and lots and lots of help from them.

We're going to look at Microsoft. And we're going to use the Accessibility Checker. And I'm going to demonstrate it.

I'm hoping that you will be able to do it too. And if you can't, I'm going to give you the slides. And there's a link to it to documents that you can practice on.

Now, when are we supposed to be done by?

Speaker 2: Not till 11:00. And we have a question in Zoom. Someone wants to know, did you just bring up the term, CK-12?

Debbie Jensen: Yes.

Speaker 2: I thought so. Yes, she did.

Debbie Jensen: Yes. CK-12 is a presentation I'm giving the pilots later because it's free and it's magnificent. And I think that because of that, it might be valuable. OK. All right. So let's go to the end.

And I want you to ask questions all along the way. Don't wait until the end. We will be going live. Fingers crossed that I can make it all the way--

Audience: This ends at 11:40. I just wanted you to know that, according to the schedule.

[interposing voices]

Debbie Jensen: 11:40. OK. I wish the clock was right there. It's much better.

Audience: It's not only for the students, not for you guys.

Debbie Jensen: This lady's droning on forever. All right, so let's go. All right. Maybe here? Nope? Not here.

OK, I'm not sure how to advance slides now. Am I using this?

Speaker 2: Just use the trackpad, and click on the slide.

Debbie Jensen: Oh, the trackpad?

Speaker 2: Yeah.

Debbie Jensen: Where on the slide?

Speaker 2: Anywhere on the slide.

Debbie Jensen: Just on it? Anywhere, or just the trackpad? OK. All right. I'm going to have to use my notes with this because it's all numbers.

This is to understand how large these abilities are in the world. According to the World Health Organization, one billion people in the world live with disabilities. That includes 360 million who have hearing disabilities, 285, vision, 380 that are working people with disabilities.

And I thought, why would they be bringing that out except that means that the workplace needs to be functional for them to be successful? In the United States, 61 million have disabilities. 26%, that's one in four, have some type of disability.

So it's large. It's large, but not just the numbers, not just that you saying, OK, I don't want to exclude that group, that large number of people that would not have access. If we approach teaching and the resources we create with the people who struggle in mind, we will help many, many-- in fact, we will find that we will also improve our teaching for everyone. If we're looking at California-- oh, OK. I don't know. Are they seeing the screen with this on it?

Speaker 2: It depends on their local-- if they have it open or not.

Debbie Jensen: OK. All right. Well, I'm not sure how to make it so you can see everything on the screen, but it's OK. This is California and how we stack up. And you can see that 11% have mobility problems. 11% have cognition problems.

Now, that's maybe not something you thought is a disability unless you have it. Then you understand that it does give you great difficulties. We have 5% with independent living, 5% hearing, 5% vision, and 4% self-care.

Some of those, when you look at, you may not think of them as disabilities because we are so focused on thinking it's mobility, and it's hearing, and it's seeing. But these things impair their lives. They struggle with them, and they don't get to participate equally because of it.

The number for California is 7,090,015. Don't forget the 15. I'm sure they want to be there, which actually ends up to be about the same as the nation. One in four people will suffer from some form of disability.

The thing about it, when you use your phone, how many of you use the pinch to make things bigger? Are you disabled? No, but we're using the same adaptive equipment to fit our own needs.

I have found as I-- I don't like to stay gotten older, but saying I matured sounds bad too. But as I have become more experienced in life, I find that there are times I will open a magazine and I can't read the print because of the color contrast. I didn't have that problem before.

And the first time I saw it, I thought, they must be doing something different not that it was me, but it was the magazine. But that's also dealing with accessibility. Color contrast is a big issue. And as we address it, we then help me, too.

All right. OK, so one reason that you should be addressing accessibility around yourselves-- and you can see who the up and coming people are and realize that in a couple more years, this room will be full. The second reason we need to do this is because it's the law. In 1973-- some of you don't remember that year-- we had the Rehabilitation Act. And that's where things started.

We had section 508. Then there was the Americans with Disabilities Act. And the federal government issued that anything that the federal government produced would have to fall under this. Congress changed it to say that it was anyone who was funded by the government, which, of course, makes educators involved with that.

In 1998, Congress amended that act to include electronic, and technical, and internet devices. And then in 2017, they said that by 2018, everyone had to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which you will hear as WCAG. And you'll hear that, and they'll say it real fast, and you have no idea what they're saying.

And for me, I was too afraid to raise my hand and say, what? But that is what is very common. People will say it's WCAG compliant. It's WCAG 2.0. It's WCAG 2.1. And as it advances and gets more strict, more exacting, we will need to be more compliant as well.

Now, I think this is one of my very most favorite pictures. I taught ABE, adults basic education. And I had students who had disabilities, wheelchair, hearing, vision.

And we've just been talking about the law. And what happens with the law, my observation, is that we don't worry about it until it comes in your neighborhood. A few years back, it's gotten more because we've advanced.

In Sacramento, the Domino's-- there was a lawsuit with the Domino's pizza because their online way to order pizza was not compliant for people with disabilities. And they went to court. And there was a lot presented, and they lost. And so you suddenly get your restaurants becoming compliant because they lost.

We will have the same happen to us. Education just needs the lawsuit. Suddenly, we will all go, oh, now, I have to pay attention. Yes?

Audience: I recently read this book, Haben by Haben Girma, who is the first deaf and blind woman who graduated from Harvard. It's just an extraordinary memoir in which he says how disability drives innovation. She was not able to see the menu at her college.

And she constantly asked for a certain, like, print for her, like raised dots. And she used different types for that. And she got so frustrated, that she felt like she was the one to-- who had to bring it up all the time.

She was like, I don't know. Is this my responsibility to always ask for it? I just don't know what's on the menu. So I can see that for one student or one person who needs it, we need to think of that person and not exclude them. It's part of equity.

Debbie Jensen: Absolutely true. And the thing that's really cool is that you can make that difference. You can start it at your school and then let it branch out.

And again, when I first got into this, it seemed like so much work. But times have improved. It's not that I suddenly think I'm brilliant and now I can do it.

Things have changed. Microsoft has changed. And so they have tried to make it so that if you just do a few things, the magic happens behind the door. So we're going to be looking at that.

But you're correct. If your student has the courage to let you know that they can't see it, or they can't hear it, or it's too small, or it's too big, or their screen reader can't handle it, I applaud them because it takes so much courage to be that person who stands up and says, please, do something to help me. My experience with my students was not that they are the ones that are out with the megaphone, and they're picketing, and they're protesting.

No, they're like this. They adapt. They figure out a way to make it so that they can still go on that trail, they can still participate. And they are so grateful for every single thing you do. And that's one of my favorites.

OK, accessibility is the key that unlocks information for everyone. As we make our information accessible across all sensory channels, or at least, more than one-- and this is one of the things that technology is really helpful with because I give you a textbook. It's not in braille. You can't read it.

But if I digitize the textbook and you click on the button that allows the screen reader to read it to you, you can now read the textbook. And so thinking in terms of what you present in your classroom and have it presented in multiple channels, whether it's being read to you or it's being-- you can see it or you can have it described to you, these are things that we can start looking at in what we present. Can I move this thing?

Speaker 2: Yes.

Debbie Jensen: Oh. I like that. Maybe I can move that. Oh, I like that too. All right, another one, navigation on the internet is mind boggling.

How many times have you sat there and just looked and you can't see it? I want to print this screen. There's your print button. What am I going to do? What am I going to do? That kind of stuff.

So presenting more than one way of navigation or even if you just explain the navigation, so that they understand how they're going to be able to get around. Screen readers, as I'm learning-- and I'm just at the beginning of learning how incredibly powerful they are-- use clues, so that they can navigate the screen like you do. You are going to go down, and you're going to find what you want to look at.

When you look at a table of contents, when you work through a book-- I don't want that. I don't want it that. I don't want that.

Well, what happens if you're blind? How are they going to discern whether to get screen readers adapt to that, so that they can tell headings and that they can then do it as a table of contents? And you've seen some of these things.

You'll get to a web page. And right at the beginning, there's these links. You click them, and they just take you to a place in the article.

And you're thinking, well, I could have just scrolled. But they can't. So it allows them to get to the place and be able to do the same thing that sighted can do.

And the last point, by implementing accessibility best practices, you will improve usability for all the users, not just the disabled. So doing this, adapting, creating, or changing will make your teaching in your classroom more accessible for everyone. All right. We'll try that one, then.

OK. All right. Penny Pearson of OTAN taught me accessibility. And she is from Alaska. And she loves to fish.

And so this was her illustration, and I thought it was very appropriate. If I just give you a fish, then you get a fish dinner. But if I teach you to fish, it's more involved. And it'll take me some time. And you're going to need a tackle box.

And so that's what we're looking at today. My goal is to give you as many possible tools and some sources, so that when you have too many tools and you just are overwhelmed, places you can go back. So that's my goal.

All right. Oh, when you turned that on, did you turn on the sound? Yes, I just need to make sure that you're going to hear the sound when I start this.

Audience: Now that I've used this, I teach a Hyflex class.

Debbie Jensen: Oh, there it is. Sure sound. Excellent.

Audience: It's a good practice for [inaudible].

Debbie Jensen: There you go. All right. So now, this is a screen reader. You can google this, and they will give you many screen readers. And the experience is pretty amazing because some of these people, the person using it is narrating how it works for them, which is very cool.

But this one is the one that I started. And I want you to just listen. They're going to tell you to close your eyes at a certain point and try and visualize what you would be seeing on the screen if you're only using a screen reader. OK.

[video playback]

- People often ask--

[interposing voices]

--what a difference it makes if a document is accessible. Or they say they know that there is no-- receiving their--

Debbie Jensen: All right. Do I have a--

- --no guarantee.

[end playback]

Debbie Jensen: Let's stop this. And is there a place on a screen where we can raise the sound? We can get out of this presentation. And then... Oh maybe that's it. OK.

OK, so that should-- OK, so let's try it again. No. OK, so we're going to stop sharing. And then we're going to go back to sharing. And we've got the share sound, and we're going to do the full screen.

[interposing voices]

[video playback]

- --ask what difference

it makes if a document is accessible. Or they say they know that there is no one with a disability that will be receiving their content. There are no guarantees. Documents are often shared with others. You don't want any--

[interposing voices]

Debbie Jensen: Let me start it over, and we will try it that way.

- Today we want to simulate what someone who uses a specific type--

[interposing voices]

- --many varying technologies for people to use and experience content. In this video--

Debbie Jensen: I'll read it out loud if people can't--

[interposing voices]

Debbie Jensen: A screen reader simulation. People often ask what difference it makes if a document is accessible. Or they say they know that there is no one with a disability that is receiving the content. But there are no guarantees.

Documents are often shared among others, and you don't want an inaccessible document to be attributed to your name or your company. Additionally, many accessibility features actually improve the reading experience for everyone.

And we want to simulate what someone who uses a screen reader-- and simulate that. And they're going to simulate the encounter with a poorly structured--

- --experience is like once the document has been made accessible.

Debbie Jensen: They're reading faster than I am. And then how they make it accessible when they use the technology. There are many different types of disabilities and, subsequently, many varying technologies for people to use and experience content.

In this video, Cammie, one of our Section 508 specialists, is going to walk through two scenarios to demonstrate the impact of creating accessible materials.

First, take a look at this PDF. We have colored, large text, graphics, a process flow, lists, and linked text. So it's pretty standard. What else do you see? Now we're going to simulate using a screen reader by covering up the document.

- This is how someone using a screen reader would experience it.

Audience: They can't hear the audio?

Debbie Jensen: No. And we went up, and I even stopped the share and turned it back on.

[interposing voices]

[end playback]

Speaker 2: They say they're hearing it in Zoom. So it must be about the speaker selection.

Debbie Jensen: Oh. You're hearing it in Zoom. That's interesting. You're just not hearing it here. That's right.

[interposing voices]

Debbie Jensen: OK. Wow. It's all messed up. It's frozen.

Audience: Can you click on something with the mouse? There we go.

Audience: All right. Now let's go back.

Debbie Jensen: So back I don't know how to do.

Audience: Your keyboard.

Debbie Jensen: All right. OK. Now, [inaudible]. Well, I want to [inaudible].

[video playback]

- People often ask what difference it makes if a document is accessible, or they say they know that there is no one with a disability that will be receiving--

[interposing voices]

- --accessible document.

[end playback]

Audience: Debbie, I don't know if everybody here is OK. The Zoom colleagues can hear.

[interposing voices]

Audience: But I want you to do your best, yeah.

Debbie Jensen: OK. [inaudible]. I'm sorry.

[video playback]

- People often ask what difference it makes if a document is accessible, or they say they know that there is no one with a disability that will be receiving their content. There are no guarantees. Documents are often shared among others. You don't want an inaccessible document attributed to your name or your company.

[interposing voices]

Additionally, many accessibility features actually benefit and improve the reading experience for everyone.

Debbie Jensen: Now, the things you're not going to be able to experience as well, too, is that [inaudible] where they're reading to you and [inaudible], so just bringing that to mind.

- Then we'll show you what their experience is like once the document has been made accessible.

Debbie Jensen: Keep in mind the screen readers are just one type of this technology, and there's also a multitude of screen readers. And out of the--

[interposing voices]

--students will pick the one that they like. Or some come with the program. The program--

[interposing voices]

Debbie Jensen: And so as you get more interested in this, you'll be able to see this more, and you can find out what your student likes. So they're telling you about-- this is a pretty interesting document. I could have put this one together. So it's not that unusual. So now they're going to use a screen reader and have the screen reader read to you. You're then to have your eyes closed and listen to what he says.

- This is how someone using his screen reader would experience.

Debbie Jensen: Interesting interaction with kids. Kids of any age sing a song. All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

Have a treat for lack of graphic item. Bullet, French graphic fries. An ice graphic cream. You play the graphic, travel to graphic McDonald's. Activities and play. Try some of these. Play a board game. Make a paper plate mask, and go to the park. Send an email to get more great ideas.

[interposing voices]

Debbie Jensen: Was that what you expected to hear? Clearly, it did not describe the page in anything useful.

- --not created in an accessible manner.

Debbie Jensen: So let's now listen to the-- they've now changed the--

- --now that we've remediated the document.

Debbie Jensen: --the document, right. And so now, they're going to read it to you again. The heading level 1, kids can be of any age. Heading level 2, sing a song. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the kings' horses, all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again.

- --couldn't put Humpty together again.

Debbie Jensen: Heading level 2, Have a treat. Graphic, acquiring a treat process. See level for full description. Heading 2, Activities and Play. Try some of these. List of three items. Star bullet, play a board game. Star bullet, make a paper plate mask. Star bullet, go to the park. And the list ends. Send us a-- link-- email to get some more great ideas.

You should have noticed that the screen reader said "headings" before the colored phrases. The graphic had a meaningful description and was read in the proper order all at the top of the page. The column content was read in the proper order. There was a list that included the number of total items.

A link was indicated so that we can activate it with the keyboard and our process flow. It had a brief description, but indicated that there's a long description available. So that you can review one method of handling complex graphics, we're going to show you one example of how to handle the graphic in this document.

Heading level 2, acquiring a treat process. List of three items. 1, Travel to McDonald's. 2, Select an item. List of two items. Nesting level 1, a, French fries; b, ice cream. List ends. Nesting level 3, Enjoy the flavor.

A numbered list structure was used to show order, and a sublist helps identify the hierarchy of the content. Hopefully you can see how important it is to structure your content. This kind of structure can be applied to all office documents and PDFs.

- Moving along to the next scenario--

Debbie Jensen: By using the headings--

[interposing voices]

- --issues found in PowerPoint. Study this slide.

[end playback]

Debbie Jensen: OK, as time has gone on, they have created an acronym. And you can write this in-- google it, and you will get much information about this. The acronym is POUR. And it stands for things need to be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

OK. I don't know if you'll be able to read fast enough, but you guys can read. Let's see. All right. You can take a break. All right. I'll let you read it yourselves. Did we get the closed captioning on?

[video playback]

- --available to educators, now include options for adding accessibility [inaudible].

Debbie Jensen: OK, that one's a problem because-- oh, there we go.

- And standards such as the Web--

[end playback]

Debbie Jensen: OK, now, let's try it. OK, there we go.

[video playback]

- --Content Accessibility Guidelines provide guidance for how to do so. However, these guidelines often include technical language that can be confusing to even veteran developers.

Fortunately, a set of simple principles as captured by the acronym, POUR provide a better starting point. POUR stands for perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust, four qualities that define an accessible user experience. Perceivable content is presented in a way that it can be accessed with more than one sense. This accounts for both the needs of people with disabilities and those who are accessing the content in less than optimal environmental conditions.

One example is the inclusion of closed captions and transcripts for video content. This will make the video more accessible to people who are deaf and hard of hearing. It will also make it possible for anyone to enjoy the content in loud environments where it would otherwise be inaccessible, such as while commuting on a train or a bus.

Operable content in digital materials can be operated with a variety of input methods ranging from the mouse, to the keyboard, and even speech commands. It also means options for navigation are provided. If the content of a digital material is marked up correctly, screen reader users can use a keyboard shortcut to bring up a list of headings.

Using these headings, they can skip to the desired section without the need to listen to an entire page. Understandable content in digital materials is presented in a logical and predictable way as the user navigates through its various sections. And supports for language, such as explanations of unfamiliar terms, are included or easily accessible.

Robust digital materials are compatible across platforms and work well with a range of assistive technologies. Designing digital materials according to widely supported standards will make it more likely that these materials will continue to work as intended as new delivery technologies are adopted. The four POUR principles apply to both teacher created and procure educational materials, whether they are commercially acquired or open educational resources.

When selecting or purchasing digital materials and technologies, use the power of the market. Call on developers and publishers to add accessibility at the source. This will ensure accessibility is built in rather than bolted on after materials have shipped. And the process of retrofitting becomes more costly and difficult.

The PALM initiative can help you with language you can include in your contracts. By addressing the need for accessibility at the source with developers and publishers, you will add your voice to a national movement that seeks greater equity in education. The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials, aem.cast.org, is your go-to resource for technical assistance. Together, we can develop and use learning materials that address learner variability and provide better opportunities for learning to all.

[end playback]

Debbie Jensen: OK. All right. I particularly like the page when they showed you what the screen reader presents to the blind person where all of the headings are there. So that is them scrolling. That is them doing what you are doing this way. Or scrolling down the page, they can just read through them, and then click, and go to the place where they need to go. So very, very good.

All right. So we're going to look a little bit more at them. This is poor, which you can't see because it's right at the top. Make sure the learner can see and hear your content. Add alternative text to images and other visuals. And that's one that you probably are aware of. What is the alternative text?

Closed captioned videos, or provide transcripts, or provide both. Provide sufficient color contrast between the text and its background. And avoid content that can trigger seizures.

Just yesterday, I was working on a presentation with one of the other presenters. And I went to pick a color for some of the text, and I picked red. And she says, oh, no, no, please, don't pick red because for her, it causes her--

She didn't call it a seizure, but it was very, very unpleasant. So she said, just don't ever use red. And that's something that you learn.

You learn which colors work and the contrast that you need to have. Also, green and red cannot be seen well by everybody. I don't know exactly who. But I know some people distinguish them [inaudible].

[interposing voices]

Audience: My son's color blind, so he can't see certain colors. And the colors are different for different people.

Debbie Jensen: There's a large group that's red and green, which makes Christmas boring. But it also makes the writing kind of scary. But there's other colors that, for some people, they can't distinguish, which we we'll look at a little bit later.

But that means that if you're using color to communicate some information, you aren't communicating with them. Something to think about. OK, let's see if I can do it. Nope.

OK, this is PO. This is BO. Make sure your learners can interact with your content with a variety of tools. Provide clear structure with proper marked up headings.

Create descriptive links that make sense out of context, provides sufficient time for interaction and response. That one wasn't one that I included readily. I was not comfortable with silence at all, and so I would just move on not realizing that not everybody reads at the same pace and not everybody even understands as quickly.

And so providing extra time is also something to add. Make sure that the content does not rely on color alone. Make sure that learners can understand your content and enjoy a predictable experience.

What this means is that you always do it the same way, which kind of breaks off creativity. I'm a little bored. I think I'll change things up. That doesn't work well.

It demands extra effort on their part, and they may lose it. And so make it a predictable experience. And then once they've learned the pattern that you're presenting in, then they continue with it.

Clarify expectations through clear directions and models. Follow conventions to ensure a predictable and consistent experience. Use plain language.

That one was I didn't really quite understand. Except that we are a worldwide people. And so if it's going to be in English, let them know it's in English, so that the screen reader can read it in English. And so let that be known, and indicate the language of your content.

All right. And the last one are robust. Ensure that your content will work well with the current and future technologies. Now, that's tough. The future technologies haven't happened yet.

But just expect that that is something that you are going to be addressing. Think about CDs. I have stacks of CDs, and I don't have a computer that prints them anymore because I couldn't buy a computer that had a CD ROM in it. So the world changes.

Add metadata to make your content easier to find and use. And this is something that I'm just learning about. I love to do family history. And you have all those old photographs.

And you can put metadata on it, and it travels with the picture telling time, people, event. Valuable. So this is valuable across all areas. Perform the accessibility check, all right? And perform basic assistive technology testing.

OK, so we're going to use Microsoft. I'm going to demonstrate-- we're first of all going to go through it. You're going to go, oh, my goodness, the list.

You will have a copy of this presentation, so that you don't need to-- because it is very much a lot of stuff to look at. And again, the reason we're using Microsoft is that they provide, errors, warnings, and tips because it's levels of how bad it is.

So you definitely want to get rid of all the errors. Warnings, you want to address too. But then they also give you tips. And so they are trying to assist it with you.

But it doesn't do everything. And there will be times-- it's also changing. As WCAG is getting more-- strict sounds so unkind. As it's tightening up--

In other words, you had to get to the top of the mountain. And they knew they couldn't do it in one step, so they're taking steps to get you there. And so as the step moves, you're going to feel like-- which means that as you start making changes, you might want to make changes not just to pass now, but to be well within, so that it'll pass next time too.

We're going to use the tools, especially styles. And we will-- also, in PowerPoint, we're going to use placeholders. So we are looking at Word first. And this is when you have a list.

Use the built in headings and styles. This is what-- when you used to highlight the word, and you change the size, and you bolded it. And then because now it needs a little extra space, you just want to enter Enter. It takes care of all that.

When you use the Enter key, when you choose the heading, it will make it the right size. And it will be sequential, so that if you start with title and then you go heading one, heading two, there's a hierarchy with them. Fonts need to be at least 12. Bigger is better.

Sans Serif. Serif are the little things that go on the letters at the bottom and the top. They don't work well as translators. And so just find fonts. And they're making new fonts. I just learned about a font that I'm going to put on--

Audience: Lexend.

Debbie Jensen: Say it again.

Audience: Lexend.

Debbie Jensen: Lexend. Yes, and I want--

Audience: I just found out about that, too.

Audience: How do you spell it?

Audience: What is Lexend?

Audience: Lexend, it's supposed to be one of the better fronts to red across the board, especially for people with dyslexia. I found out about it last week.

[interposing voices]

Debbie Jensen: It's new. And of course, it's free, so you just need to add it to your fonts.

[interposing voices]

Audience: Yeah, go through the fonts, and you can see it. I use it in Google Docs.

Debbie Jensen: It's like the most user friendly.

Audience: Yeah.

Debbie Jensen: Well, and it addresses all the things like dyslexia. OK. All right. So yes, you want to do that. And this is another thing they suggest.

Don't use italics, and don't use uppercase for emphasis. These things are hard for the screen reader. So that's why you're not doing it.

[interposing voices]

Audience: Sorry, how about italics for titles?

Debbie Jensen: This was the instruction given to me. It was not given with a little thought that says, and in this situation. We are trying for the most accessible. OK?

Audience: Sorry. I didn't know.

Debbie Jensen: No, that's fine because those are all the feelings that I had when learning. I was like, well, how about this, and how about this? But this looks better. OK, spacing, you will not use the Enter key.

All spacing is done by choosing the correct heading. And it will then put the spacing between the paragraphs. Then the screen reader will not do this. It will not come to the end of the paragraph and say space.

He's dealing with the commands. And so if you have commanded the machine to do the space, space, it'll say it. OK, Alt text. All images have to have some kind of description, and that's called alternative text or alt text.

Don't use text boxes, word art, or watermarks. Columns, this was another way that we could be creative. I want the image over here. And so I'll just use a two column, and I won't do anything. And that'll put the image where I want it to be.

Screen Reader goes nuts. So you can't do that. If you're going to make columns and use columns, use the column command. And that's also true with tables.

We're not going to really do much with tables because they're a tiny bit more complicated. But they are addressed in Microsoft. As long as you go to the table, and you create it there, and you put headings in it, the screen reader can read it.

OK, continuing, everything must be screen reader accessible. You will check that with the accessibility checker. Colors need contrast.

Don't use color to convey meaning, so that if the wrong answers are all red, right answers are all blue, nope. Have digital alternatives for printed copy. This is a new world for many, many, many people who before had no access because the classroom was text. And you gave them a book, and that's the only choice they had.

So unless they could have a person who went to the class with them and read the text to them, they did not get to be a part of your class. So always have a digital alternative. And that's becoming more and more prevalent where some of our textbook publishers are dealing with this.

So take a look. They may have it already for you, so that it's available online and then people can read it that way. Hyperlinks. What's a hyperlink?

Audience: It takes you to the website, right?

Debbie Jensen: Right. It's what you click to go someplace else. Don't use Click Here, Select Here. That's meaningless. To someone who's blind, that's meaningless.

So have an intelligent one, like if it's going to Khan Academy, write Khan Academy. And then they'll click it. And then it's an intelligent one.

Also, don't read the whole URL because the screen reader will read every single letter to them. Can you imagine some of those that are three lines long? Oh, my goodness.

All right. Provide a table of contents. And I'm going to show you how simple this is. If you use headers, there's a button you can push-- well, first you put yourself where you want the table of contents because wherever your cursor is, that's where they're going to put it.

So if you're not thinking, you end up down there. So be sure you put it where you want it. And then you click on the button. And they put the headers and the correct order. And they are all links to the places in your document. So it's very cool.

Use the accessibility checker, and test with Immersive Reader. Immersive Reader is something that Microsoft has. And I added this slide because I had this experience.

I am changing Moodle courses to Canvas courses. And I had created worksheets. And the worksheets had lines for the students to write on.

So I just wanted to try this Immersive Reader. Like I told you to do, I wanted to try it. So I opened up one of my worksheets, and it read, use the link from WikiHow title How to Write a Paragraph.

Now, the Immersive Reader is better than some of the screen readers. But some of the screen readers, you can actually get different voices. They can be British. They can be male. They can be female. Yeah, you can pass that back.

All right. But anyway, so I'm going through this, and I'm thinking I'm doing great. Fill in the outline of the article, part one, underscore, underscore, underscore, underscore, underscore. And I just started laughing because all of my worksheets, all the lines were going to no longer be accessible.

So try the Immersive Reader. Maybe, you'll come away going, oh, yes, I'm good. Or maybe, you'll go, oh, no. [inaudible]. So I had to change all of them.

OK, now, we're going to look at PowerPoint. Use the built in slide designs. Again, it is because the screen reader is looking for them. If they are there, it can do a hierarchy of what's happening in the PowerPoint.

OK, slide reading order. When we look at a slide, we kind of look at it the way we want to. We may go left to right. We may go top to bottom. We may go biggest to smallest.

But we get to choose what we're doing. The screen reader is at a loss to do it the way you want it. Now, it's going to do it in its way, unless you tell it otherwise.

But you can. You can tell it to look to the image first and then do the title, or do the title, or do the page number. You can tell it, so pay attention to the slide order. Slide animations and transitions are a no. Text in images, this makes perfect sense, but I don't know why I never thought of it.

You can't have it, but you're going to have. So in your alt text, be sure that the words that are on that screen are read to them, or they will have no idea what's there. Use captions, subtitles, alternative audio tracks, and video. Use alt text with all visuals, and again, an alternative source of information.

Hyperlinks, make sure they're meaningful. Sufficient color contrast. And we'll look at that briefly. Simple tables, font 18 or bigger, and the accessibility checker.

And I skipped this one. Each slide needs to have a unique title. Now, to you, you know this section of five slides are all about Google Docs, Google Docs, Google Docs. But the screen reader can't put them in any sensible order, unless you make sure that the titles have something different, so that they can reference and find it.

OK, color contrast. This is from color contrast. And it's called Color-- I'm looking here. It's the Contrast Analyser.

And it's a free app that you get. And you can just put it at the bottom of your screen and as a button. And you can come up at any time and check the contrast between your background and the color of your letters. So you can do that.

And this one was never important to me until now. And so there are times when I get my grandkids to come in and read to me because I can't do it. OK, all right. This is my website, and this presentation is there as well as some documents for you to practice with.

Now, I'm going to try and make it so that you're going to practice with it today. I'm hoping that we're-- 11:40. Is that what you said? OK. All right. Then there should be time.

You're going to see that this is a listing of some of the resources available, and I truly mean some. At that site, I have the videos that you didn't get to listen to as well as some more videos. There's an accessibility toolkit, checklists, learning accessible modules, infographics, practice sheets.

And I think we're going to go there. So I'm going to stop share, and I'm going to go here. OK. All right. Now I'll start the share again. Can I click on the right?

OK. Share the sound. That's green. OK, now, you will have seen this before. This is the OTAN website. Well, let me go first to-- this is the presentation site that I just gave you the address to.

And at it, there's this page. There's Accessibility Resources. And all the presentations that I've given are here, so that you have them and you can go through them when you need to.

If we go to Accessibility Resources, you see the videos. And there's a couple of other ones that I ran across that I really like. This one is the one that you saw about before.

This one is on how to use a color contrast analyser. Very, very clear. Very simple. So those are good. Then these are resources.

And this is a list of great resources. We're going to look at some of them. And then at the bottom, there's some documents that you can practice.

Also, there's 508 compliance checklists. That's useful. There's Excel, PowerPoint, Word. And so we have legal documentation too. All right.

Now, I would show these. Well, let me see. I want to show you this one. This is done by the POUR people, P-O-U-R.

And it's really quite remarkable because there were all those sections. And then here's all the links to learn how to do every single one of those things that they say you're supposed to do. Oxford guide to plain English.

There's just-- interesting what they've got here. Oops. Pardon me. OK, so I like that one. I also-- the accessibility tips by California EL Civics Exchange, that one is very good.