Accessibility
G suite offers a verity of accessibility features in many of their products. The videos bellow offer a preview of some of their features, tips to think about when working on a G Suite tool, and how to utilize them. You can also access the a written version of their accessibility recommendations, explore their accessibility blog to look at other features or stories not mentioned, or review their user accessibility guide.
Close Caption on Slides and alt image text
The Google slides comes with the option to add captions to your presentations. Adding captions assists people with difficulty hearing, those who can't play sound when watching, or those who find it easier to read along. To learn how to caption on slide click here.
Alt text- Descriptive text connected to an image, help students with screen readers know what the image is and help others better understand the image. To add text:
Select an image.
Right click Alt text.
Enter a title and description.
Click Ok.
Text and Screen readers
Screen readers are tools that help people listen to the text on a document or slide. People may want to use these if they have a visual impairment, learning disability, to review a paper, or to listen to a document wile on the go. Formatting text is key to help screen readers convey the information to the reader.
Link descriptors- When you make a link in a document, it is important to use descriptive text for that link. When doing that the user of the screen reader will know better what the link is.
Describing text- Some screen readers are unable to note formatting differences like bold or italicized text. To assist a user with a screen reader it is good practice to bracket important text with terms that convey the importance.
Comment boxes- Comment boxes or suggested edits assist users to find edits and changes made on a Google document. When using a screen reader a student can easily move from comment to comment. Editing a document in this way also allows the student to better note where an edit is if they cannot see the in text change.
Learn more about Google and screen readers here.
Images/Text/Formatting
Formatting visual information, such as graphics and tables, can further assist people using screen readers or other tools.
High contrast images- These are images that stand out from the background of your document, site, and slide making them more noticeable to the person reviewing the document.
Alt text- Descriptive text connected to an image, help students with screen readers know what the image is and help others better understand the image. To add text:
Select an image.
Right click Alt text.
Enter a title and description.
Click Ok.
Tables- When making a spreadsheet it is best to give descriptive labels to the columns and rows so that users best understand the information presented.
Formatting- Google Docs offers tools to add navigation landmarks, such as page number or headings. These landmarks help readers easily move between sections.
Template- Google Suite offers a variety of templates for users to chose from that are already accessible.