Accessible Excel Spreadsheets for Screen Reader Users

Abstract

Learn important principles of designing accessible course materials focusing on making accessible data files using MS Excel for screen reader users

Presenter

• Jinhee Choo
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, jchoo@illinois.edu

ELearning office University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Gies College of business

Create online accessible

Using blackboard and MOOC to have classes and content

One blind student

Need:

Documents syllabus, assignment, and quizzes, word and. PDF

Video lectures- captions and extended visual descriptions

PPT- background readable by screen reader

ePub file is what they use to distribute video lectures

Needs:

Use excel to manipulate data in statistics class not a lot of resources out there.

Use with JAWS, need easy navigation, I’d of data and clear instruction on any related activities for screen reader users.

No multiple versions!!! Must work for sighted and screen reader users.

Check accessibility :

1. Name each object for easier navigation
2. Provide help text in A1 and A2
3. Hide text in A1 and A2
4. Left alignment
5. When not to left align when student needs to manipulate data. This can interfere with the development of the activity. If student is asked to use the dat to create tables with one and 1000 samples
6. Table setup: Provide general description in A3
7. Column headers: screen reader will repeat the column header info as a guidance to read the table. Insert a new row above the
8. Avoid merged cells
9. No empty cells in the data part, add “no data” change the text color to make it invisible
10. Set table format- set it into “add borders” for sighted user

Name of table must not begin with a number and no spaces. Easier to navigate with screen reader.

Set table style

Provide alt text to tables- some screen readers do not read all alt text. it’s randomly skipped. Put it in more than one spot A3 and alt text

At the end of the table, add a cell with “End of Worksheet” match text to background to make it disappear. There is a hack for this if you are

In A3 write special instructions like “there are unbidden cells”

try order of hiding columns and rows

Steps to unhide rows

Delete unused worksheets

See sample of embedded table fo mark.