PowerPoint presentations are widely used in higher education to present in class and provide information to students. PowerPoint has amazing benefits and can be made very accessible if the items on the checklist below have been checked and corrected. 

If you are exporting your PowerPoint presentation to a PDF before distributing it, use the following guidelines on creating accessible PowerPoint PDF handouts. 

PowerPoint Accessibility Checklist

• Choose accessible themes/templates. Templates should use contrasting colors and be accessible.
  
  
• Use proper slide layout. Each slide needs to use one of the preset Layouts provided by PowerPoint. 
  
  
• Check the reading order. It is important that the elements on each slide are in the proper order for those using assistive technology. 
  
  
• Add alternative text to images. Every image in the presentation needs to have an alternative text or long description. 
  
  
• Ensure table accessibility. Tables always need to have header rows and a keep a simple layout avoiding merging or splitting cells.
  
  
• Create descriptive links. All hyperlinks should be descriptive rather than simply saying, "Click Here".
  
  
• Use the Microsoft Accessibility Checker. This tool will not fix accessibility issues for you, but it does provide assistance in fixing some accessibility issues. 

 

If you have any questions about PowerPoint accessibility, contact us at elearning.oa@ttu.edu.