If the books you are using are not available electronically, what obstacles might your students with disabilities run into? Learn how to be pro-active.
EqTD AUDIT
Use this AUDIT to evaluate the accessibility and usability of non-text graphics in a variety of media.
R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee
EqTD AUDIT
EqTD Manual
In-line EqTD AUDIT
Here is the AUDIT to use to evaluate the accessibility of in-line text characters that need to be treated as graphic elements for accessibility e.g. subscript, ampersand, foreign letters.
R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee
In-line EqTD AUDIT
In-line EqTD AUDIT Manual (Version 1.3)
Writing EqTDs Posterette
The essential "bare-bones" of what needs to be in an equivalent text description and where the EqTD is placed in the document. Whenever you create a document, electronic or paper, any non-text element (picture, graph, "eye-candy") is not accessible to many individuals.
R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee
Writing EqTD's Posterette
Easy to use 1-page webpage of guidelines for large print. "Research conducted by (American Printing House for the Blind) APH in the Student Survey of Large Print and Magnification Needs to Optimize Reading Efficiency, points to the validity and necessity of the (these) guidelines. APH believes these guidelines embody the attributes that have been shown through research to provide optimum readability for persons with low vision."
Kitchel, J E - American Printing House for the Blind
Detailed instructions. Also, other website links on the topic are provided.
Hudson, R - "Web Usability"
One part of his comprehensive tutorial, these pages discuss the complexities of tables and how to make them accessible.
Jim Thatcher
A brief tip sheet about making Microsoft tables accessible. A nice diagram accompanies the discussion about how screenreaders read tables.
NC State University
research based guidelines for large text production.
Kitchel, J E - American Printing House for the Blind
Nice summary from this UK site 'supporting blind and partially sighted people' for preparing accessible print documents.
Royal National Institute of Blind People, UK
Everything you would want to know about color and accessibility. While this page was prepared for web accessibility, these issues also are relevant for print, poster, Power Point, etc. materials.
University of Minnesota Duluth
"When we talk about the accessibility of forms, we are usually referring to their accessibility to people who use screen readers. People with other types of disabilities are generally less affected by faulty forms. It should be noted, however, that everyone benefits from a well-organized, highly usable form, especially those with cognitive disabilities." Comprehensive how-to.
Web Accessibility in Mind
Nifty web page with 3 general guidelines for making effective color choices that work for everyone when designing.
Lighthouse International
"This project is researching and documenting effective practices for providing meaningful descriptions of science content within Digital Talking Books that serve post-secondary students, professionals and scientists who have visual impairments or blindness. A particular focus is ways to describe non-text content, such as equations, charts, and diagrams." [Annotation from CATEA resource page]
NCAM
"The Guidelines reflect input from over 100 national disability organizations and has been reviewed and endorsed by media and disability experts throughout the country."
The Life Span Institute
A nifty website that demonstrates effective and ineffective use of print text through 10 basic guidelines.
Lighthouse international
Nice tutorial to learn the WHY and basic How-to's of multiple formats.
National Library of Canada
Guidelines for Non-handicapping language recommendations per APA style.
APA
This is a list of online sources for electronic books, magazines, newspaper articles and other material. The files are in a variety of formats ranging from plain text to digital audio and digital Braille. Most material is public domain literature and free of charge, although some do charge a subscription fee for content and/or proprietary software.
Visual impairment - Sources for Online Books
Very comprehensive listing of resources for about 40 topics related to web accessibility. In addition to comprehensive information of web design accessibility, this page has links to more than 50 (!) links about writing alternative text. That should be enough to get you started.
University of Minnesota Duluth, Information Technology Systems & Services
