Tools and Resources

Tip Sheets and Posterettes

Tip Sheets & Posterettes icon

Developed by the ACCESS-ed team, these documents provide short practical hand-outs on specific UDE topics.

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Accessible Documents Using Styles

This PDF contains a quick and easy overview on how the "styles" feature enables the design of accessible documents, as well as organized and structured documents.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Accessible Documents Using Styles  (PDF File)

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Bulletin Board, Blackboard, and Dry-Erase/White Board Purchase, and Installation Guidelines

This protocol addresses the needs of all users to access standard bulletin boards, blackboards, and white/dry-erase boards. Currently, ADA has guidelines for signage, but does not include bulletin board, blackboard, or white board guidelines. ADA requires that signs be hung at 60” to the mid-height of the sign (ADA, 2002). Although this is useful for signs, 60” places small boards too high for the reach of many users.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Accessible Bulletin Boards  (PDF File) (ACCESS-ed)

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Checklist for Universally Designed Tests

This pdf provides a list of items to insure that your test is accessible to all students.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Checklist for Universally Designed Tests  (PDF File)

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Construction Contract Tips

This PDF provides construction tips to insure accessibility. This document also includes an example of model contract language.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Construction Contract Tips  (PDF File)

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Creating an Accessible Logo

This posterette provides guidelines to make universally designed logos.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Creating an Accessible Logo Posterette  (PDF File)

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DARC Positon Description

Departmental Accessibility Resource Coordinator (DARC) are "appointed liaisons to bring universal design in education (UDE) ideas and resources to their respective departments or units." Prepared in posterette format for handy distribution.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

DARC Position Description Posterette  (Word Document)

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Designing an Accessible Syllabus

This PDF Posterette provides a guide for insuring that your syllabi are accessible through universal design.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Syllabus Checklist Posterette - Faculty Kit  (PDF File) (ACCESS-ed)

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Font Size for Accessible Media in the Classroom

These two Power Point slides provide a guideline to insure that the font size within print media are accessible when projected.

ACCESS-ed Project, R2D2 Center

How to Determine Font Size for Accessible Media  (PowerPoint Presentation)

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Remodeling Posterette

Before engaging in a remodeling project, here are some tips for accessibility. Specific examples included in this posterette are floor materials, types of windows, and thermostat height.

Anson & Smith, Rehabilitation Research Design and Disability (R2D2) Center

Remodeling Posterette  (PDF File)

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Tips for Installing Wall Mounted Controls

This posterette highlights the problems with ADA requirements and wall mounted controls and offers solutions (ADA standard vs.preferred standard). There are many wall mounted controls whose heights should be taken into consideration including light switches, thermostat controls, elevator controls, doorbells, automatic door openers, etc. ADA requirements are the minimum legal obligations that all builders must abide.

ACCESS-ed Project

Tips for installing Wall Mounted Controls  (PDF File)

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Top 10 Tips for Accessible Slide Presentations

This posterette is a guide for making slide and PowerPoint Presentations with universal design for accessibility.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Top 10 Tips for Accessible Slide Presentations  (PDF File)

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Top 10 Tips for UD in the Classroom

This posterette provides a summary of the "basics" to introduce Universal Design into your classroom. Examples are optimum classroom environment and verbally describing images.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Top 10 Tips for UD in the Classroom  (PDF File)

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Writing Equivalent Text Descriptions (EqTDs) Posterette

This short 2-page document provides the essential "bare-bones" of what needs to be included in an equivalent text description (EqTD) and where the EqTD should be placed in a document. Whenever you create a document, whether it is electronic or paper, any non-text based element (e.g., picture, graph, "eye-candy") is not accessible to many individuals, so EqTDs should be provided.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Writing EqTD's Posterette  (PDF File)

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10 Simple Web Accessibility Tips You Can Do Today

"Most web accessibility guidelines already go hand-in-hand with website development practices." On this web page, you can find 10 quick and easy ways to improve your site’s accessibility.

Jacob Gube, Six Revisions Website

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A Best Practices Review of Local E-Government Services

This summary report describes a review conducted to determine the extent to which local governments in Wisconsin have developed e-government to deliver information and services electronically via the Internet.

Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau

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Accessible Poster Presentations

This website contains information on how to create an accessible poster from the American Public Health Association (APHA). It is one if APHA's goals to make meetings accessible to the widest range of people possible. This website gives bullet-points in several categories to make your poster more accessible.

American Public Health Association (APHA)

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Captioning Tipsheet

This PDF version Captioning Tipsheet from PEPNet offers an overview of all different types of captioning. A section on how to make video materials available for classroom use is included, with a discussion and facts about procedures and funding.

PEPNet 2

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Disability Etiquette and Common Courtesies - How Much Do You Know?

Easter Seals Disability Services provides disability etiquette. This website contains tips for etiquette during conversations and common courtesies.

Easter Seals

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Guidelines for Creating Accessible Printed Posters

This paper which can be downloaded in PDF format has information on making printed posters. The paper covers using accessible text, using images, poster size and spacing, poster organization, and providing multiple formats.

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Library Accessibility –What You Need to Know Kit - 15 Tip Sheets

The ASCLA “Library Accessibility –What You Need to Know” toolkit series of fifteen tipsheets was developed to help librarians in all types of libraries understand and manage access issues. Each tipsheet addresses a specific concern, and was updated in 2010.

The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA)

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Tips About Teaching, Technology and Productivity - Accessibility in a Digital Age 1.4 (ProfHacker)

“Accessibility in a Digital Age” is a series published in the Chronicle of Higher Education and articles include a roundup of links to information about making digital resources accessible to all people. This article include links to several excellent resources.

The Chronicle of Higher Education

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Tips for Teaching Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

This handbook serves as a handy reference tool for faculty and staff at the postsecondary level who are teaching students who are deaf or hard of hearing. It accompanies a CD that can be used in faculty development activities to enhance their understanding of the educational needs and services of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. (2000)

PEPNet 2

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Tips on Teaching Math & Science

This webpage provides good suggestions for making math and science accessible for all students.

University of Washington

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Tips to Understand Deaf Culture

This tip sheet from PEPNet provides a description of Deaf culture and suggestions for effective communication. Tips include the importance of American Sign Language, terms used in the Deaf community, and guidelines for communication.

PEPNet 2

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UDL "Quick Tips"

This 3-page PDF document provides UDL "Quick Tips" based on the Center for Applied Technology's (CAST) Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines. Objectives and Benchmarks, Instructional Materials, Teaching Methods and Assessment Methods are tied in with an educational approach using CASTs three primary principles of UDL:Representation, Engagement and Expression.

The ACCESS Project, Colorado State University

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Universal Design in Education - Applying the Seven Principles

The seven principles of product and environmental universal design (from The Center for Universal Design, North Carolina State University) are applied to education on this printable "CATS Fact Sheet". Please note that wording is adjusted to the education realm.

"In these terms, universal design means the development of curriculum, instructional materials and instruction to be accessible to and useable by students with different backgrounds and abilities. The key aspect of a universally designed curriculum is its in-built flexibility."

CATS (Creating Accessible Teaching & Support) is hosted by the University of Tasmania, and was funded by the Australian Government, Department of Education, Employment, & Workplace Relations and the Australian Learning and Teaching Council.

Australian Government, Department of Education, Employment, & Workplace Relations and the Australian Learning and Teaching Council

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"When I had my accident I was told that, if I were to live, I'd live in an institution for the rest of my life... I don't think those people thought that that institution would be the Parliament of Canada"

Steven Fletcher, Member of Canadian Parliament