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Make Accessibility �Look Good

How to use PowerPoint layouts and themes, �and why they’re great for students (and for you)

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Reminder about accessibility

  • It’s required by law
  • It helps students of all abilities, not just acute disabilities

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What are PowerPoint Layouts?

  • Pre-created layouts that contain formatting, positioning, and placeholder boxes for all slide content
  • Customizable for different content needs

Microsoft Support. (n.d.). What is a slide layout? Microsoft Support. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/what-is-a-slide-layout-99da5716-92ee-4b6a-a0b5-beea45150f3a

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PowerPoint Layouts and Accessibility

  • A key aspect of slide accessibility is reading order*
    • *How a screen reader or other accessibility resources identify what order to present the information on a slide
  • Slide order is built-in to PowerPoint layouts
  • By using PowerPoint Layouts…
    • You take a big step toward accessibility compliance
    • Your students have an easier time navigating your slides!

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How to Select a Slide Layout

  1. Select the slide you want to format
  2. On the PowerPoint toolbar ribbon:
    1. Select Home > Layout
    2. Choose a Layout from the gallery of options that appears.

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What are PowerPoint Themes?

  • A theme is a predefined set of colors, fonts, and visual effects that you apply to your slides for a unified, professional look.
  • Using a theme gives your presentation a harmonious appearance with minimal effort.

Microsoft Support. (n.d.). Understand the difference between PowerPoint templates and themes.  Microsoft Support. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/understand-the-difference-between-powerpoint-templates-and-themes-e2408e10-e015-43b3-8b29-b99d128ae448#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20PowerPoint%20theme,harmonious%20appearance%20with%20minimal%20effort

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How to Select a Theme in PowerPoint

NOTE: �Themes only work if you’ve built your slides using Layouts!

  1. Open a PowerPoint file.
  2. On the Design tab, point at a Theme thumbnail to get a preview of how it would affect the look of your slide.
  3. To see the full gallery of themes, click the More button.

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Is there an MSUCOM Theme I can use?

Yes!

  1. Download one of our slide templates as a .pptx (File>Download>.pptx)
  2. Open the file using PowerPoint on your computer (not the web app)
  3. On the Design tab, click the down arrow to expand the themes section
  4. Select “Save current theme” and save with a memorable title
  5. The MSU Template is now a selectable theme in the Design > Themes toolbar!

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Additional Learning Resources

  • Why accessibility matters for everyone:
    • Watch Module 1 of W3Cx’s Introduction to Web Accessibility (free, requires you create an account)

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Test Yourself!

  1. Download this sample PowerPoint file and open it in the desktop version of Microsoft PowerPoint
  2. Try the following:
    • Look through the slides – do you notice anything about the layouts that look strange?
    • Try applying a theme from the design tab. Review the slides again. Notice anything new?
    • Under the review tab, run the Accessibility Check tool. Based on what is provided, can you identify any potential problems with any slides? How would you fix them?