Communicating with students, faculty, and staff with accessibility in mind

Christopher Soran

Introductions

Christopher Soran - SBCTC Application Support Manager

Outcomes

By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

• Recognize the importance of email and document accessibility
• Understand and adopt key principles for creating accessible emails and documents
• Understand how to create accessible emails using Microsoft Outlook
• Understand how to create accessible Word documents

​

How to Create Accessible Emails

Why should I care?

Do you want everyone to be able to read and understand your messages? Of course you do!

Accessible vs. Inaccessible Email

BEFORE: The flowers and flag look lovely as a backdrop to this Memorial Day message, but screen readers can’t translate image text to users.

​

​

​

​

Accessible vs. Inaccessible Email

AFTER: Providing both the postcard-style message with the image of TCC vets, and the plain text allows the President’s Veterans Day message to be appreciated by all.

SUCCESS!

Images

How would you describe what is happening here?

• person wearing red graduation dress
• person dabbing in red graduation gown while holding graduation cap in one hand and diploma in the other
• honey-yanibel-minaya-cruz-566197-unsplash.jpeg

Color Considerations

• Use good color contrasts and reasonable font sizes

​

• Don’t convey meaning using color only.

​

• Even this is better than simply changing the color.

Hyperlinks

Outlook Web vs Desktop Application

How to ask for Accessible Emails

Image demonstrating how to set accessibility preferences in desktop outlook. First go to Settings, then General, then Accessibility and check the box.

​

Attached Documents

How to Create Accessible Word Documents

Questions?