Accessibility Tools and Resources

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is proud to announce a video series covering a variety of topics on digital access in education, including how people with disabilities use technology, applicable Federal regulations, and identifying and remediating barriers to access.  Whether you are in the educational field or not, these videos have wide ranging coverage for those who want to know: What makes technology accessible for individuals with disabilities? And how can I make my site or platform more accessible?

We are a community of creators, and our digital spaces should reflect our commitment to ensuring everyone belongs. Pratt is committed to providing equal and effective access for all students, faculty, staff, and visitors with disabilities. Web accessibility is an extension of this commitment; it is about caring for the people behind the screens, not just meeting a technical compliance checklist.

This guide is designed to walk you through accessibility basics, best practices, and easy self-auditing tools so you can confidently provide welcoming digital content to our community.

This website has resources on how to make learning universally accessible: Tips & Free Resources

A VPAT is the document attached to software that identifies what aspects of the software are and are not accessible. The University of Central Florida has developed an AI tool to make it easier to identify areas of software not fully accessible.  Please visit VPat Evaluator: Easy-to-Read Accessibility Reports for more information and instructions.

Teach Access provides free programs and resources to help students and educators learn the fundamentals of disability and accessibility.

The Pratt Institute Libraries’ and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s (DEI) collaborative Disability Resources LibGuide: Disability Resources

General guidance:

• Use a template with good contrast-dark text on a light background or light text on a dark background.
• Avoid overlaying text on images.
• Use a unique heading for each slide.
• Do not put too much text on your slide.
• Keep font sizes at 28-point or larger.
• Select a simple, easy to read font. Sans serif fonts are usually more readable.
• Add alternative text to images, graphs and charts.
• For complex items, such as charts or graphs, the alt text should provide all of the information that a sighted person has access to visually.If images are purely decorative, mark them as decorative.

Guidance Specific to Microsoft PowerPoint®:

• Use pre-set slide layouts rather than manually adding text boxes.
• Confirm that all text is visible in “Outline View.”
• Be aware that when you crowd your slide with text, Microsoft PowerPoint® will begin shrinking the text to fit. The font size will shrink and the space between text will also be reduced, making slides more difficult to read. To resolve this issue, select the Autofit Options symbol that appears. Then select “Stop fitting text into this placeholder.”
• Run the accessibility checker that is available on the Review Ribbon. This will help you identify any accessibility issues you may have missed.
• To share an accessible digital version of your slides, you can share the PowerPoint file or create an accessible PDF version of your slide deck.
• To create accessible digital versions of your slides, select Save As PDF, rather than Print to PDF.
• Have a plan for sharing the accessible digital versions of your handouts prior to your session. 
• Options include emailing them to participants or uploading them to a website and providing a link.

Resources on Creating Accessible MS PowerPoint Presentations:

• Explore Access: Creating Accessible MS PowerPoint Presentation
• NCDAE Cheat Sheet: MS PowerPoint
• University of Washington: Slides
• WebAIM: PowerPoint Accessibility

• Accessibility in Google Docs editors
• Use Google Docs editors with a screen reader
• Use Google Slides with a screen reader
• Collaborate & comment with a screen reader
• Present slides with captions
• Keyboard shortcuts for Google Slides
• Use Google Docs editors with magnification & high contrast
• Make your document, presentation, sheets & videos more accessible
• Video: Getting started with Google Slides using a screen reader 

• Accessible Events Guide: This guide details how to make events on campus accessible.
• Room Reservations: The room reservation guidelines are available on the Registrar page.
• Coursedog: The accessibility status of rooms on campus can be viewed in Coursedog.

Visitors: Security personnel, located at the Main Gate, 200 Willoughby Avenue on the Brooklyn Campus, or the Pratt Manhattan Lobby, are available for assistance with directions, locating accessible routes, or providing any other assistance in navigating the campus grounds. 

You may find Public Safety’s contact information and website here.