Accessibility in Google Docs and Slides

You can see a presentation of all of the Google Docs accessibility options pointed out above right here.

Google Slides.
When you are in full-screen discussion mode, in Google Slides subtitles appear at the bottom of your screen. You can allow subtitles by getting in discussion mode then hovering your cursor over the lower-left corner of your slides to make the subtitles alternative appear. This short video offers a demonstration of how to enable subtitles in Google Slides.

On Saturday morning I published
a video about word art, fonts, and special characters in Google Docs and Slides. Later in the day someone Tweeted at me to “make certain the typefaces are accessible.” I responded with a section of my
complimentary Practical Ed Tech Handbook that is dedicated to availability. An excerpt of that section is included below..

To include alt text to images or videos in Google Slides just right-click on the image or slide to which you need to include alt text.

On the topic of screen readers, when you place an image into a Google Document you can right-click on it to raise the alternative to include alt text. Alt text is text that you contribute to an image to describe what is in the image. Screen readers will check out the alt text.

In the same “Tools” drop-down menu which contains the voice typing tool you will find the general ease of access settings menu. It exists that you can allow assistance for screen readers and screen magnifiers.

This post initially appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If you see it in other places, it has actually been used without permission. Websites that take my (Richard Byrnes) work consist of CloudComputin and WayBetterSite. Included image caught by Richard Byrne.

Alt text, brief for alternative text, is text that you can add to videos and images to explain what they are and or what they contain. PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides all provide choices for including alt text to your presentations.

To include alt text to images or videos in Google Slides just right-click on the image or slide to which you need to add alt text. The menu that appears when you right-click on the image or video will include an alt text choice where you can then compose a title and description for the image or video. This video provides a presentation of how to add alt text to Google Slides.

Google Documents.
Google Documents has some built-in accessibility alternatives that you need to know how to enable. There are also some third-party Google Docs add-ons that can help you improve the accessibility of your files.

In Google Documents there is a built-in voice typing ability. You will have to speak instructions like “question mark” to include punctuation and “brand-new line” to start writing on a brand-new line.

Grackle is a Google Docs and Slides add-on that will examine your files and slides for availability compliance. When you run Grackles accessibility checker it will identify places where your slide doesnt meet availability standards. It makes ideas for enhancement on the areas in which your sheet, file, or slide doesnt meet availability requirements. A few of the recommendations can be carried out with just a click from the Grackle Add-on menu while others are modifications that you will need to make yourself.

Alt text is text that you add to an image to explain what is in the image. Grackle is a Google Docs and Slides add-on that will inspect your documents and slides for availability compliance. Alt text, short for alternative text, is text that you can add to images and videos to explain what they are and or what they include. PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides all provide choices for including alt text to your presentations.

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