Greater Lowell Technical High School Accessibility Quick Guides

Accessibility Quick Guides

Quick Start Accessibility by Content Type

Presentations

Slides are often shared before, during, and after a presentation. Whether you build in PowerPoint or Google Slides, make the deck understandable without live narration by using slide titles, clear reading order, accessible media, and speaker notes for complex visuals.

Open Print Version (8.5 x 11)

Quick Focus

  • Use built-in slide layouts in PowerPoint or Google Slides and keep a unique title on every slide.
  • Check reading order in the Selection Pane and add alt text to all meaningful objects.
  • Keep body text readable, links descriptive, and media captioned.

Core Guidance

Do This First

  1. Build from layouts. Use built-in slide layouts so title and content placeholders stay in a predictable reading order.
  2. Review each slide non-visually. Check the Selection Pane, add alt text, simplify tables, and move key explanations into speaker notes when a visual is complex.
  3. Run the checker before sharing. Use PowerPoint's Accessibility Checker and preserve structure if you export to PDF.

Essential Checks

Slide Structure

  • Give every slide a unique, descriptive title so users can navigate the deck quickly.
  • Keep the reading order logical from title to main content to supporting elements.
  • Avoid cluttered layouts that force users to guess what to read first.

Text and Visuals

  • Use large, high-contrast text and avoid long paragraphs on slides.
  • Add alt text to images, charts, SmartArt, and icons, and mark decorative objects as decorative.
  • Use descriptive hyperlinks instead of pasting raw URLs on slides.

Media and Delivery

  • Caption embedded video and provide transcripts for audio-only media.
  • Add speaker notes for complex diagrams, maps, and dense charts.
  • If distributing a PDF version, preserve tags and document properties on export.

Common Problems to Catch

  • Deleting slide titles because they are not wanted visually.
  • Leaving objects in a random reading order in the Selection Pane.
  • Using tiny text or weak contrast because the content will be projected.
  • Embedding media without captions or transcripts.

GrackleDocs for Google Workspace Coming Soon!

Grackle adds accessibility checking tools to Google Slides.

It helps you catch issues in slide decks and fix them before you present, share, or export them.

Key WCAG 2.1 AA Checkpoints

High-value checkpoints for presentations work
Success Criterion What to confirm
SC 1.1.1 Non-text ContentMeaningful images and charts need text alternatives.
SC 1.3.1 Info and RelationshipsSlide titles, layout structure, and tables need clear relationships.
SC 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)Slide text needs enough contrast to remain readable.
SC 2.4.6 Headings and LabelsUnique slide titles work as navigational labels.
SC 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)Embedded video requires captions when it includes audio.