Document Accessibility Resources

Maryland Department of Disabilities Information Technology Accessibility Initiative

Webinars:

The Maryland IT Accessibility Initiative helps State agencies meet Maryland's accessibility standards. Here's their ongoing series of training webinars.

Workday Training Modules:

Equivalent Access for Students with Disabilities (Md. Code, Educ. § 7-910)

Webinar series hosted by the Maryland IT Accessibility Initiative and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB).

Social Security Administration Accessibility Resources

Checklists for Authoring Accessible Documents

Use these guidelines and checklists to create and evaluate the accessibility of PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents.

Other SSA Resources

SSA Alternative Text Guide – a comprehensive yet easy to understand guide to writing appropriate Alternative Text (alt text) for photos, charts, graphs and other graphics.
SSA Guide to Completing the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) – an indepth look at the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), which a vendor should provide for any product being procured by the State.

State of Minnesota IT Services’ Office of Accessibility

Minnesota IT Services’ Office of Accessibility oversees the implementation of accessibility standards for State of Minnesota agencies and provide resources that ensure applications, websites, and documents are accessible for everyone. Minnesota's Digital Accessibility Coordinators have created some free training resources. These programs will help you learn how to create content that anyone can use.

Accessible Word Document Training

Module 0: How to Navigate this Course
Module 1: Introduction to Accessible Documents - What is accessibility and why accessible documents matter.
Module 2: Working with Styles - Introduction to styles and how to use them.
Module 3: Working with Colors - The role of color in an accessible document.
Module 4: Formatting - Explores concepts like alternative text, hyperlinks, paragraph formatting, columns, charts and graphs, and objects.
Module 5: Working with Tables - How to create and format an accessible table plus some best practices.
Module 6: Document Basics and Accessibility Checker - Adding document properties, setting the language and using the accessibility checker.
Module 7: Converting Word Documents to PDF - How to convert your Word document to a PDF and the steps that must happen after conversion.

Accessible PDF Training

Accessible PowerPoint Training

Module 1: The Essentials

What is accessibility and who benefits from accessible documents?
Presentation design basics
Templates
Document properties
Layouts
Slide Titles
Color Contrast

Module 2: How to

Alternate text
SmartArt
Hyperlinks
Lists
Tables

Module 3: Functions and The Checker

Reading order
Notes
Outline View
Advanced Features
Convert to PDF
Slide Master
Check existing PowerPoint for accessibility
Accessibility Checker

Accessibility Quick Cards

Some people need a quick way to learn about a topic before they are ready for a deeper dive. Other times they need a quick reminder about a digital accessibility basic. The Minnesota Office of Accessibility’s Quick Cards provide both.