Make Slide Decks Accessible

Slide decks are commonly used to present information during lectures and to share course materials with students. Ensuring slide decks are accessible helps students who use screen readers, assistive technology, or alternative viewing methods engage with the content more effectively.

Using clear structure and accessible formatting can make slide presentations easier for all students to read and understand.

Use Built-In Slide Layouts

When creating slides, use the built-in slide layouts provided in PowerPoint or other presentation tools instead of manually placing text boxes.

Slide layouts help ensure that:

• Content is organized in a logical structure
• Text and images follow a predictable layout
• Screen readers can interpret slide content correctly

Keep Slides Clear and Organized

Slides should present information clearly and avoid overcrowding.

Best practices include:

• Use concise text and clear headings
• Use bullet points to organize key ideas
• Limit the amount of text on each slide

Clear slides help students follow presentations and review materials later.

Add Alternative Text to Images

Images, charts, and diagrams included in slides should have alternative text (alt text) so screen readers can describe the visual content.

Alt text should briefly explain the purpose or meaning of the image within the presentation.

Use Good Color Contrast

Ensure there is sufficient contrast between text and background colors so slides are readable for students with low vision or color vision differences.

Avoid using color alone to convey meaning, such as highlighting important information only in a different color.

When in doubt, use a color contrast checker, like the tool from WebAIM.

Use Accessibility Checkers

Presentation software often includes built-in accessibility checkers that can help identify common accessibility issues.

Accessibility checkers are available in tools such as:

• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Canva
• Google Slides

These tools can help identify issues such as missing alt text, unclear structure, or color contrast concerns.

Resources

• Microsoft PowerPoint Accessibility Quick Reference (ABLETech)

This quick reference guide provides practical tips for creating accessible PowerPoint presentations, including slide structure, reading order, alt text, and accessibility checking tools.