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Regardless of your role, you can contribute to an accessible and inclusive technology presence on your campus. Familiarize yourself with some core skills that will generally improve the experience for people with and without disabilities. Nearly anyone can make use of one or more of these skills. By themselves, these will not make your content fully accessible, but they will improve both accessibility and usability.

Use headings to organize your digital documents and web pages

Headings provide structure to your documents by describing topic and subtopic areas in an outline fashion. Word processing documents (such as Word or Open Office), web documents (such as HTML pages), and destination formats (such as PDF) all are more usable and navigable by assistive technology, as well as by bookmark and Table of Contents users, when these document structures are in place.

Include text alternatives with your images and graphics

Web images, infographics, photos, charts, and other digital graphics all present content in a fundamentally inaccessible manner. If you use images in documents or email, be sure to provide descriptive ALT text, captions, summaries, or other text alternatives to for users who cannot see or otherwise experience the images.

Create lists with list tools

Ordered (sequential or numbered) and unordered (bulleted) lists present items or information in a sequence for the user. Lists also provide a visual break from dense or unbroken chunks of text. Rather than typing out A. B. C. or 1. 2. 3, always use the list tools in your authoring program to create bulleted or numbered lists.

Create well-structured tables

Tables should be used to present data in rows and columns. Simple tables are reasonably accessible when they include standard features like header and data cells and captions. Avoid tables for positioning or layout, and do not nest one table inside another. Discrete sets of data should be presented in separate tables.

Provide descriptive link text

Hyperlinks are now a fundamental part of almost any document type. By providing links that are clearly labeled and easy to find and use, you make your document more navigable for everyone. Hyperlink text should clearly indicate the purpose and destination of the link. Links presented by image should include good ALT text.

Use color and contrast appropriately

Color can liven up a visual document, graphic, or website, but some users can't distinguish the meaning of an item based on color alone. Make sure that your designs and content do not rely solely on color to convey their meaning. Insufficient contrast may also present a barrier to some users; make sure that background and foreground colors, in the content and in the interface, have enough contrast that all users can distinguish one from the other.

Check your digital media for captions or transcripts

If your group provides digital media, check to ensure that the media includes captions (for video) or a transcript (for audio). Captions should accurately reflect onscreen sounds and dialogue, and also should be synchronized with the content on the screen.

Use a tool to check for accessibility

There are numerous free resources to help you check the accessibility of your organization’s websites. UDOIT and the Canvas Accessibility Checker offer insight into the accessibility of your Canvas content in ICON. Siteimprove, the WAVE toolbar, the Web Developer Toolbar, and other tools can provide some insight into your website’s compliance with accessibility standards and guidelines. Some desktop applications like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat include onboard checkers to help you identify and address accessibility gaps in those products. If you create online documents, learn to use accessibility checkers and correct any issues before distributing documents.

Purchase and procure accessible technology

If you purchase or otherwise acquire new technology for your campus, do some market research to learn about the accessibility of products that meet your needs. Ask vendors about voluntary product accessibility templates (VPATs) and other accessibility roadmap items. Find out whether products have been tested with assistive technology. If possible, incorporate purchasing language that requires vendors to provide accessible products when possible.

Ask, "What about accessibility?"

Whatever your role in supporting technology, make sure that accessibility is part of the conversation. Ask vendors and developers to share information on their accessibility efforts, make accessibility a project requirement, educate yourself on accessibility efforts on your campus. If you are in a position of leadership, encourage others to consider accessibility and green-light accessibility training and professional development for your staff.

Public version of "11 Things You Can Do" located at Accessibility@IOWA, the Digital and IT Accessibility website at the University of Iowa.