an Accessible Online Presentation
Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington
Raja Kushalnagar, Gallaudet University
AccessComputing NSF Award CNS-2137312
uw.edu/accesscomputing
How to Deliver

Consider ability on a continuum & not
necessarily related to disability
understand English, social norms
see the screen
hear
read print
quickly enter text
communicate verbally
tune out distractions
learn
manage physical/mental health

Keep in mind
 Most disabilities are not obvious
to others
 Most people with
disabilities do
not disclose them &
request
accommodations

We need a paradigm shift
 from reactive to proactive design of
products & environments
 from design for the “average” to
design for everyone
 Once upon a time we already did it…

A paradigm shift
in sidewalk
design
-The Daily, UW, 1970

Universal design
the design of products &
environments to be usable by all
people, to the greatest extent possible,
without the need for accommodations
The Center for Universal Design
www.design.ncsu.edu/cud

UD applied to a presentation
 Invite participants to request
disability-related accommodations.
 Proactively design the presentation
to be accessible to people with a
wide range of abilities.

As attitude, framework, goal, & process, UD:
 Values diversity, equity, & inclusion
 Promotes best practices & does not lower
standards
 Is proactive & can be implemented
incrementally
 Serves to benefit everyone
 Minimizes the need for accommodations

participants
Zayn Anthony Jesse Hadi
• Zayn: Caption videos
• Anthony: Offer content that uses the keyboard alone
• Jesse: Use text format
• Hadi: Use text format+ structure headings, lists; offer
describe content in images & destination of hyperlinks

Preparation
 Become familiar with accessibility features of
your online system.
 Share relevant accessibility information with
participants.
 In promotional materials
tell how to request
accommodations.
 Distribute
accessibly designed
slides & materials.

Physical spaces
 Use wheelchair accessible
space with wide, clear aisles,
& multiple places for
wheelchair-users to sit.
 Offer microphones for
audience (otherwise, repeat
questions asked).

Presentation slide
 Use a high contrast color scheme & large
san serif font & plenty of white space
 Keep text brief & graphics simple.
 Do not require participants to distinguish
between colors.
 Use captioned videos.
 Use simple, non-
moving backgrounds.
 Consider recording.

Delivery
 Present content in multiple ways.
 Let participants engage in multiple ways
(e.g., polls, small groups, chat, Google doc)
 Speak all critical content on
slides, including images.
 Use plain English.
 Spell out acronyms; explain jargon.
 Turn on captions in conferencing software.
 Use captioned videos.

Follow up
 Provide accessibly designed slides,
handouts, web resources.
 In evaluation, ask for disability status &
feedback about accessibility.

Specific issues for participants or presenters
who are deaf or hard of hearing
Diversity of Experience = Diversity of
Opinion
• Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) people’s needs are very diverse!
– What works for one person may not work for others
• DHH people want flexibility and a wide array of information and
communication strategies.

Aural perception
• Aural Perception: A bubble
• Perception is inversely
squared: Doubling distance
reduces volume by 4

Visual perception
Visual Perception:
A slice
Perception is
linear: Doubling
distance reduces
acuity by 2 (linear)

What’s going
on?
Hard of Hearing
Experience
Wants pawn term, dare
worsted ladle gull hoe lift
wetter murder inner ladle
cordage, honor itch offer lodge
dock florist. Disk ladle gull
orphan worry ladle cluck wetter
putty ladle rat hut, an fur disk
raisin pimple colder Ladle Rat
Rotten Hut.
Once upon a time, there was a
little girl who lived with her
mother in a little cottage on the
edge of a large dark forest.
This little girl often wore a little
cloak with a pretty little red hat,
and for this reason people
called her Little Red Riding
Hood.

multimedia
accessibility
Everything else constant, communication is
maximized when
audio-visual presentation is optimized for the
individual

TEXT
Example 1

ASL
Example 2

Resources
 AccessComputing
uw.edu/accesscomputing
 Accessible Technology
uw.edu/accessibility
 Center for Universal Design in Education
uw.edu/doit/cude