Strategies
Related Guidelines1: WCAG 1.1.1, WCAG 1.4.11, WCAG 1.4.5, WCAG 2.1.1
- Adding alternative text (alt text) to images can be a great help to students. We offer some introductory information at Alternative Text. To learn more about alt text, including what it is and how to use it, visit What is Alternative Text?
- Whenever possible, we encourage you to use a color contrast checker tool. For more information on this, review Color Contrast.
- If you are presenting slides live during class or recording a lecture with slides, it’s helpful to students, particularly those with low vision, if you verbally describe any relevant data or concepts conveyed in informational images.
Specific Tools
Google Slides
To add alt text to an image in a Google Slide:
- Right-click on the image.
- Select Alt text from the drop-down me.
- Write a short description in the Title field and a slightly longer description in the Description field.
Google Docs does not provide a simple way to mark an image as decorative or add null alt text. Adding a short description to the alt text of a decorative image is fine in this case.
Microsoft PowerPoint
To add alt text to an image in a Microsoft PowerPoint slide:
- Right-click on the image, and select View Alt Text from the drop-down menu.
- Alternatively, click on the image and then go to Picture Format > Alt Text.
- Depending on the purpose of the image, write a description of the image in the Description field or check the box next to Mark as Decorative.
Tips
Subject Matter Expertise
If you are a teaching assistant (TA) or staff, we suggest consulting the course instructor before writing alt text, as doing so may require subject matter expertise. This is especially true in the case of complex graphics.
Accessibility Checker
Some programs can help you to search for and track accessibility errors. Microsoft PowerPoint has an Accessibility Checker that generates a list of errors.
Tip: While we encourage you to make use of accessibility checkers, this technology is not perfect and cannot flag all errors. Because of this, if possible, we recommend doing a manual review as well.
For more detailed information about the accessibility checker in Microsoft PowerPoint, see Microsoft’s Improve Accessibility with the Accessibility Checker.