Types of Accommodations in the Instructional Process

6. Accessibility of Presentations

Use a sans-serif font (such as Arial or Verdana) with a size of 20–28 points for main body text and 30–44 points for headings. Avoid italics, as they can be difficult to read.
Reduce the amount of text on each slide and use a simple layout, for example, by using bullet points.
Use the Layout option in PowerPoint instead of adding text boxes to a blank slide, as this ensures screen readers can recognise the titles.
Each slide should have a unique title and a number to enable students to navigate using assistive technology.
When linking to external sources, use descriptive text such as "Find resources by searching the University Library catalogue," which then leads to the specified resource. This allows students who use assistive technology, such as screen readers, to follow the link.
Use strong contrast between text and background, for example, dark text on a pastel or cream background (not white). Avoid red and green contrasts, as people with colour blindness may find it difficult to distinguish these colours.
Contrast can be achieved in two ways: by lightness and by colour. The strongest contrast based on lightness is between black and white. The strongest colour contrast is achieved by using complementary colours (red–green, yellow–blue).
Contrast achieved by colour cannot be distinguished by people who are colour blind, so contrast on the screen should be achieved by lightness, not by colour.
The best way to reduce glare is to use dark colours for the background (less light) and light colours for the text. A good combination is white text on a dark blue background (Vulić Prtorić et al., 2012).
Ensure that colours are not the only way to convey information; use headings to help students follow the structure of the content.