This week, we face a formidable Accessibility Boss Battle: PDFs. PDFs are often inaccessible because they’re image-based or lack proper structure for screen readers. To make the material in a PDF accessible, we will rely on everything we’ve learned over the course of the semester, from accessibility in headings and fonts to effective alt text!
Before we dive into battle with the PDFs we currently use in our courses, however, let’s begin with a quiet moment of introspection. For each PDF you use, consider the following:
- Does this PDF offer the most effective way to instruct my students on this topic? Is there a more engaging or updated way that I can teach the same content? Am I holding on to this PDF because I’ve always used it?
- Once you’ve decided whether this PDF is the best tool to meet the educational needs of your students, ask yourself one final question: Is this PDF worth the metaphorical blood, sweat, and tears it will take to remediate it?
It’s true. Making PDF material accessible can be a time-consuming task. For those PDFs you decide are worth the fight, read on as I present to you five different strategies for making PDF material accessible. These strategies ranging in required effort from low (Strategies 1 and 2) to high (Strategy 5).
Strategy 1: Consider alternatives to PDF
This strategy is best for content you created yourself.
Time: 5-10 minutes per document
Consider an alternative way to share material you’ve created yourself. Can you embed this content directly into a Canvas page as an accessible Word or Google Doc instead of a PDF? If so, open the PDF in either Word or Google Docs, then revise the document to follow accessibility guidelines. To do this, check that document’s heading structure, font size, spacing, color contrast, and alt. text meet the W3C Accessibility Guidelines. (See strategy 4 for a path to converting a PDF into accessible HTML code.)
Strategy 2: Find an accessible version
This strategy is best for common educational materials.
Time: 10-15 minutes per document
Find an accessible version of the content somewhere else on the internet. For example, I use an excerpt from Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird in my First Year Composition course. I found a .docx version of the chapter at LibreTexts.org. (LibreTexts is a free, open educational resource platform that provides openly licensed textbooks and course materials across multiple disciplines. It’s one of the largest and most comprehensive OER libraries out there!)
Strategy 3: Convert the PDF into another format.
This strategy is best for simple text documents without complex formatting.
Time: 20-30 minutes per document
When you have content that you didn’t create yourself, consider converting that PDF into another format.
Here’s a way to accomplish this using Google Docs:
- Upload the file to Google Docs. This creates a version of the document where Optical Character Recognition (OCR) has converted the image-based text into actual selectable text, making it readable by a screen reader.
- Using your knowledge of accessibility, check the document to make sure that it uses headings to organize information, that tables and lists are properly formatted, and that all images contain meaningful alt text.
- You can now use this accessible content in your course in lieu of the original PDF: share the Google Doc link in Canvas, copy the content into a Canvas page, or download it as a Word document (Docx).
- Double-check the new document’s accuracy using Panorama or UDOIT3.
Strategy 4: Use an AI tool to create an accessible version of the document.
This strategy is best for documents with moderate formatting to which you have the rights.
Time: 15-25 minutes per document
Use an AI tool to convert the material to accessible HTML. I have uploaded course PDFs to Claude.AI and asked for an accessible version. Often, Claude has created for me a new, good-looking, accessible version of the content. I review Claude’s work for accuracy, then I take that HTML code and use it to embed the content into a Canvas page using the Rich Text Editor. (Open the page or assignment in Canvas, click ‘edit,’ then scroll down to find this symbol in the menu beneath the content box: </>. Click </> to open the Rich Text Editor. Paste in the HTML, then click ‘save.’)
If the information in the PDF is under copyright, however, such as excerpts from published books or articles, AI tools cannot reproduce that content. In these cases, you’ll need to use OCR and manual formatting or contact the publisher for an accessible version. (For example, Claude was not able to create an accessible version of the Anne Lamott excerpt for me due to copyright issues.)
Big Boss Strategy 5: Remediate the existing PDF.
This strategy is best for when you must keep the PDF format or for complex documents.
Time: 30-60 minutes per document (depending on document complexity).
Remediate the existing PDF. Tools like Adobe Acrobat Pro can add tags, fix reading order, and add alt text to images in PDFs.
Maricopa Faculty have access to the Pro version of Adobe Acrobat. Follow the “Logging into Adobe” instructions to access accessibility capabilities. Once you’ve logged in, follow these steps to create an accessible PDF by adding tags, table headings, and alt text.
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You’ve now got five strategies to tackle the PDF Boss Battle! Start with the simpler approaches and work your way up as you build confidence.
Remember, you don’t need to make every PDF accessible overnight. Small steps add up to big wins for student access! Each accessible document you create removes barriers and opens doors for our students.
If you’d like to learn more about using Adobe to create an accessible PDF, please join us for one of this week’s virtual accessibility workshops. You can sign up on the CTLE home page for our Thursday’s 1:30 PM workshop or Friday’s 9:00 AM workshop.
We hope to see you there, Accessibility Warriors!