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How To PowerPoint Topics: Accessibility Wizard | HTML

Many classroom instructors have pre-existing Microsoft PowerPoint materials that they want to re-use in the Web-based classroom. PowerPoint includes two main ways to post a presentation online:

1. Post the original file, which students can access if they have the PowerPoint viewer or a full version of PowerPoint installed on their computer.
   
2. Convert the slides to HTML using a built-in "Save as Web Page" tool.

Neither of these options is completely accessible to students who use screen readers. These students cannot use the PowerPoint viewer, so they cannot access the slides unless they have a full version of PowerPoint installed. The HTML created by PowerPoint contains many accessibility errors, and the extensive editing required to correct them is not practical for most instructors.

Before you post your PowerPoint presentation online, consider whether you really need it. If you do, you can post the original file, but make sure you also provide an accessible alternative.

There are two main techniques for creating accessible Web-based PowerPoint:

Accessibility Wizard PowerPoint presentations can be converted into accessible HTML with the University of Illinois Web Publishing Accessibility Wizard, a free PowerPoint tool.
HTML Version HTML versions of PowerPoint presentations are accessible to all students, though they take some time and effort to develop.

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