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Learning and Resources

The below resources have been selected and categorized into themes that impact accessibility within the education system. They are organized in a particular way that allows the reader to choose how they want to engage with the material presented. TDSB would like to thank the numerous organizations and educational institutions for developing these resources and gives full credit to them for their work.

Defining Disability

Social Model of Disability

Read: Social model of disability

Watch: Social Model of Disability

Do: Use these examples to learn how to apply the Social Model of Disability.

 

Medical Model of Disability

Read: The History of Attitudes to Disabled People

Watch: Medical model of disability

Do: Use these examples to learn how to apply the Medical Model of Disability.

 

Disability Justice

Read: What is Disability Justice?

Watch: Beyond Disability Rights; Disability Justice: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

Do: Use these Principles to learn how to apply a Disability Justice perspective.

Universal and Inclusive Design

Inclusive Design

Read: What is inclusive design?

Watch: The animated guide to inclusive design

Do: Use this Guide to ensure that you are operating from an Inclusive Design Approach.

 

Universal Design

Read: What is Universal Design

Watch: Why We Need Universal Design

Do: Use this Checklist to ensure that you are operating from a Universal Design Approach.

 

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Read: About Universal Design for Learning

Watch: UDL At A Glance

Do: Use these Guidelines to see how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can create an accessible learning environment for all students.

Microsoft Office Applications

Microsoft Word

Read: Creating Accessible Word Documents using Word (Win/Mac)

Watch: Creating Accessible Word Documents

Do: Use the Checklist to ensure the accessibility of your Microsoft Word Documents.

 

Microsoft Excel

Read: Creating Accessible Excel Documents

Watch: Creating Accessible Excel Spreadsheets

Do: Follow these steps to ensure the accessibility of your Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets.

 

Microsoft PowerPoint 

Read: Creating Accessible PowerPoint Presentations (Win/Mac)

Watch: Creating and Delivering Accessible PowerPoint Presentations

Do: Use the Checklist to ensure the accessibility of your Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations.

Document Accessibility

Google Docs

Read: Creating Accessible Google Documents

Watch: How To Make a Document Accessible in Google Docs

Do: Use the Checklist to ensure the accessibility of your Google Docs.

 

Portable Document Format (PDF) Documents

Read: How to Create Accessible PDF Documents

Watch: Creating Accessible PDFs with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

Do: Use the Checklist to ensure the accessibility of your PDF Documents

 

Writing in Plan Language

Read: What is plain language?

Watch: A Clear Message: Plain Language Writing and Design | Step-By-Step Guide

Do: Use the Checklist to ensure that you write using Plain Language.

 

Alternative Text (Alt-Text)

Read: Write good Alt Text to describe images

Watch: Understanding Alternative Text

Do: Use these tips to create quality descriptions for your images.

 

Colour Contrast

Read: Accessibility Design 101: Color Contrast Considerations for UX Designers

Watch: Making Accessible Color Choices

Do: Use the Colour Contrast Checker to ensure appropriate usage of colour.

 

Font Style and Size

Read: Typefaces and Fonts

Watch: Accessible Fonts, Font Size and Line Spacing in Microsoft Word

Do: Use the Toolkit to ensure the readability of your content.

Web Accessibility

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Read: WCAG 2 Overview

Watch: What is WCAG

Do: Use the Checklist to ensure that your websites and web pages are accessible.

 

Social Media Accessibility

Read: Social Media Accessibility

Watch: Accessibility on Social Media

Do: Use the Toolkit to ensure that your social media posts are accessible to everyone.

 

Obtaining Online Feedback

Read: Getting Feedback From Users to Improve Accessibility

Watch: Build an accessible, custom feedback widget with Marcy Sutton — Learn With Jason

Do: Use these tips to create optimal accessible online feedback mechanisms.

 

Accessibility Testing

Read: The Importance of Accessibility Testing

Watch: Accessibility Testing - What is it, Why and how to perform it?

Do: Use the List to evaluate the accessibility of your website or webpage.

Accessibility Practices and Technologies

Captioning

Read: A Rising Tide: How Closed Captions Can Benefit All Students

Watch: The Importance of Captioning

Do: Use the Captioning Key to produce quality Captions.

 

Described Video

Read: Post Production Described Video (DV)

Watch: Descriptive Video

Do: Use these practices to create quality videos with the feature of Described Video.

 

Assistive Technologies

Read: What is assistive technology?

Watch: Assistive Technology

Do: Review these examples to see how Assistive Technologies are used to support people with disabilities.

General Accessibility

Adobe InDesign Accessibility

Read: Creating Accessible PDFs Using InDesign

Watch: 3 tips for Converting InDesign to Accessible pdf

Do: Review these 7 Steps to Accessible InDesign PDFs

 

Accessible Events

Read: Planning Accessible Events

 

Merge Closed Captioning in Google

Read: How to Merge Closed Captioning in Google