At the University of Nebraska, we are committed to ensuring that all students have the learning environment and resources they need to succeed. Instructors should be aware of how to make their course content accessible to all students.
What does “Accessible” mean?
A document or application is considered accessible if meets certain technical criteria and can be used by people with disabilities. This includes access by people who are mobility impaired, blind, low vision, deaf, hard of hearing, or who have cognitive impairments. Accessibility features in Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Reader and in the Portable Document Format (PDF) make it easier for people with disabilities to use PDF documents and forms, with and without the aid of assistive technology software and devices such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, text-to-speech software, speech recognition software, alternative input devices, Braille embossers, and refreshable Braille displays.
So how do you know if your course content is accessible? In the most basic of terms, if you can select the text on a PDF, it has many accessibility features. If you can highlight the text in the order a person would typically read it, it's pretty accessible. If you can hover over a photo and it provides a description, that's even better.
For more detailed information see https://www.adobe.com/accessibility/pdf/pdf-accessibility-overview.html or contact Sam Goodin in Services for Students with Disabilities at 402.472.3787.