Accessible Learning Resources

Welcome to Accessible Learning's Resource Hub.

Please note that some information or links may appear in multiple sections where they are relevant.

You can find the FAQ on Accessible Learning's home page. If you can’t find the answer you're looking for or if a section should be added, please send us an email (details under Contact Us). 

Quick Navigation:

  

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Workshops, Training, and Self-Enroll Courses

Find a complete list of upcoming workshops on the CTLT Workshops page. 

Video Training

• Tidy Up User Training
• Access4All (UDOIT) User Training
• Section 508 Video Training

Are you an admin or trainer for your institution? Join us live! RSVP for our synchronous sessions on our Training Calendar

 

Cal Poly Portal Training

My Cal Poly Portal accessibility training:

1. From the Cal Poly Portal, choose Staff and Faculty Training at the top
2. Next, choose Go to Skillsoft on the lower right
3. Next, choose the Quicklinks menu at the top to find a menu with accessibility training options

 

All Self-Enroll/Self-Paced Online Courses

• TidyUp & Access4All: Improve Course Accessibility (self-enroll/online course)
• Creating Accessible Canvas Content (self-enroll/online course)
• CSU STEM Accessibility (self-enroll/online course)
• Creating Accessible Documents (self-enroll/online course)
• Creating Accessible PowerPoint (self-enroll/online course)
• Creating Accessible Video (self-enroll/online course)

 

General Checklists and Best Practices

• Access by Design: Accessible Instructional Materials Checklist for Cal Poly Faculty. Includes links to tutorials and resources.
• Cal Poly Course Accessibility Checklist 
• Best Practices for Accessible Workshops and Presentations
• HHS.gov Accessibility Checklists 
• WebAIM Document and Media Accessibility
• Section 508 Checklists for Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PDF, and websites

 

Canvas and Access4All (Canvas Plugin)

• What is Access4All? 
• Using Access4All
• Access4All: How to create accessible content
• Canvas: Accessibility and Universal Design for All: Cal Poly's support site
• Canvas Guides: How do I use the Accessibility Checker?
• Video: Creating an Accessible Home Page in Canvas
• Canvas Instructor Guide (Links to an external site.):  This full guide with step-by-step instructions covers all Canvas features and functions, listed alphabetically for quick access.

 

STEM Resources

• Please visit the Accessible STEM Resources webpage.
• STEM Accessibility: This is a self-paced online course created by the California Community Colleges Accessibility Center. This course includes an overview of common STEM accessibility issues, as well as links to software and tools you can use to create accessible STEM content, including math equations, chemistry formulas, and more, in Canvas and Microsoft Word.
• Accessible Math Guide: Mathematics faculty from the North Carolina Community College System Virtual Learning Community developed this guide for higher education instructors. The guide covers authoring accessible math content for Word, EPUB, web, learning management systems, such as Canvas, and more. 

 

Syllabi Templates

• Cal Poly Accessible Syllabus Template.docx or PDF version: Cal Poly Accessible Syllabus Template.pdf. Sample accessible syllabus to guide the development of your own customized accessible syllabus. Please check with your department for specific syllabus content. 
• Cal Poly DRC Sample Syllabus Statements: Cal Poly Disability Resource Center provides sample syllabus statements you may include in your syllabus. 

 

Documents and Presentations

General resources

• ScreenReader and Document Structure 
• NCDAE Cheatsheets: Find a full list of all versions of Microsoft Office and Adobe products.  Screenshot tutorials of accessibility features. Created by the National Center on Disability and Access to Education.
• Find Free Images for Canvas and Presentations [PDF]

 

Accessible Charts

Accessible Charts:  Penn State resource: Charts, graphs, and maps are often inaccessible to colorblind users and users of screen readers. See the examples Penn State provides for details on how to make your charts more accessible.

 

Microsoft Word

• 5 Habits for Creating Accessible Word Documents [PDF] (created by CTLT)
• AED CoP YouTube videos: 3-5 minute videos with instructions to create accessible Word documents; created by the U.S. Department of Transportation
• WebAIM Word Tutorials:  Screenshot tutorials to create accessible Word documents for all versions of Word on Mac and PC
• Microsoft: Create Accessible Word Documents: Microsoft Word video tutorials 
• Microsoft: Make your Word Documents Accessible: Screenshot tutorials
• Document Accessibility Toolbar (DAT): Created by Vision Australia; free to download, the DAT is a dedicated accessibility ribbon menu for Microsoft Word that makes it quicker and easier to create accessible documents. 

 

Microsoft PowerPoint

• Creating Accessible PowerPoint [PDF] (created by CTLT)
• WebAIM PowerPoint Tutorials: Screenshot tutorials to create accessible PowerPoint presentations
• Microsoft: Make your PowerPoint Presentations Accessible: Screenshot tutorials

 

PDFs

• WebAIM PDF Accessibility: Screenshot tutorials to explore Acrobat DC capabilities, and file conversions to PDF
• Adobe PDF Accessibility Overview: Overview of PDF accessibility features and tools
• Create and verify PDF Accessibility (Adobe Acrobat Pro): Guide to create and remediate accessible PDFs.

 

CTLT can help you learn how to create accessible documents.
If you created a source file for a PDF, such as a Word document, you can fix the Word document to make it accessible using the program’s built-in Accessibility Checker, and then save it as a PDF. The accessibility features will be retained in the PDF.

However, if you did not create the original file for an inaccessible PDF, we recommend you do the following:

1. Find an alternative resource that is fully accessible.
2. Check with the Cal Poly Kennedy Library to find an electronic version of your text or resource. If these are library resources, please work with your college librarian to help you find an accessible option.
3. Convert PDFs to Canvas Pages and HTML with Access4All within Canvas. 
4. Use SensusAccess if your PDF is a scanned document to improve readability.
5. Contact the CTLT's MIDAS (Making Instructional Documents Accessible to Students) team via email cpmidas@calpoly.edu.
   • Please note that the MIDAS team is working with the DRC to support students with accommodations first and then high-enrollment, GE courses for Spring 2026 to fix PDFs.

 

Color Contrast Analyzers

• Color Contrast and Font for Accessibility [PDF]
• TPGi Color Contrast Checker: Created by The Paciello Group, now known as TPGi; available for free download to check pass/fail assessment against WCAG 2.0 color contrast success criteria.
• WebAIM Color Contrast Checker: Web-based color contrast checker. Enter color codes to check your contrast ratios.
• WCAG Contrast Checker: Web-based color contrast checker, similar to the WebAIM checker above, with more robust features.

 

Videos and Captioning

• Please see our Video Creation and Captioning Page
• Classroom Technologies: Media Captioning: Classroom Technologies provides transcription services for post-production videos that require captions

 

Images and Alt Text

• Adding ALT Descriptions to Images
• Add ALT Text to Images in Canvas (Demo)

 

SensusAccess

SensusAccess: Self-service, alternate media solution made available by Kennedy Library to automatically convert files into a range of alternate media, including audio books (MP3 and DAISY), e-books (EPUB, EPUB3, and Mobi), and digital Braille. The service can also be used to convert inaccessible files, such as image-only PDF files, JPG pictures, and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, into more accessible and less tricky formats. This service is available at no charge for all Cal Poly students, faculty, staff, and alumni. We call that Inclusive Technology.

 

Disability Resource Center

Cal Poly Disability Resource Center: The Disability Resource Center (DRC) provides services for students with disabilities and facilitates student learning and access through partnerships with students, faculty, and staff.

 

MIDAS

The MIDAS (Making Instructional Documents Accessible to Students) team is working with the DRC to support students with accommodations first and then high-enrollment, GE courses for Spring 2026 to fix PDFs.

MIDAS and Cal Poly Priorities:

• 1st priority is Spring 2026 courses for DRC students. The DRC reported that in Spring 2025, 277 students were enrolled in 905 unique courses.
• 2nd priority is high-enrollment GE courses in Spring 2026.
• 3rd priority is all the other courses for Spring 2026.

 

Contact Us

If you have additional questions about making instructional materials accessible: