The Network for Educational Development (NED) provides educational development opportunities that are designed by Minnesota State faculty and staff for Minnesota State faculty and staff. These opportunities help build awareness, develop knowledge, skills, and abilities, and provide space for reflecting and revising.
Accessibility Remediation Sprints: Creating Accessible PDF Files 2 (Spring 2026)
Note: This is a repeat of the Creating Accessible PDF Files 1
Join us as we review an accessibility report for a PDF file. We’ll identify criteria in an accessibility report that commonly passes and fails and provides participants with guidance on how to make basic changes to their content that address these accessibility standards.
Although the facilitator will be unable to provide one-on-one assistance to all participants, time will be allocated to allow participants to review their own accessibility report for a PDF file and to practice some of the strategies.
About Accessibility Sprints
D2L Brightspace now includes Accessibility+, a tool that automatically checks course content for accessibility issues. It reviews materials using WCAG 2.1 standards (Levels A, AA, and AAA) and ISO 14289 for PDFs. The tool creates a clear report that shows what was checked and whether each item passed or failed.
As faculty revise their materials, they may find criteria that are unfamiliar or need new skills to fix. To support this work, we are offering several Accessibility Sprints during Spring 2026. These sessions will give practical guidance on how to make simple improvements to files that did not meet accessibility standards.
The 3Rs – Remove, Remediate, or Refresh
Remove
Sometimes the best option is to remove content that is not needed. Extra or hidden elements can make materials harder to use and may cause issues in accessibility reports. If something does not serve a clear purpose for students, consider taking it out.
Remediate
If content must stay, start with the easy fixes.
You can often improve accessibility by:
- Adding alternative text
- Using better color contrast
- Correcting headings
- Fixing captions
Plan time for issues that need more complex solutions or take longer to complete.
Refresh
If a file needs many fixes, it may be easier to rebuild or redesign it. A refresh can help you:
- Improve the layout
- Make information clearer
- Use newer, more accessible formats or tools
Accommodations
The NED is committed to providing universal access to all of our events, we’d like to discover how we can make the event more inclusive so you can fully participate!
Machine generated captions are available in real-time for all Zoom events, however human generated CART (live caption) service and ASL interpretation can be requested with advanced notice (2 weeks) to make the event more accessible.
Please, let us know of any disability-related accommodations that will facilitate your full participation.
Questions?
Registration Required
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