"Produced by the SAS SDEC team at the University of Wolverhampton as part of their work within
the Critical Interventions for Enhanced Learning CETL"
Accessibility for Handouts, O.H.Ps and PowerPoint Presentations.
These suggestions have been gleaned from a variety of sources and are aimed
principally at meeting the needs of dyslexic students although they may also work
for students with some visual problems.
Serif fonts can cause problems as they can tend to make words ‘swim’ and to
‘flow’ into one another. It is preferably to use sans serif fonts such as Arial, Comic
Sans or Verdana.
Font size can vary but it is generally accepted that a minimum size of 12 point
should be used for standard handouts, 24 point for PowerPoint slides and 30 point
for O.H.Ps.
Layout style can also be important; use standard left aligned unjustified text with at
least 1.5 line spacing (double spacing better) and don’t mix upper and lower case
except when using normal capitalisation. Use boxes to emphasise important points
or text (don’t underline or embolden text).
Background colour can affect clarity particularly on projected PowerPoint slides.
Plain i.e. not graduated, tinted (off white/grey etc) backgrounds can aid clarity by
reducing glare without hiding the text (particularly if the presentation is to be
uploaded onto Wolf or made available as ‘printer friendly - .PDF versions.)
If different coloured text is desired stick to a maximum of two colours e.g. black
and blue (if using other choices remember the possibility of red-green colour
blindness, particularly amongst male students).
Present information in small chunks, use a consistent layout e.g. headings and
subheadings and a clear line space between paragraphs. Keep numbered or
bulleted points to maximum of five per OHP or PowerPoint slide
"Produced by the SAS SDEC team at the University of Wolverhampton as part of their work within
the Critical Interventions for Enhanced Learning CETL"
Use clear, straightforward language - dyslexic or deaf students may not posses
the same vocabulary as the rest of the class – provide a glossary of subject
specific terms, concepts and abbreviations if possible.
Present graphics (pictures, diagrams, graphs etc.) and tables separate from text
wherever possible. Use clearly visible (preferably horizontal) text and labels on
graphics
Please resist the temptation to use the animated and sound enhanced bells and
whistles available in PowerPoint – apart from making life difficult for students most
are so naff they will kill your academic credibility.
If you are making ‘printer friendly’ [ pdf versions] of the ‘handouts’ available via
WOLF it is probably best to restrict them to ‘six slides per page’, these can be
straight ppt slides or three slides with associated ‘boxes’ for student notes.