The Grading Conference Accessibility Guide

In order to make The Grading Conference as accessible as possible, each session’s materials will be available to participants before it begins, and all sessions will make use of closed captioning. We also make the following recommendations for conference presenters.

Shared Materials
We ask that all presenters who plan to use slides submit their presentations either via PowerPoint or Google Slides. We have a preference for Google Slides (where convenient) since all presentations will be converted to that format before the conference to make them more easily shareable for attendees.

We similarly request that poster presenters submit their work via PowerPoint or Google Slides rather than PDF where possible, since it’s difficult to make PDFs accessible to screen readers. If you have a strong preference for sharing your poster as a PDF, please see the Abode PDF accessibility guide to ensure that your document is as accessible as possible.

For all materials (slides and posters) we make the following recommendations:

  • Ensure each slide or section has a unique title.
  • Use clear, consistent layouts and headings/subheadings.
  • Use large (24-point+) font sizes for body text.
  • Choose simple sans-serif fonts (like Arial, Calibri, Helvetica etc.).
  • Consider larger (1.5-2.0) spacing between lines when possible.
  • Use a color contrast checker to ensure visibility and avoid using color as the only means of communicating information.
  • Use alt text on all images and graphics.
  • Keep charts, graphs, and tables as simple as possible.
  • Use row and column headers on all tables.
  • Avoid flashing content or flashy slide animations and transitions.
  • When using hyperlinks, avoid vague wording (such as “click here”) and instead name the linked resource (“Grading for Growth blog”).

Presentations

  • During your introduction, consider sharing your pronouns and including a brief visual description of yourself.
  • Speak slowly and clearly, incorporating occasional pauses to allow participants to process the information shared.
  • Describe any images or graphics displayed on slides.
  • Ensure all videos have captions.
  • Avoid disciplinary acronyms or jargon.

For questions about any of the above, please consult the following resources:

Accessibility Resources