This fall semester, in each issue of OIT’s Instruction and Research Support Monthly News, we will be presenting YuJa Panorama technology tips to help faculty, instructors, and graduate teaching associates utilize the platform to remediate course materials for accessibility. 

Tip 2: Make Your Documents Accessible (Word, PowerPoint, PDF, and LaTEX)

After reviewing the tutorials in our last article (Tip 1), let’s shift focus to accessibility principles used across a few specific file types: Word, PowerPoint, PDF, and LaTeX. YuJa Panorama can assist with necessary remediation efforts for these file types, but it’s good general knowledge to always consider.  

Focus first on course documents that students must read or interact with to succeed in your class. 

General Principles

• Use built-in heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.) instead of changing font size manually. 

• Ensure text is actual text, not embedded in images or scanned PDFs. 

• Provide a logical reading order (especially in PowerPoint). 

• Avoid conveying meaning by color alone (e.g., “items in red are required” without additional indicators). 

Word & PowerPoint

• Run the Accessibility Checker (Review > Check Accessibility). 

• Add alt text to all images that convey information. 

• Ensure tables have clear header rows and are used for data (not for layout). 

PDFs

• Whenever possible, start from an accessible Word/PowerPoint document before creating a PDF. 

• Avoid all scanned PDFs that are just images. 

LaTeX and Equations in Canvas

Important! If you use LaTeX or include equations in your courses: 

• Avoid relying solely on LaTeX-generated PDFs for essential equations or derivations, since most math in PDFs is not accessible to screen readers. 

• For key formulas and worked examples, use the Canvas equation editor in the Rich Content Editor or an accessible equation tool in Word/PowerPoint, instead of pasting them in as images. 

• When you do need to share a LaTeX-produced PDF, for example, a full article or notes, consider also providing: 
  • A Canvas page that presents the core equations in an accessible form. 
  • A short text explanation of the main results, so students using assistive technologies can follow the logic. 

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