MyCourses: Accessibility
Accessibility tools in MyCourses
Checklist for the accessibility of learning material and digital content
This site provides you with a comprehensive checklist to help you ensure that your learning materials are accessible to all students.
Content updated on 11.9.2026.
With the checklists below, you can assess the accessibility of your different types of learning materials and find ways to improve their accessibility.
Why accessibility matters: Without accessible learning materials, many students are left without essential information and learning opportunities. Accessible learning materials are crucial especially for learners with disabilities, impairments or learning difficulties, but they improve the learning experience for everyone.
Who the checklist is for: The checklists are designed especially as support material for teaching staff in higher education, but they can be used by anyone who creates digital content
Summary of key accessibility principles
- Use accessible templates and tools: Use the document templates provided by your institution and check the accessibility of your learning materials with the software鈥檚 built-in accessibility tools.
- Ensure clarity and structure: Use heading styles, subheadings, table structures and lists. Write clearly and concisely.
- Ensure visual readability: Use sufficient colour contrast, clear fonts, and avoid using colour as the only way of conveying information.
- Provide alternative ways of presenting information: Add alternative text to images. Add captions or text transcripts in the original language to videos and audio files.
- Remember accessibility also in specialised content: Mathematical formulas, VR and 360掳 content and LaTeX files require special attention, and finding accessible solutions for them can be challenging.
Checklists for different types of learning materials
In this section: document templates, use of colour, hyperlink texts, accessibility check, file formats
| Start with these questions | Do this |
|---|---|
| 1. Can you use your educational institution鈥檚 document templates? | Whenever possible, use accessible document templates provided by your own educational institution, such as PowerPoint slide templates or Word document templates. These templates have predefined fonts, layouts and document structures that support accessibility [1]. |
| 2. Do you use colours to indicate the importance or meaning of something? | Colours may and should be used to reinforce a message, but they must not be used as the only means of conveying information. In addition to colours, use text formatting, textures/patterns, explanatory text or symbols to emphasise content. |
| 3. Are the colour contrast differences sufficiently high? | Choose colours for text, images and videos so that the contrast between them is sufficiently high. The difference in darkness between white and black is the greatest. Sufficient contrast makes the content of learning materials easier to read. |
| 4. Are hyperlink texts descriptive? | Give each hyperlink descriptive text that makes the purpose of the link clear and tells the user where opening the link will take them. Ensure that the link text is visually distinguishable from the surrounding text. Link text is typically indicated by underlining and a blue font colour [2]. The name of the web page or file to which the link points is suitable as link text. If it is an anchor link, meaning that the link takes the user to a specific point on a web page, use the heading of that section as the link text. If the hyperlink opens, for example, a Word or PDF file, indicate this in the link text, for example, 鈥淔inal report of the J盲niksen vuosi -project (PDF)鈥. |
| 5. Are your files accessible? | Check the accessibility of the file using the built-in accessibility tools in the software you use, such as the Accessibility Checker in Word. However, note that no automated check can verify everything, but it is a good starting point. When sharing your learning material, use web pages whenever possible, for example the Page or Book activity in Moodle, because web content is the easiest to make accessible [3]. However, if you use separate documents, such as a PDF, Word document or PPT slide deck, note that PDF documents are the most challenging to make accessible. Publishing an accessible PDF requires you to make the original document accessible and ensure that the PDF conversion settings are correct. If your learners prefer a particular file format, such as LaTeX or proprietary formats used by professional software, also provide these file formats. |
Further information and references:
[1]
[2] (in Finnish)
[3] (in Finnish)
In this section: heading styles, fonts, text formatting, use of colour, readability
| Review text-based learning materials with these questions | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Do you use heading styles? | Always use heading styles for headings and text sections: Heading 1 (H1), meaning the main heading; Heading 2 (H2), meaning a first-level subheading; Heading 3 (H3), meaning a second-level subheading; and so on. For more information about text in presentations, see 5. resentation Graphics. |
| 2. Is there sufficient contrast between the text and background colours? (contrast difference) | Choose the text and background colours so that there is sufficiently high contrast between them, meaning that the text stands out from the background and is easy to read. Black text on a white background provides the best contrast. The reverse also works well: white or very light text stands out clearly on a black or dark background. For example, use the WebAIM Contrast Checker tool to check colours. [2] |
| 3. Do you use colours in text to indicate importance or meaning? | Emphasize the importance of text content by using bold rather than colour. Colours may and should be used to reinforce a message, but they must not be used as the only means of conveying information. Example: verbs in the text are green and nouns are blue. This is acceptable, but the information must also be conveyed to the reader in a way that is not solely visual, for example by placing a symbol with alternative text (alt text) after each verb. If you want to emphasise a section of your text, a good method is to give the paragraph a heading and highlight the point to be emphasised in the heading. |
| 4. Does the text formatting support readability? | Use the accessible templates provided by your higher education institution and familiarize yourself with the related instructions. By using the templates and following the instructions, you can most easily apply accessible formatting to your documents and presentations. Choose fonts, font sizes and formatting that support reading from a screen. When choosing a font type, prefer sans serif fonts such as Arial, Aptos, Tahoma, Trebuchet and Verdana. Use line spacing of at least 1.5 if you publish the content as a PDF file. Use bold sparingly. See also the section on the use of colour in text. For online text, prefer 1) short paragraphs, 2) lists and 3) subheadings, even though this is not a statutory accessibility requirement. Left-aligned text with a ragged right edge is easier for the reader than fully justified text. Avoid automatic hyphenation. In PDF files, it is recommended that long compound words be broken only at word boundaries and that hyphenation otherwise be avoided. [3] |
| 5. Is the text easy to read? | Write clear, appropriate and understandable text. Avoid long sentence structures and divide sentences containing, for example, several different subordinate clauses into shorter sentences. Explain abbreviations and, when repeating a long compound expression, prefer a shorter form, for example 鈥淭eams meeting of the accessibility expert network鈥 鈫 鈥渢he network鈥檚 online meeting鈥. Use subheadings. Descriptive headings make text easier to scan and read. Whenever you introduce a new topic or perspective in your text, add a subheading to the paragraph. Use lists to make the text easier to scan. Use multiple presentation formats, such as images, diagrams and videos, whenever possible. Choose the font size according to the intended use of the material. When the text is part of a slide presentation, use your higher education institution鈥檚 templates and their automatic formatting. If you want to publish content in another easy-to-read format, use tools that allow the user to adjust the text size dynamically, such as a Word file or an HTML web page. |
Further information and references:
[1] (in Finnish)
[2]
[3]
In this section: alternative text / alt text, image as a link, text in images, image resolution, image format
| Use the following questions to review images and drawings: | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Do images have an alternative description? | An image must always have an alternative description. This is also called alt text, and sometimes a text alternative or descriptive text. The alt text added to the image properties may be empty if the image does not provide additional information in the material. In this case, the image is decorative. An image can also be marked as decorative if the information in the image has already been provided in the body text or on a separate page or in an appendix. |
| 2. Is the alternative description good? | A good alternative description conveys the essential content of the image. Alt text associated with the image properties can be no longer than one paragraph, and it cannot contain any other content elements such as tables, language changes or lists. If the image needs to be explained more extensively than is possible in one short paragraph, the explanation must be provided in the body text. It can be provided in a separate appendix or on a dedicated web page. In most text editors, you can add alt text to an image through the Alt Text option in the context menu opened by right-clicking the image. In some editors, you must select the image editing function, which provides access to the option for adding an alternative description. If alt text is not needed, create an empty alternative description by marking the image as decorative (as done in Word). In some programs, you must enter a space in the description field, or, if that is not accepted, enter a full stop. If a more detailed description of the image is provided in a separate appendix, add a reference or link to it in the image caption. |
| 3. Do you use an image as a link? | If an image functions as a link, state in the image鈥檚 alternative text, or alt text, where the link leads. See the hyperlink formatting instructions in the 0. Start Here checklist. |
| 4. Does the image contain text? | Text should generally not be presented as images, with the exception of logos. However, charts, models and diagrams contain text. In such cases, it is particularly important to ensure that the text stands out sufficiently from its background and that the same information is available in another form, for example in the body text, an image caption, a separate page or appendix, or alt text. |
| 5. Is the image sufficiently sharp, and do the essential elements stand out from the background? | The image resolution should be sufficient for the essential content of the image to be clearly visible. Also pay attention to contrast in the image: do the most important elements stand out from the background and from one another? |
| 6. Is the image cropped to show what is essential? | Crop the image so that it shows the essential subject. |
| 7. Has the image format been selected according to the characteristics of the image? | If your image is a graph, chart or other line drawing, it works best as a vector image: vector images scale more cleanly and can be enlarged without loss of quality. If the publishing platform or file type you use supports vector images, meaning SVG, use SVG for line drawings if your image is available or can be created in SVG format. Line drawings generally have fewer colours than continuous-tone images and usually contain areas of flat colour. Therefore, PNG should be selected as the format for line drawings if SVG is not possible. PNG consists of pixels rather than vectors, so its quality deteriorates when the image is enlarged. For photographs and other continuous-tone images, the best format for online use is JPG. JPG is a lossy image format, which means that the same image should not be saved repeatedly without need, because its quality deteriorates each time it is saved [1]. |
| 8. If your image is a raster image, meaning that its file format is JPG, PNG or GIF, is the image size appropriate for its purpose? | Optimise the image size according to its intended use. The image is then displayed in your material at 100% size, meaning that you do not make the image smaller when editing the content. If you make an image smaller only by scaling it, the image file size does not decrease at the same time. Similarly, if you enlarge it, its quality suffers. When creating material to be viewed on a screen and not intended for printing, pixel graphics in JPG, PNG or GIF format should have a resolution of 72 ppi or 96 ppi, meaning pixels per inch. |
Further information and references:
[1]
In this section: colour contrast, colour as information, text formatting, alternative texts / alt texts
| Use the following questions to review charts and infographics: | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Are the colour contrasts in charts and infographics sufficiently high? | Choose the text and background colours so that there is sufficiently high contrast between them, for example black text on a white background. A useful tool for checking colours is the Contrast Checker tool, which is freely available online [1]. A good way to ensure that understanding the information does not depend on colour is to view the image in greyscale. If the essential elements can be distinguished in shades of grey, understanding should not depend on the ability to perceive colours. If necessary, place a solid-colour box behind the text if the background is visually busy or the contrast would otherwise be insufficient. In graphs, consider using outlines around segments and bars if this helps distinguish them from one another. |
| 2. Do you use colours to convey information? | In charts such as bar charts, use text labels, different shapes or line styles in addition to colour. |
| 3. Does the chart/infographic contain text? | Valitse tekstin fontit, fonttikoot ja muotoilu siten, ett盲 ne tukevat n盲yt枚lt盲 lukemista. Choose fonts, font sizes and formatting for the text so that they support reading from a screen. Use bold sparingly. Do not use italics. Ensure sufficiently high contrast between the text and the background. |
| 4. Does the text formatting support readability? | In an infographic, it is important to keep the amount of text to a minimum, make the text sufficiently large and place explanatory text immediately next to the item it describes. Read more about accessible text formatting in the 1. Texts checklist. |
| 5. Do charts/infographics have alternative text? | Add clear alternative text descriptions, or alt text, to images. Alt text should be short. A chart may require a longer description, in which case it is recommended that the description be provided as separate body text. For example, in a PowerPoint slide presentation, the description can be placed on the following slide; in Word/PDF, in a separate appendix; or on a web page, the image caption can contain a link to a separate page or section where the content of the chart is described in text form. [2] Read more about alternative text in the 2. Images and Drawings checklist. |
Further information and references:
[1]
[2]
In this section: table layout and structure, header row / header column, merged cells, text formatting, images in tables, finding you table with screen readers
| Use the following questions to review the tables in your learning material: | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Is a table the best way to present this information? | Use a table for information that is naturally presented in tabular form. Do not use tables solely for layout, for example to create columns. |
| 2. Is your table also technically a table? | A table must be a table, not, for example, an image of a table. |
| 3. Does the table have a header row or column? | Define a header row and/or header column for the table content. Headers must be technically marked as headers; visual formatting such as bold alone is not sufficient. [1] |
| 4. Is the structure of your table sufficiently simple? | If your table requires merged cells, this is usually a good indication that the table should be divided into two or more separate tables. |
| 5. Does every cell contain content? | Every cell in the table must contain something. If no data is available, enter, for example, 0, not available, NA, n/a, no data, or whatever you consider most appropriate to indicate that the absence of other information is intentional. Note that a hyphen or dash is a character that is generally not read aloud by screen reader software unless this has been specifically enabled in its settings. Therefore, these characters alone are not good indicators of an empty cell, or at least it must be stated separately that they have been used. A screen reader user can enable special characters to be read aloud if they are aware of this need. |
| 6. Does the table have a title/description? | Describe the purpose of the table in the table title (caption in HTML) or in an alternative description (alt text in Word). |
| 7. Does the text formatting support readability? | If a cell contains a large amount of text, align it to the left. Headings may be centred, and numbers that are easier to compare when right-aligned should be aligned to the right. Choose fonts, font sizes and formatting so that they support reading from a screen. |
| 8. Does your table contain images? | Ensure that images have clear alternative text descriptions, or alt text. Images must have sufficient contrast, and colour alone must not be relied on to convey information. For example, circles that differ only in colour are not acceptable unless they also have another distinguishing feature, such as size, fill pattern or outline. Alternatively, use different shapes directly, such as a circle, square and triangle. |
| 9. Can a screen reader user find your table? | Excel files and similar spreadsheet applications: Start the table in cell A1 of the worksheet, or at least state in cell A1 where the table begins. Place only one table on each worksheet. Give worksheets descriptive names. |
Further Information and Sources
(in Finnish)
Presentation graphics are intended to be shown, for example, during a lecture or in a video to support speech. Note that good presentation material is generally not the best possible supplementary material.
This section covers: presentation graphics, slide presentations, PowerPoint
| Use the following questions to review presentation graphics: | What to do: |
|---|---|
| 1. Can you use your institution鈥檚 document templates? | Whenever possible, use accessible document templates provided by your ownl institution, such as PowerPoint slide templates or Word document templates. These templates have predefined fonts, layouts and document structures that support accessibility [1]. |
| 2. Does your presentation contain an image? | Make the image as large as possible and crop it to show what is essential. Ensure that the image is of good quality and that its subject stands out clearly from the background. For drawings, ensure sufficient contrast. If you share the presentation with students as a file, ensure that the images have alternative descriptions. See also the section 2. Images and Drawings. |
| 3. Does your presentation contain a chart? | Do not convey information solely through colour. For example, in a line chart, you can use different line styles. Ensure that the chart is clear and focus on showing the essential information. If possible, arrange the information shown in the chart by starting with the most important item. If you share the presentation with students as a file, ensure that charts have alternative descriptions. See also the section 3. Charts and Infographics. |
| 4. Does your presentation contain text? | Ensure sufficient contrast between the text and the background. A good rule of thumb is that less text is better than more. New terms, names and numerical information are suitable items to display as text. If you share the presentation with students as a file, ensure that the file has a descriptive name, the slides have descriptive and unique titles, and the order of the slide elements corresponds to the visual reading order. See also the section 1. Texts. |
| 5. Are the slides clear to the user? | One slide = one main point. Consider the intended use. When creating presentation material, avoid large amounts of text. Present only the main points on the slides and follow the guidance concerning text. Divide complex and lengthy content across several slides. |
| 6. Do you use heading styles? | In PowerPoint and Slides, instead of heading styles, use the title placeholders provided in the slide layouts. The software recognises text entered in these fields and automatically marks it as a title. Give every PowerPoint and Slides slide a descriptive title. If you cover the same topic on several slides and want to use the same title, distinguish the titles by adding, for example, an ordinal number or a sequence indicator such as 1/n, 2/n, 鈥 n/n. Finally, check the slide titles and the reading order of the content using the Accessibility Checker. |
| 7. Is there sufficient color contrast between the presentation text and the background? | Choose the slide text and background colors so that there is sufficiently high contrast between them, meaning that the text stands out from the background and is easy to read. Black text on a white background provides the best contrast. The reverse also works well: white or very light text stands out clearly on a black or dark background. For example, use the WebAIM Contrast Checker tool to check colors [2]. |
| 8. Do you use colors in the presentation to indicate importance or meaning? | Emphasise the importance of text content by using bold rather than color. Colors may and should be used to reinforce a message, but they must not be used as the only means of conveying information. Example: verbs in the text are green and nouns are blue. This is acceptable, but the information must also be conveyed to the reader in a way that is not solely visual, for example by placing a symbol with alternative text (alt text) after each verb. |
| 9. Does the formatting of the presentation text support readability? | Use the accessible templates provided by your higher education institution and familiarise yourself with the related instructions. By using the templates and following the instructions, you can most easily apply accessible formatting to your presentations. Choose fonts, font sizes and formatting so that they support the intended use of the presentation. When choosing a font type, prefer sans serif fonts such as Arial, Aptos, Tahoma, Trebuchet and Verdana. Use bold sparingly. See also the section on the use of color in text. Use a sufficiently large font size for text in slide presentations. The recommended font size in PowerPoint and Slides presentations is at least 24 points for body text and 36 points for headings, although the appropriate size may vary depending on the font. |
| 10. Is the presentation easy to use for different users? | Check the reading order and heading structure before sharing. For example, use the Accessibility Checker in PowerPoint. If necessary, also provide the presentation in another format, such as Word or HTML, in which the text size can be changed. |
| 11. Will the presentation graphics become part of a video recording? | If you are not certain that captions will appear below the video in the media system you use, leave empty space at the bottom of, for example, a PowerPoint slide for captions so that they do not cover anything essential in the video. |
Sources and Further Information
[1]
[2]
In this section: language of audio track and captions, text transcript / text alternative, captions, description of visual content, flashing content, caption placement
| Use the following questions to review video and audio: | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Does the video verbally describe all content visible in the video, such as PowerPoint slides? | If the video contains visual elements such as PowerPoint presentations in addition to a talking head, verbally describe all content that would otherwise be available only to a sighted viewer. |
| 2. Does the video have captions? | The video must have captions corresponding to its audio track. The captions must also identify essential sounds other than speech that can be heard in the video, for example [alarm clock rings]. If the speaker changes and this is not apparent from the video, the change must be indicated in the captions, for example 鈥淢atti:鈥. It is recommended to use a separate caption file if the publishing platform you use provides this option. Captions provided separately are called closed captions (CC) in English. Users can turn the captions on or off themselves. If your publishing platform supports closed captions that users can turn on or off themselves, choose this option. If you publish the video in an environment without a video player that supports captions, embed the captions in the video image. The captions can then no longer be edited or turned off. These are called Open Captions in English. |
| 3. Are the video鈥檚 audio track and captions in the same language? | In an accessible video, the audio track and captions are in the same language. Note that translated captions do not make the video accessible in the translation language [1] [2]. For example, if a video is in Finnish and captions are available in Finnish and English, the video is accessible only in Finnish. A separate English-language video must be created, or an English text alternative must be provided in addition to the captions, because a text alternative can be listened to with an assistive technology, unlike captions. |
| 4. Is a text alternative available for the audio recording/video? | An audio recording, such as a podcast, must always have a text alternative. A text alternative can also be created for a video if the video鈥檚 audio track alone is not accessible. A text alternative means a transcribed text version of an audio or video recording [1] [2]. If a video contains only images and no audio at all, either a text alternative or an audio description must be provided. A video can also serve as a media alternative for text, in which case it does not need captions. However, it must be clearly marked as a media alternative and must be located immediately adjacent to the text. The text or media alternative must correspond in content to the audio, video or text for which it is an alternative. Neither may contain more information than the other. A slide presentation cannot be used as a text alternative for a video unless the presentation text corresponds exactly to the spoken content of the video. |
| 5. Is there space for captions at the bottom of your video? | If, for example, you share a PowerPoint presentation full-screen in your video, leave the bottom of the PowerPoint slide empty so that possible captions do not cover anything in the video. On some platforms, captions can be placed below the video, in which case no empty space is needed. |
| 6. Does the video contain other visual elements, such as the speaker鈥檚 name, opening titles or end credits? lopputekstit. | If information such as the speaker鈥檚 name or opening titles is presented visually in the video, it must be spoken aloud. The video can also have a separate audio-description track if the video player supports it. If audio description cannot be provided as a separate track and a version is created in which the audio description and the video鈥檚 original audio are on the same track, publish the audio-described video separately and provide a link to it alongside the video. |
| 7. Must the visual materials used in the video, such as PowerPoint slides, be accessible? | All presentation materials shown in the video, such as PowerPoint slides, must be visually accessible. Note that good presentation material is generally not the best possible supplementary material. Visual accessibility alone is not sufficient for supplementary material; it must also be accessible in other ways. Read more about formatting and colour contrast in the sections 1. Texts, 2. Images and 3. Charts and Infographics. |
| 8. Does your video avoid triggering seizures? | Videos should not contain unexpected content that flashes more than three times per second. This may trigger, for example, a migraine or epileptic seizure in some people. If it is necessary to show a phenomenon that flashes rapidly, create a separate video for it and provide a clear warning alongside the video and in the video itself that the video contains flashing content that may trigger a seizure. |
Further information and references:
[1]
[2]
In this section: alternative material, accessibility of content, using the environment with different controllers, support for navigation, environment customisation, alternative controllers
| Use the following questions to review VR and 360掳 learning materials: | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Is accessible alternative learning material available for the VR/360掳 learning material? | Making multisensory learning material accessible is challenging. VR/360掳 environments are often not fully accessible to all users, in which case alternative learning material should be provided. There are many accessible alternatives, but when selecting one, consider what best supports the learner and enables sufficiently in-depth engagement with the topic. An accessible alternative could be, for example, a text description of what the user would experience in the VR environment, an instructional video or audio guide describing the content of the virtual environment, or a series of still images. However, it is important to determine in advance whether these are suitable for the learner. [1] |
| 2. Have the accessibility criteria concerning text, colours and images been taken into account in the content design? | Review the previous checklists. |
| 3. Is the user instructed on how to navigate the environment and how to proceed through its different stages? | Providing sufficient guidance to the user is essential in multisensory learning environments. The instructions should explain how to move around the environment and how the user is expected to act in order to progress in the learning process. Progress tracking is recommended to help the user understand the learning process as a whole. Instructional text explaining the stages of progression can be added at the beginning and end of activities. |
| 4. Can the user adapt the environment to suit their needs? | Allow the user to adjust the volume and speed of movement, remove certain visual effects, or modify the view according to their needs. |
| 5. Can a virtual environment used on a computer display be navigated using keyboard commands? | Navigation using keyboard commands is a key accessibility requirement. Review the accessibility statement of the VR/360掳 learning environment used at your higher education institution. If the environment does not allow navigation using the keyboard, note that you cannot make content on that platform mandatory without providing an accessible alternative. |
| 6. Are alternatives available for controllers used with VR headsets? | Take into account that different functional limitations may affect the use of controllers. Depending on the user鈥檚 needs, suitable alternative controls may include voice commands, eye tracking or hand movements. |
Further information and references:
[1]
This section covers:鈥e-books, e-articles, e-journals, PDF files鈥&苍产蝉辫;
| Use the following questions to review course books and articles:鈥&苍产蝉辫; | What to do鈥&苍产蝉辫; |
|---|---|
| 1. Is the course book available in an accessible digital format?鈥&苍产蝉辫; | Check your higher education institution鈥檚 library website to see whether the book is available as an e-book or audiobook. Not all e-books are automatically accessible, so you can ask the library for more information about the level of accessibility. You can also submit an acquisition request to your library for an accessible version.鈥&苍产蝉辫; If an accessible book is not available, the learner can submit a request to the Celia Library to have an accessible book produced. The production time is approximately three months.鈥[1]鈥&苍产蝉辫; |
| 2. Is an accessible electronic version of the article available?鈥&苍产蝉辫; | Check your higher education institution鈥檚 library website to see whether the article is available as an e-article. You can also submit an acquisition request for the e-article.鈥&苍产蝉辫; If you share an article in PDF format, check that it is accessible using Adobe Acrobat Pro鈥[2]鈥痮r PDF-XChange Editor鈥[3] [4].鈥&苍产蝉辫; |
Lis盲tiedot ja l盲hteet:
[1] Accessible coursebooks | Aalto University
[2]
[3]
[4]
This section covers:鈥formulae, mathematical notation鈥&苍产蝉辫;
| Use the following questions to review mathematical notation:鈥&苍产蝉辫; | What to do鈥&苍产蝉辫; |
|---|---|
| 1. Which tools/file formats support accessible mathematical notation?鈥&苍产蝉辫; | At least Moodle, Microsoft 365 office applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote), EPUB3 and now PDF 2.0 support MathML.鈥&苍产蝉辫; Office products use Office Math (OMML) internally, but formulae can be imported into and exported from them in LaTeX and MathML formats.鈥[1]鈥&苍产蝉辫; Accessible, tagged PDF 2.0 files in which formulae are in MathML format can be produced from LaTeX files.鈥[2]鈥疶hese can already be used in teaching. Note that archives have their own rules, so your higher education institution鈥檚 library may not yet accept PDF 2.0 files.鈥&苍产蝉辫; Note that MathML code must always be proofread first and may need to be supplemented with invisible characters. Equation editors and LaTeX code do not use the invisible multiplication character ⁢ or ⁢, or the invisible function application character ⁡ or ⁡, so these must be added manually when necessary.鈥[3]鈥&苍产蝉辫; |
| 2. Do you create formulae using Microsoft Office tools? (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote)鈥&苍产蝉辫; | Use the Equation Editor tool to create formulae. It allows you to convert LaTeX code into formulae when you want to work more efficiently. If you do not know LaTeX code, use Unicode characters in the equation editor.鈥&苍产蝉辫; If possible, do not convert Microsoft Office files to PDF format; share them with students in their original format.鈥&苍产蝉辫; |
| 3. Do you publish mathematical notation on web pages?鈥&苍产蝉辫; | Use MathML code as the primary format for formulae. Produce the MathML code through conversion, for example from TeX code.鈥[4]鈥 If the publishing platform you use does not support MathML code, find out whether you can provide the content containing formulae via a link to an accessible page or as an accessible attachment.鈥&苍产蝉辫; |
Further Information and Sources:鈥&苍产蝉辫;
摆1闭鈥&苍产蝉辫;
摆2闭鈥&苍产蝉辫;
摆3闭鈥 (In Finnish)
摆4闭鈥&苍产蝉辫;
If you create a PDF from a LaTeX file, it is essential to make the PDF an accessible, tagged document.鈥[1]鈥&苍产蝉辫;
This section covers:鈥LaTeX files鈥&苍产蝉辫;
| Use the following questions to review content in a LaTeX file:鈥&苍产蝉辫; | What to do鈥&苍产蝉辫; |
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| 1. Have images been given alternative text?鈥&苍产蝉辫; | The Graphicx package allows alternative text (alt text) to be written for images. However, a known problem is that alt text is not always transferred to PDF files during conversion. For this reason, it is recommended that a more detailed description be provided in the body text or in a separate appendix. The file could also state that the images do not have alt text because of technical limitations and that their content is described in the body text.鈥&苍产蝉辫; |
| 2. Does the file contain drawings?鈥&苍产蝉辫; | Describe the content of the drawing separately in the body text. At present, LaTeX drawing functions do not support the provision of alt text.鈥&苍产蝉辫; |
| 3. Does the file contain mathematical notation?鈥&苍产蝉辫; | You can create an accessible PDF file from your LaTeX file in which the formulae are in MathML. See鈥疢athematical Notation.鈥&苍产蝉辫; If the students are proficient in LaTeX, you can also share the LaTeX files with them in their original format. For a screen reader user who is proficient in LaTeX, this is a reasonably accessible alternative.鈥&苍产蝉辫; |
Further Information and Sources:鈥&苍产蝉辫;
摆1闭鈥&苍产蝉辫;
Further Information, Feedback and Citation Instructions鈥&苍产蝉辫; |
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Version 3 / 11.9.2026 Responsibility for updates and authors: The site is maintained and the content is produced by Suvi Toivonen, suvi.toivonen@aalto.fi (Aalto University), Anna-Liisa Mattila (University of Oulu), Satu Turkka (University of Eastern Finland) and Jenni Torikka (Metropolia University of Applied Sciences). Further use and licence: The checklist may be adapted for the needs of your own higher education institution under the following licence: CC BY鈥慛C鈥慡A 4.0 (). Suggested citation: Mattila, A.-L., Turkka, S., Toivonen, S. & Torikka, J. (2025). Checklist for the accessibility of learning materials and digital content (Version 3). Retrieved [date]. Aalto University. Feedback and service requests for Aalto University staff: myteachingsupport@aalto.fi Thanks for support and collaboration: Silvana Perez L盲herinta, Samuel Girmay, Antti Huittinen & Luis Costa / Aalto University. |
Support for teachers
Individual study arrangements
Each Aalto student has a right to receive reasonable individual study arrangements for medical reasons. A medical reason may be dyslexia, a sensory impairment, mental health condition or learning difficulty. Individual study arrangements should not be seen as a reason to stop aiming for the set learning outcomes. Instead, they are a way of supporting the student in attaining the learning outcomes.
Examples of individual study arrangements include additional time for examinations (1 hour at Aalto), a private space or computer for examinations, or adjusted schedules.
Teacher鈥檚 Handbook
A landing page for teachers to help them find information, services, and support related to teaching and learning.