Most documents are readily accessible to students, but some formats are not. There are also tools available in Moodle and in internet browsers that will assist with accessibility of documents and files. 

File Types

  • For most documents that include primarily text or text and images, it is most accessible to share Microsoft Word or PDF files. 
  • Please note that there are two types of PDF files, a standard or snapshot PDF and an accessible PDF. To know if you have a standard or accessible PDF, try highlighting text on a page of the document. If it does not highlight, it is standard. If it does highlight text, it is accessible. 
  • Accessible PDFs can be read aloud by e-readers, can be copied into more visually accessible formats, making them more accessible than standard PDFs. 
  • In most cases, if you create a PDF from a Word Doc or download a PDF from another source like a website, it will most likely be an accessible PDF. 
  • In some cases, home scanners or other types of image capturing devices will produce standard PDFs. 
Moodle Tools for Accessibility

  • Moodle course pages all have a tool known as ReadSpeaker. This tool will audibly read text on the page and in documents. 
  • On the top of the course page, look for the gray Listen icon. 

  • The three lines icon is the settings menu for this tool, and the green play button will begin reading the page aloud. 

  • Documents that are readable by ReadSpeaker, will display a speaker icon next to the document name. If clicked, it will open the document in an accessible browser window with enhanced accessibility features


Browser Tools for Accessibility 

  • Most internet browsers provide accessibility tools for use across all websites. To access Chrome's settings, click the three dots menu in the top right corner of your browser and select settings

  • On the left, select Accessibility to view accessibility options
  • At the bottom of the accessibility options, additional accessibility features can be added from the Chrome web store for specific accessibility needs. 


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