Google Docs and Accessibility, Part 3: Presentations

Here we are again, looking at the accessibility of Google Apps (the Presentations section, this time) and how it can both be a benefit and a barrier for students with disabilities. This has become quite a hot topic since my last post, as the National Federation of the Blind has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the inaccessibility of Google Apps for users with vision impairments. I will leave you (and the DOJ) to make your own judgements about what should happen in this case, but thought I'd mention it as we move along. After all, looking for information on this complaint is how some of you landed here to read this post. Quite a few of you, actually, according to Google Analytics.

Meanwhile, back at the farm...


I'll be quite honest and say that I've not, before this post, played much with Google Presentations. I've never used it in an actual live setting, for instance, as I tend to go with Keynote, PowerPoint, or, increasingly, the nonlinear mindmapping & presentation tool VUE. But let's not let that stop us!

Making the Switch

Unsurprisingly, Google has a nice little how-to tutorial. Surprisingly, however, there are aren't many sites with a how-to, and even fewer that are more recent than 2007, when Presentations came out. There is a nice series from e-How that is dated and doesn't include many of the updates to Presentations, but does actually include transcripts of the videos. If you've used any type of presentation software in the past, you'll find Google Presentations is similar, though much more simplified. No transitions (either between bullets in a slide or between slides themselves). No fancy word arty-type options. You can insert images, either from your computer or as a hyperlinked image, videos, and drawings, and it supports speaker notes nicely.

The Bottom Line: Google Presentations' Accessibility

Again, a lovely review of Google Presentations' accessibility is available from the Accessible Digital Office Document Project. Again, they found that Google Presentations is unfriendly for people with visual and dexterity impairments. If you've been following this series in the blog so far, you know it's now time for me to tell you about barriers and workarounds.

• Screenreader users: Hmm. Well, I can say this; some parts of Presentations are accessible. Kind of. However, the inaccessible parts (e.g., consistent keyboard access, alt tags on images, the ability to actually get to all the menu functions, and actually saving the presentation) make the accessible parts pointless.
• Keyboard users: There are a few keyboard shortcuts built into Google Presentations. These are not particularly robust, applying generally to font characteristics rather than functional commands.
• Screen magnification: There is a Zoom feature built in to Presentations. It only enlarges the actual slide. I also found that, even though there is a keystroke combo to zoom, it doesn't work consistently. The (CTRL+) browser trick works fairly well to enlarge all of the elements, including the icons. Because there are far fewer icons in Presentations than Spreadsheets, there is less issue with pixellation. Even at high ratio magnification, the icons are distinguishable from one another.

However, we have to consider not only the creation tools, but also the usage tools. I invite you to try using the embedded Presentation below with keyboard access or a screenreader and report your results in the comments!

Unique Ways Google Spreadsheets Benefits Students with Disabilities

Like all of the other Google Docs apps, saving, sharing, and simplicity are the big draw points here for students with disabilities. In presentations, especially, that simplicity is important. How many people actually use all those umpity-bump number of menu items available in PowerPoint? More to the point, how many people are actually using them appropriately? Google Presentations has the distinct advantage of making the message more important than the glamorous package in which it's wrapped.

That simplicity plays out in another way when you start examining the "insert video" function. No longer do you have to have saved the URL for the specific video you wanted to include in your presentation; there is a search feature built into the embedding process.  That's helpful when memory issues or attention and concentration affect the process of putting things together.

Video search

Saying It Again: Self-Advocacy and Google Apps

It's very important that SOU students are able to use any tools that are required of them to complete coursework or obtain information about programs, courses, and activities at SOU. If you are in a class that requires the use of Google Apps and you find that there are disability-related barriers that the inaccessibility of Apps poses, please discuss this with your instructor and/or with Disability Resources right away. Don't wait until the night before the project is due!

Got something to say about Google Presentations? Say it in the comments!