Creating an accessible Word document for the Web

Posting Microsoft Word documents on the web is an easy task. However, documents posted to the web in their native .doc or .docx format are not accessible to students with disabilities. You can convert Word documents into an accessible PDF(portable document format) using Adobe Acrobat Professional (not the free Adobe Reader).

A PDF document is a graphical file that is an exact image of the document originally created by another application (e.g., Word) and then converted by Adobe Acrobat into PDF format. PDF files can be viewed using Adobe Reader, which is a free viewer program that provides access to the PDF document. A PDF document provides the most flexibility to insure accessibility is maintained in the document.

With the use of assistive technology programs, (i.e. JAWS) the visually impaired user can access the accessible PDF files. Accessible PDF documents can be created using Acrobat Professional in conjunction with Word. Before a document can be translated to a PDF format, it is necessary to check the conversion settings of the Adobe PDF Maker within Word. A PDF document is compatible with Windows and Macintosh computers, which means that the document can be read on-screen and printed from nearly any computer.

You can create a PDF and then post the document into your Blackboard course or on your web site for your students to access for printing, reading or downloading onto their computers. This tutorial shows you how to do exactly this and will also show you how to upload the file into Blackboard.

Changing PDF conversion settings in Word 2003
Converting a Word 2003 document into a PDF

Changing PDF conversion settings in Word 2007
Converting a Word 2007 document into a PDF