What is Digital Media?
Digital Media relates to any materials that can be created, viewed, distributed, modified and preserved digitally. This includes text such as electronic documents, audio files, videos, graphics, websites, mobile applications, and social media platforms.
Digital Media and Accessibility
Digital media and accessibility go hand-in-hand. The goal of digital media is to serve as a method to share information or as a means to communicate; accessibility aims to ensure everyone can access information and communicate regardless of any ability or disability. Therefore digital media must be designed in ways that are accessible to everyone. Designing accessible digital media will not only provide access to people with disabilities but will greatly improve the overall functionality and usability of the digital media materials!
Digital Media and Document Training Guides
Below are training guides for creating, collecting, and re-designing accessible digital media. These guides include tutorials for making accessible documents including Word, PDF, and PowerPoint materials, best practices for making accessible and universally inclusive course and classroom instructional materials, and guides for distributing communication materials that are accessible to everyone!
Document Accessibility
Document accessibility is intentionally designing documents to be viewed and accessed by people who use assistive technology. All documents, whether they are intended to be published on a website, distributed via email, or a printed document, must be designed with accessibility in mind. Document authoring software such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel incorporate features to design accessible documents. Adobe Acrobat Professional and Adobe Indesign also support accessibility for Portable Document Formats (PDF). The process to create an accessible document using these authoring software is described in the pages below.
Course and Classroom Accessibility
CSUN strives to create learning environments to support all students. This requires that all materials used within a course or classroom be universally designed and/or provide accessible alternate options.
Communications Materials
Communication via digital materials has become a popular norm in this digital age. Ensuring that these materials are made accessibility will allow for grater comprehension and make it easier for everyone has access to the shared information.
