Business & Communication

Accessible Documents (Memos, Reports, PDFs)

Business courses frequently have sample business reports, case studies, or memos. Ensure these are accessible PDFs or provide them as Word/HTML.

• Many business case studies from publishers come as PDFs – if they are not tagged, use Acrobat to add tags or run OCR if they’re scanned. If you create your own case scenarios in PDF, always tag headings, lists, and tables.
• Ally can help by flagging untagged PDFs and even converting them to more accessible formats.
• Teach students by example: when you share a financial report example in class, mention that it’s an accessible PDF and maybe even show the Acrobat accessibility checker briefly – this raises awareness that professional reports should be accessible too (important in public sector or large corporations).

Excel and Financial Data

Business admin and economics use a lot of Excel spreadsheets for budgets, financial statements, etc. When sharing spreadsheets, design them accessibly: clearly label each column and row (use the first row for column headers, and if you have sections, consider grouping or using bold to differentiate).

• Avoid blank rows/columns for spacing – that confuses screen readers. Instead, use cell styles or bordering for separation.
• Add alt text to chart objects or any embedded images in the Excel file (Excel has a field for alt text on objects).
• If a spreadsheet is complex, you might create a summary sheet that has key results in text form.
• Advise students on how to navigate spreadsheets with keyboard shortcuts – this can help those with motor issues or who are blind (e.g., tell them about Excel’s Go To cell (F5) or how to turn on high contrast gridlines if needed).

Presentations

Business courses love slide presentations. Model good slide accessibility: use a large font, high contrast (dark text on light background or vice versa), and minimal text on slides (better for everyone’s cognitive load).

• Ensure the speaker’s content (what you say aloud) is also captured for those who can’t hear or see. That could be via sharing lecture notes or recording the lecture with captions.
• If you demonstrate a concept with a chart in PowerPoint, the same rule – describe it. If a slide has a complex org chart graphic, describe the hierarchy verbally and in the slide notes.
• Encourage students to make their project presentations accessible too. Quick win: if students are submitting PPTs, have them run the Accessibility Checker in PowerPoint (just like they’d spell check). It will catch missing alt text on images, low contrast, etc., which they can fix as part of their professionalism training.

Meetings and Collaboration

Business courses often simulate meetings or use tools like Microsoft Teams for group work. Ensure all such live sessions use the available accessibility features: turn on Live Captions during virtual meetings.

• Teams also has transcript recording features – if you record a session or a guest speaker, provide the transcript or at least the key points in text after. This not only helps anyone who missed the meeting or is deaf, but also becomes a searchable reference for the content discussed.
• If using breakout rooms or collaborative boards, consider accessibility. Provide an alternative way to contribute for those who can’t use the interactive board (maybe they can speak their ideas and someone else can post it, or use an accessible text outline).

Case Study Videos or Role-Plays

If you have videos of business scenarios (like a mock negotiation, or a marketing pitch example), caption them and provide transcripts as with any video. Additionally, describe any crucial non-verbal aspects (was the negotiation adversarial – could be seen in body language? If important, mention it).

• If students do role-play presentations themselves, remind them to speak clearly and perhaps provide any materials in advance.
• If a student with a disability is in a role-play (e.g., a student in a wheelchair doing a presentation), ensure the environment is set so that physical aspects don’t impede their participation (not digital, but an inclusion note).

Web Tools (Polls, Forms, etc.)

Business classes might use tools like Poll Everywhere (for quick polls on ideas) or Google Forms for surveys.

• Poll Everywhere, for example, is largely accessible (participants can use keyboard and screen readers) and even allows alt text for images used in polls. Just ensure to enable that and avoid question types that are problematic (clickable image questions without alt text, for instance – instead, use multiple choice with text options which Poll Everywhere recommends for accessibility).
• If collecting feedback via Google Forms, keep the form simple and test it with a screen reader or at least Google’s accessibility checklists (use proper section headers, etc.). The key is any tool involving student input should not shut out some students due to its format.

Reading Load and Alternatives

Some business courses have heavy reading (case studies, articles). While not unique to business, ensure to offer alternative formats here too.

• Ally can generate ePub or audio for dense text , which some students may appreciate. Also, consider summarizing key points in bullet form in your slides or study guides – helps students with processing issues.
• Business writing is often full of jargon; provide a jargon buster or clarify acronyms (e.g., “ROI (Return on Investment)”). Not only does this help accessibility, it also ensures everyone is on the same page (some undergrads might not know all business terms yet).

Data Tables and Graphs

Economics is data-heavy (supply/demand curves, GDP graphs, etc.). All graphs need textual summaries (trend, notable points).

• If you show a supply and demand cross graph, alt text: “Supply and demand curves intersect at point E (equilibrium) at price $5, quantity 100.” Then explain, “Demand curve slopes downward, supply upward; they meet at equilibrium price $5.” For macroeconomic charts (like GDP over time), mention overall growth or recessions that are visible.
• Provide actual data when possible – maybe a CSV or an Excel file of the data underlying a key graph, so a visually impaired student can analyze the numbers.
• If using colored lines for multiple countries on a graph, ensure each line is labeled in text near it (or the caption lists them) so it’s clear.

Mathematical Expressions

Economics formulas (like utility functions, elasticity calculations) should be treated like math – use proper equation formatting.

• Use Word’s equation editor to write something like U = U(x,y) = x^α * y^β. That will be more accessible than an image of the formula and can be parsed by screen readers in some cases. At least if it’s text, a screen reader will read x sup α which is somewhat intelligible.
• If you put formulas on slides, also have them in a text handout or speak them aloud (“U of x y equals x to the power alpha times y to the power beta…”). It might be helpful to provide a plain-language explanation of formulas too (“this utility function means the utility is the product of x and y each raised to some exponent, showing diminishing returns if α, β < 1”).

Interactive Tools for Data

If you use any interactive economic simulators or graphs, ensure there’s an accessible alternative. For example, if your course uses web-based tools to teach supply/demand curves, keyboard controls allow students to adjust values and a live text readout displays results. If not, a static worksheet version in Excel can substitute (e.g., change numbers in a table and see outcomes).

• If using polling for predictions (“What happens to equilibrium if X increases?”), ensure all students can respond via an accessible method (could be a Blackboard quiz or Poll Everywhere which, as noted, is screen reader compatible in text modes).

Captioned Lectures for Technical Content

For ECON courses, many lectures are chalk-and-talk or slide-based with narration. If you record these, take advantage of captioning capabilities since captioning helps everyone.

• Recording videos also allow students can search the video for a term later or just read along to catch notation.
• Since auto-captions may stumble on econ terms (like “Lorenz curve” might become “Lauren’s curve”), do correct key terms in the captions for accuracy.

Spreadsheets and Modeling

If teaching use of Excel for economics (say, linear programming or regression), ensure the spreadsheets are accessible as with business above. Mention accessibility features like using “Accessibility Checker” in Excel and adding alt text to chart objects, as earlier.

• For statistical software outputs (like regression tables from Stata/SPSS), if you paste them as images in slides, stop! Instead, paste as text or recreate a simplified version.
• If it’s a bunch of numbers, consider whether all need to be conveyed or just key insights (e.g., “R-squared was 0.85 indicating a good fit”).
• Keep data tables in accessible formats (HTML table or Word table) when sharing.

Real-world Documents

Economics classes might examine things like the Federal Reserve’s PDF reports or World Bank data websites. Treat those external docs like readings – ensure they’re accessible or provide an accessible summary.

• Government reports these days are often PDF/UA compliant (tagged PDFs) but not always. If an important figure from such a report is not accessible, describe or recreate it accessibly. This not only helps your students, but also demonstrates the importance of accessible information dissemination – a relevant point as they move into policy or finance fields.

Accessible Media Campaigns

PR and marketing involve creating content – press releases, social media posts, infographics, videos. Emphasize making any such content accessible as part of good practice.

• For example, if students are tasked with making a social media post for a campaign, require that they include alt text for images and captions for video clips. This both meets course accessibility needs and trains them in real-world inclusive communication.
• If they design an infographic, have them turn in a separate text that contains all the info from the infographic (since infographics are notoriously hard for screen readers).

Press Releases and PDFs

Often PR classes teach producing press releases or newsletters in PDF format. Teach them to use proper Word templates or InDesign tags such that the exported PDF is tagged.

• At minimum, ensure that any example PR document you give them is accessible. For instance, if showing a past student’s press release PDF, run it through Acrobat’s checker and fix any issues (headings, reading order for columns, alt text on any logos).
• Present organizational hierarchies as nested lists or with semantic headings, not as inaccessible images. Mention things like “notice we used Heading styles – if this goes on a website or PDF, those headings make it accessible for assistive tech users” to build awareness.
• Teach plain language, person-first language, and providing all public materials in multiple formats.

Presentations/Pitches

Students may do PR campaign pitches, often involving PowerPoint, videos, and spoken presentation. As with business, insist on accessible slides (they might use a lot of images for branding – which need alt text and good contrast). If they show a TV commercial as part of a pitch, that video needs captions (and ideally a brief description if it’s mostly visual storytelling).

• Encourage them to consider the audience with disabilities as part of campaign strategy (this isn’t directly course content accessibility, but an extended learning: e.g., discussing how to make an event inclusive or a website ADA-compliant as part of PR strategy).
• From a course content view: if you have any example promo videos or ads you analyze in class, get captioned versions or manually caption them. Describe the visuals if analyzing their effect (“This ad shows a quick montage of people using the product, all smiling – implying satisfaction”).

Web and Social Media Tools

If the course uses tools like a WordPress blog for students to publish articles or Twitter for class engagement, verify accessibility. WordPress is can be accessible if themes are chosen carefully and alt text is added to images. Teach students how to add alt text to their blog images.

• If they must analyze social media content, ensure that content is available (for instance, if analyzing a series of tweets, compile them in a document with alt text for any images so a screen reader user can partake). Closed caption any example from social media (like a viral video).
• Many social platforms now have accessibility features (Twitter’s image alt text, Instagram’s auto-alt, etc.), which can be a quick discussion topic turned into practice.

Collaboration and Brainstorming

PR classes might do group brainstorming (maybe on virtual whiteboards or Google Docs). Ensure that the tools used are accessible or provide an alternative.

• If doing a mind-map, someone can write out the nodes in a bullet list.
• If using a platform to simulate an agency environment, ensure students know to make their shared content accessible (like attach captioned videos, avoid images of text, etc.). Modeling this in class communications (the instructor does it) sets the standard for students to follow.