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Creating Instructional Materials
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CREATING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

ABOUT

This area of the Tools site provides practical teaching tips to help faculty create course materials, whether for a traditional classroom or online environment. If your course material will be used online, such as a website or WebCT, the material must be accessible to all students, including students with disabilities. Thus, you will find assistance, tips and guidance to ensure your material is accessible.

Note: Documents linked from this page require the use of Acrobat Reader®, unless otherwise identified. Get Acrobat Reader.

SYLLABUS TEMPLATES

A syllabus is one of the first documents students receive in a course and is used to guide students, provide course requirements, policies, and resources. Students rely on this document to understand their role and responsibilities, so it's imperative that the syllabus is clear and organized. With this in mind, these templates are organized, accessible and include teaching tips.

Get Started

  1. Download a syllabus template.
  2. Copy and paste content from an old syllabus or type in your new content.
  3. If pasting content ensure that you have selected "Match Desitination Formatting" from the paste options. This will retain the document style(s).
  4. We highly recommend using the built-in style and format to ensure your syllabus remains accessible.

Templates

Conversion to PDF

The conversion to PDF should be done following these guidelines:

  • Use PDFMaker (the Acrobat icon in Microsoft Word), not “File > Print> Adobe PDF" or the "Save as PDF" option on Mac OS.
  • If you are using a Mac, use a PC (PDFMaker icon) to convert your document to PDF.
  • Another option is to include both versions (PDF and Word), if you can’t use PDFMaker (on a PC).

Please refer to the resources below for instructions on how to structure a document in Microsoft Word and convert to PDF and HTML formats.

MICROSOFT WORD

The focus of these documents is to help you create documents that are accessible to individuals with a visual impairment and that require the use of an assistive technology, such as a screen reader. In addition, you should think about other characteristics your audience members may have and design documents that meet those needs.

Accessibility Tips for Word Documents

  1. Use built-in Styles to structure your documents. You can modify existing styles or create your own.
  2. When including images in your documents, either descriptive, decorative and/or charts, provide alternate text descriptions.
  3. Consider making your documents available in other formats such as PDF or HTML. By using built-in Styles (markup) in your original documents, other formats will retain that markup, necessary for individuals using assistive technology.

Additional Resources for Word Documents

MICROSOFT POWERPOINT

An accessible PowerPoint presentation is when all users can access the content, both in and out of the classroom. Depending on the elements you place in your PowerPoint document — such as audio, video, images, and use of text color — you may need to provide different formats of your slideshow to meet the needs of your audience. Examples include a black and white PDF version for a user with low vision or color blindness, and an HTML text version for a visually impaired user utilizing a screen reader.

Accessibility Tips for PPT Documents

  1. Create a document in Outline View.
  2. Provide alternate text to images.
  3. Use contrast between background and text colors.

Additional Resources for PPT Documents

ADOBE ACROBAT PDF

Accessible PDFS can be read intelligently by screen reader software — software used by the visually impaired to read material on the screen out loud.

Accessibility Tips for PDF Documents

  1. Before you create your PDF, start with an accessible document (e.g. Word – add alternate text to images and use styles; PowerPoint – create in Outline mode).
  2. Use the PDFMaker plug-in to create your PDF.
  3. If you can’t use PDFMaker to create your PDF, use Adobe Acrobat 8.0 Professional to check for and/or fix accessibility problems.

Additional Resources for PDF Documents

WEB PAGES

How do you make Web sites accessible to people with disabilities? Here are a few ideas:

  • A user with hearing problems will need to have video captioning included.
  • People with mobility impairments benefit from well-designed sites that allow for easy movement through the site utilizing alternate input devices.
  • Users with sight disabilities who cannot see the information on a Web site benefit from accessing a site that is designed to facilitate screen reader technology or that allows fonts to be resized easily.
  • Learning-disabled users benefit from good design that provides consistent elements as well as both visual and aural input.

Accessibility Tips for Web Pages

  1. Include descriptive alternate text for every image.
  2. Label links to describe where the link leads.
  3. Use appropriate headings for page title (h1), section heading (h2), and subsection heading (h3).

Additional Resources for Web Pages

HELPFUL LINKS

Campus Links

CSU Systemwide links

 

For More Information

Contact:
   Esther Hattingh, estherh@csus.edu, (916) 278-7637
   Matt Kay, mkay@csus.edu, (916) 278-5222
   Monica Range, rangem@csus.edu, (916) 278-7994
   Yazmin Vera, yvera@csus.edu, (916) 278-2762