Skip to Content

Accessibility Training Guidebook for Mass.gov Talks

These talks are organized into “Basics”, “Extra Understanding”, and “Specialized Scenarios” sections. Each section is divided into scenarios for your role. These sections are formatted as heading level 2, the scenarios are formatted as heading level 3, and the individual talks are formatted as heading level 4.

Basics

Attend one of the following fundamentals / awareness talks as a prerequisite to specialized scenario talks. Most people should attend one or both of these, depending on your department size.

Basic Talks for Scenario: All

Digital Accessibility Fundamentals

Beginner level.

Estimated cadence for live talk scheduling: 2 weeks.

Digital Accessibility Leadership Awareness

The live talk includes additional context not in the article, such as legal precedent.

Beginner level.

Estimated cadence for live talk scheduling: 2 weeks.

Extra Understanding

Attend this talk to better understand how your work affects the experience for assistive technology users.

Extra Understanding Talks for Scenario: All

Screen Reader Demonstration

Intermediate level.

Estimated cadence for live talk scheduling: 1 month.

Specialized Scenarios

Attend talks that best match your role. These talks build on the talks in the “Basics” section. Most people should attend the “static documents” scenario talks because they cover common scenarios. Everyone may wish to attend “Social Media Accessibility” and “Video Accessibility” because they cover everyday consumer experiences, even if they are not part of your content creation role.

Specialized Talks for Scenario: Static Documents

Making Accessible Documents from Word to PDF

This talk also covers producing accessible Word documents, as it is a subset of exporting an accessible PDF.

Intermediate level.

Estimated cadence for live talk scheduling: 2 weeks.

PDF Remediation with Acrobat Pro

Intermediate level.

Estimated cadence for live talk scheduling: 2 weeks.

Accessible HTML Page Templates

Intermediate level.

Limited number of occurrences (expected to transition to prerecorded).

Specialized Talks for Scenario: Interactive Documents

Accessible PDF Forms

Attend this talk if you create PDF documents with fillable forms.

Advanced level.

Estimated cadence for live talk scheduling: 2 weeks.

Accessible HTML Forms

Attend this talk if you create web pages with fillable forms.

Advanced level.

Limited number of occurrences (expected to transition to prerecorded).

Advanced ARIA Techniques for Developers

This talk is for web developers building highly-customized interactive experiences.

Advanced level.

Limited number of occurrences (expected to transition to prerecorded).

Specialized Talks for Scenario: Communications and Media

Social Media Accessibility

This talk covers social media post authoring considerations (such as text and emoji, hashtags, and embedded media) as well as platform-specific instructions.

Intermediate level.

Estimated cadence for live talk scheduling: 2 weeks.

PowerPoint Accessibility

Intermediate level.

Estimated cadence for live talk scheduling: 2 weeks.

Video Accessibility

This talk covers video production considerations, such as captions, audio descriptions, and transcripts without relying on any particular software product.

Intermediate level.

Estimated cadence for live talk scheduling: 2 weeks.

Data Visualization Accessibility

This talk covers producing charts, graphs, and tables for use in dashboards and web pages without relying on any particular software product.

Intermediate level.

Estimated cadence for live talk scheduling: 2 weeks.

Specialized Talks for Scenario: Procurement

Procurement of Accessible Digital Products and Services

Intermediate level.

Estimated cadence for live talk scheduling: 1 month.