Faculty may request a digital copy of their textbook. SOAR utilizes several different book repositories to find accessible digital textbooks.

Once you complete the request form, we will email and/or add you to a BOX folder that contains your digital textbook.

Please contact jessica.lane@furman.edu with any questions.

Students who are having difficulty accessing online materials or can’t engage in too much screen time because of their disability can request to have their materials printed and shipped to them. The professor needs to complete the Printed Materials Request  and SOAR will take it from there.

SOAR is available to help you create accessible documents.

If you have an article, document, textbook, or other type of reading that needs to be made audible, please complete the Document Conversion Request Form.

Please allow 48-72 hours turn around time depending on the length of the document.

Let us know how you would like to receive the completed document. We can email it to you, share it with you via a BOX folder, or send it directly to the student. Please contact jessica.lane@furman.edu with any questions.

1. Navigate to “Tools” and select “Accessibility”

2. Select “Set Alternate Text”

1. Right click on the image in the message

2. Select “Add alternate text”

1. Right click on the image. Select “Format Picture”

2. Under “Layout & Properties” is the option to add Alt Text

• Heading styles are used if the information is long and has subtitles.
• Provide descriptive text for the links.
• Good contrast between text and background.
• Don’t use color as the only way to convey information. All information should be meaningful if color is removed.
• Include descriptive ALT text for all images and charts.
• Run the built in accessibility checker which will indicate areas of your page that may have conflicts with screen readers. To run the accessibility checker, click the “eye” icon found on the text editor menu.
• All videos or audios have closed captions or a written transcript.

• Outline View reveals all the content that a screen reader will read (e.g., items in the notes area are not read).
• Ensure that all slides have unique titles.
• Use slides as their layout intends them to be used—text in spaces for text, images in spaces for images.
• Avoid transitions and animations on slides.
• All videos or audios have closed captions or a written transcript.
• Graphs and Charts include descriptive ALT text.
• Tables have descriptive ALT text.
• Have header row identified in Table Properties.
• PDF Files
• Avoid scanned PDFs, as they are images; look online for an original PDF file to use.
• If PDF files are converted from Word documents or PowerPoint files, make them ADA compliant before converting.
• Generally, if you can highlight the text on the PDF, it will be able to be read by a screen reader.

Please view this presentation on how to make your social media posts accessible.

User overrides

To change a quiz setting (such as time allotted) for a particular user or users, click the “add user override”button in Quiz Administration>User overrides, make the changes you wish and save or enter another override.

1. Visit the main Moodle page for the course in question:

2. Scroll down through the content of the page to locate the quiz in question and then click the quiz.

3. Click on the settings gear for the quiz, then click on “User Overrides”.

4. Click “Add User Override”

5. Type in the name of the user who requires the override in the search box, and choose the desired override details, such as time limit. After choosing the proper override settings, click “save” or click “save and enter another override” if you wish to add another.

If you encounter an error that says “Student does not have the correct group or role to attempt the quiz,” please disregard. This error is displayed if an override has been set while the quiz is not available for students to take. When the quiz opens and becomes available, all is well and the students can take it no problem, override intact.

Here is a quick video on how to add extra time on quizzes.

More information about Moodle Quizzes can be found here.

Students can still use their test taking accommodations in an online learning environment. They will submit the usual test reservation online if they want to utilize their accommodations for a test. A confirmation will be sent to the student, the professor, and to SOAR. SOAR will proctor the test in the same manner that the professor is proctoring the other students’ tests.

For example, if a student has extended time to take their exam and the class’s test is being proctored via a Zoom meeting, SOAR will also proctor the SOAR student’s test using Zoom.

SOAR will creatively problem solve with the instructor and the student to ensure the proper administration and integrity of the test, as well as the students’ rights to their accommodations.

Zoom Captioning Overview

Closed captioning allows you or another meeting attendee, assigned by the host, to add closed captioning in a meeting. In a webinar, closed captioning can be typed by the host, co-host, or a panelist assigned by the host.  You can type the closed captions directly via Zoom or you can integrate a third party service. Learn how to view closed captions on the desktop client / mobile app and in Zoom Rooms.

Please watch this short video on how to caption your own video or how to assign captioning to another meeting attendee.

If you do not want to live caption your lectures yourself, please reach out to SOAR at least 72 hours before the live lecture, to have them schedule a third party captioner.

More information about captioning on Zoom can be found here.

Please keep these other accessibility features and barriers in mind when using Zoom. (NC State University IT Accessibility, 2020)

SOAR is available to help you caption your videos.

Please email and upload your video to BOX to be captioned. Email and share the file with caroline.davis@furman.edu.

We need 48 hours notice. We will share the video back with you via a shared folder on BOX.

Please make sure the captioned version is available to your students.

• When showing images or charts, or when using the whiteboard feature, provide descriptive narratives of visuals. Read aloud subtitles and text when using media resources.
• Address all participants by name so they know when they are being spoken to.
• Be mindful of using extra meeting features or complex functions like Zoom polling as these make participation difficult for those using screen readers or mobile devices.
• Announce activity happening in the chat or other Zoom features to help participants follow along. Read chat comments and questions aloud. Send any resource links posted in the chat via email after the meeting.
• Share materials in an accessible format with participants in advance (i.e. PowerPoint slides, forms, etc.). For more information on creating accessible materials visit the Faculty Development Center’s website Furman Flex Accessibility & Inclusion Resources and/or SOAR’s Accessibility Resources for Faculty and Staff
• Reduce background noise and mute participants who are not speaking.
• Know when to caption. Anything made available to the public should be captioned, and all in-class videos should be captioned if you have a student with corresponding accommodations. If you know a participant needs live captioning, please contact soar@furman.edu at least 4-business days in advance. Note that auto-captions (such as those generated by YouTube) are not ADA compliant.
• Record your Zoom session to provide transcript or captioning as needed.
• Use high-contrast color combinations when creating presentations shared over Zoom.