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Extra Points contributors are interviewing University of Minnesota instructors working to comply with the updated digital accessibility policy effective April 2026. These blog posts highlight the approach they take as they lean into the challenge of revising their course content to be digitally accessible.
This post highlights Deanna Koepp, Associate Professor of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development in the College of Biological Sciences, Twin Cities.
Interviewer: When did you first start hearing about digital accessibility?
Deanna Koepp (DK): I sort of knew in the background that digital accessibility was a thing, but I didn't truly focus on it until last summer. That's when I received a notification from CBS (College of Biological Sciences) about an approaching compliance deadline in April. I went to a workshop by the IT people in CBS where digital accessibility suddenly moved from a vague awareness to an urgent, concrete task.
Interviewer: What were your initial thoughts, feelings and concerns about the need to make your course materials accessible?
DK: When I started attending the workshops and realized the sheer scope of what needed to be done, I was completely stunned and a little overwhelmed.
It was clear that the slide presentations would need a major overhaul to be compliant. Years ago I had been encouraged to move my Microsoft PowerPoint slide decks to Google Slides, which was a big task in and of itself. Then, at the initial digital accessibility workshop I attended, I was told I’d have to convert all of my slide decks back to Microsoft PowerPoint to use the digital accessibility checker in that program to fix my slides. Honestly, my feelings turned into being pretty rage-inducing. I had heard about the Grackle, an accessibility checker for Google docs and slides, but at first, we were told that it would not be available.
I have an administrative role in my department, so I couldn’t just throw up my hands and walk away. I tried to keep it positive for the people around me for a while, and then last spring, we were finally able to get access to Grackle. Then, I felt like we had the right tools and we could get to work on this undertaking throughout the summer.
Interviewer: What were your expectations before you started getting into the process of making revisions vs. the reality of how things ended up going?
DK: My initial expectations were that this would be extremely time-consuming, particularly if I had to use the clunky workflow of converting my files to PowerPoint and back to Google Slides.
The reality ended up being much more manageable after the University secured the Grackle accessibility checker for Google Slides. I still had to dedicate a good, solid chunk of time over the summer to fix the slides for two courses.
Once I established a personal workflow, the time investment dropped dramatically. A slide deck that initially took me three hours to fix eventually only took about half an hour.
Interviewer: Were there any big aha moments for you during the process?
DK: I had two major realizations during the process:
- The accessibility checker acted as my teacher: I went to a couple of workshops and learned the basic concepts of alt text and proper use of headings. However, the accessibility checker (Grackle) was the resource that truly taught me how to be accessible. It provided the nitty-gritty details on how to fix my recurring mistakes.
- Remove unused content first: My other big "aha" moment was the realization that I needed to cut my content to the bone and get rid of anything I didn't routinely teach with. I realized I was a "pack rat," holding onto old slides from past semesters in my course sites as a "crutch" just in case I wanted to use them again. I realized I could cut all of that content out of the course site and not have to fix the accessibility of those older versions unless I decide to use them again. This significantly reduced the amount of material I had to remediate.
Interviewer: How has your workflow changed when creating new course content? Have you integrated any new tools or processes?
DK: My workflow for creating new course content has completely changed—it's now much more structured, and the new habits are ingrained:
- Revision workflow: For tackling old content, I developed a system: I would do the easy, known fixes (titles, alt text) first, and then save the little weird things that popped up (like tables) for the end, using the checker to flag them and help revise them appropriately. For publisher materials, I learned it was often easier to create a new slide and copy/paste the figures and speaker notes rather than dealing with the publisher's inaccessible formatting. Yes, that took a lot of time!
- Integrated tool: I now use the Grackle accessibility checker all the time and make a habit of running a check before I send out anything official.
- Newly engrained habits: When I create any new content, it's automatic for me to use headings properly, use bullet points, not put extra spaces between paragraphs, ensure every slide has a unique title, and use alt text for every image.
Interviewer: What tools or resources would you recommend to another faculty member who is getting started with digital accessibility?
DK: The biggest thing I would tell other instructors is that you just have to start. You don’t want to wait until the end of March because this process takes time, and the hardest part is just starting. Even if you can’t make much headway on revising things, go to the workshops and learn the main concepts such as the 7 Core Skills. Just let it percolate in the brain until you find the time to look at your content.
There are a few other things I would recommend:
- Remove anything you don’t use anymore: When I first ran the universal Design Online content Inspection Tool (UDOIT) on my Canvas course, it just spun and spun. The tech people said, “Yeah, let’s just cancel that” and spend some time deleting things. I just started deleting all sorts of old files from past semesters that I never really used.
- Use Grackle: Use Grackle for Google Slides and Docs or whatever equivalent works for your main platform. It’s the single best way to learn the detailed rules. Tables were by far the biggest difficulty I encountered, so finding a strong guide or tool focused specifically on table remediation is crucial.
- Focus on a workflow: Don't try to fix everything at once. Develop a systematic, efficient workflow that allows you to tackle the remediation process in a focused, manageable way.
Overall, just keep at it, little by little!
Authors/Contributors
- Rebecca George-Burrs, Academic Technologist, Academic Technology Support Services.
- Deanna Koepp, Associate Professor of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development in the College of Biological Sciences
We want to hear from you! To share your successes and challenges towards making your course site digitally accessible, please email atss@umn.edu.
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