PDF and accessibility: is it really the best format for educational material?

In academia, PDF is often the standard for sharing handouts, presentations, and documents. It is convenient, printable, has a consistent appearance... but also one of the least accessible formats, especially for those with reading difficulties, who use screen readers, or access from mobile devices.

PDF files:

• Do not easily adapt to small screens
• Do not allow customization of text (size, colors, spacing)
• Are often not accessible to screen readers, unless they are carefully created and checked
• Once downloaded, they do not update: the student risks consulting an outdated version

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What alternatives can facilitate accessibility and learning?

Web pages (HTML)
The most accessible format, readable on any device, easily navigable by those using assistive technologies, indexable, and always up to date. Ideal for stable and public content.

Google Docs or Word
Perfect if the content is updated frequently or managed by multiple people.
They allow the student to:

• highlight and annotate
• modify layout and fonts to facilitate reading
• use assisted reading tools or text-to-speech
• access from different devices
• Use them in “view only” mode to distribute them as the official source.

Accessible PDF
If you really need to create a PDF (for example, for printing or for fixed layouts), make sure it is accessible:

• create the document in Word or Google Docs
• use tools like Grackle Docs (for Google) or the Word accessibility inspector
• apply styles and semantic tags, alternative text, and correct reading order

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Before choosing the format, ask yourself:

• How do students access these contents?
• Do they need to be able to read them on their smartphone? Print them? Consult them often?
• Can they read them with a screen reader?
• Is the content updated often?
• Is it important that it is displayed in a precise layout?

A small change in format can make a big difference for the inclusivity of courses.

Read the article on alternatives to PDFs on the New York University website 

Accessibility guides from New York University