The AG Services Disability and Studies (AGSBS) advises staff and students of the TU Dresden on the creation of accessible documents. Many years of expertise in the field of accessible media in analogue and digital form ensures that people with reading disabilities have free access to information in society, science and education.

Our promoted HTML format on Markdown basis

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the AGSBS has been supporting students with visual impairments in their studies at the TU Dresden. A firm pillar of this support was the transfer of teaching materials into accessible formats. In the course of the digitalization of society, a format has been established over the years, which brings printed and digital documents into a new, barrier-free form.

What are HTML and Markdown and why are these formats used?

The basis of the promoted document format is the simplified Markdown markup language. This language is very accessible for people with little technical experience, because on the one hand it is easy to read and unambiguous while writing, on the other hand it can be supplemented by additional HTML implementations. Through the uni-wide use of the AGSBS, close and interdisciplinary cooperation with staff and students from a wide range of disciplines is ensured, which is why the hurdle to starting to create this format should be kept as low as possible.  In addition, Markdown offers a wide range of possibilities to be converted into various other formats such as HTML, ePub or similar. For more information about Markdown and a large overview of the markup language, the AGSBS invites you to their Markdown-WIKI [german].

From our markdown documents, AGSBS then generates a format based on the text-based markup language HTML. Hypertext Markup Language is the basis for displaying media content on the World Wide Web and ensures the semantic structuring of content. Using an additional program, a structured HTML document is converted from the markdown basis. This usually offers many possibilities to make it easier for people with reading restrictions to read text or other media content. Over the years it has been proven that HTML as the final format of accessible documents is both beneficial for navigation and overcomes the technological hurdle for the reader (readability via different devices).

How does the AGSBS generate an HTML document from Markdown?

Markdown files form the basis of the transmission process of the AG Services Disability and Studies. As soon as a document, whether printed or digital, enters this process after being checked for accessibility, the AGSBS editing staff (coordinators, student assistants) create a file in Markdown in different ways depending on the source format. Afterwards the software Matuc, developed by Dipl.-Inf. Sebastian Humenda and continued by Dipl.-Medieninf. Jens Voegler, converts the existing Markdown files into an adapted HTML document.

When converting Markdown to HTML, different aspects are taken into consideration. The AGSBS uses a special file structure [german link] for the creation of its markdown files, which ensures a fast and barrier-free navigation within a document or a course in the last step of the HTML document. Reference is made here to the multimedia nature of some source files. Pictures and videos are integrated with additional descriptions and alternative texts as well as formulas, which are created using the TeX typesetting system.

Image descriptions

Image descriptions are a central component of the transmission of visual information within digital applications. For people with visual impairments, such information usually remains hidden unless it is supplemented by descriptions or alternative texts. Therefore, the AGSBS focuses on the correct writing and implementation of visual information for barrier-free access within the transmission process.

In a lecture, Ms. Dipl.Päd. Anja Winkler, coordinator and peer counselor of the AGSBS, gave a short insight into the topic "image descriptions"[ Video in German; applicable german subtitles; no video description]. For further information or advice on the topic of picture and video descriptions, please contact the team of the AG Services Disability and Studies.

Tactile print for image and text

Thanks to special funds from the Saxon State Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism [german link], the AGSBS has been able to acquire a number of software and hardware for the creation of accessible media over the last few years. For this reason, the working group is also able to provide analogue documents, e.g. in the form of a print in Braille. In cooperation with the Chair for Human-Computer Interaction it also works on the design of tactile elements from visual information. The team of the AGSBS will be happy to help you with questions about technology or to print Braille for your event or information material.

Instructions for barrier-free design of documents via Microsoft Word and PowerPoint

Together with the Chair of Human-Computer Interaction, the AGSBS publishes a series of guides to help you create accessible PDF documents yourself using the most common office programs. The latest guides are available for download and can be found in our Download Section.

Software and terminal server of AGSBS

The AGSBS, as an institution at the Faculty of Computer Science of the TU Dresden, has specialized over the years in the digital possibilities for accessibility. Together with the professorship and other partners, we have various software licenses and terminal servers in our inventory, which help to optimize inclusion at the TU Dresden. The staff as well as students of the university can access the necessary programs for the creation of barrier-free PDF documents on request. Simply contact the AGSBS team, their staff will be happy to help you. For further information about our software and the terminal servers provided, please visit the internal area of the working group (only accessible via ZIH login).

Hints for creating accessible documents in simple and easy language

The AG Services Disability and Studies takes into account the growing demands on our society and naturally also advises you on the subject of simple and easy or simplified language for people with linguistic, cognitive or visual impairments. At this point we would like to draw your attention to the Verso Group [german link], a project of the Dresden University of Technology to promote comprehension-oriented language in a public context.