Guide
Navigating Google Slides with JAWS
Teach Google Slides starting with important terms and a tactile graphic, then navigation commands.
Before we can jump into the JAWS navigation commands for Google Slides, your student must first have access to an accessible Google Slides presentation. In the previous post, Creating accessible Google Slides, we learned how to create an accessible Google Slide deck and how to add and use the Google Slides Accessibility Checker add-on. The post also included a downloadable handout about how to create accessible Google Slides that can be shared with gen ed teachers. In this post, we’ll look at how students who use JAWS can access and navigate Google Slides presentations.
Terms
Before the student can navigate the Google Slide, it is important to teach the layout when creating/editing a Google Slide presentation and to name/define each area.
Here are the most important terms when creating a Google Slide (editing view):
- Canvas – The largest area on the screen, where the content is added. The canvas is in the center of the screen.
- Filmstrip – The thumbnail images of each slide in order located in a column down the left side of the slide.
- Speaker Notes – Text to prompt the speaker that is only seen by the speaker. The speaker notes are located below the canvas.
- Ribbon – The command bar that organizes a program’s features into a series of tabs located at the top of the screen.
Google Slide presentations have the Slideshow (also called the Presenter View) which is a full-screen view of just the Canvas area. The Editing View has the canvas, filmstrip, speaker notes and ribbon. To switch between these views, select View > Mode > then select Editing, Commenting or Viewing.
Google Slide tactile graphic
It is often beneficial to provide a tactile graphic of the Google Slide layout when creating/editing a slide presentation. Below is an image of a Google Slide in Editing view that was designed to be used to create a tactile graphic using a PIAF or Swell tactile graphic machine. The colorful image includes the ribbon tabs, filmstrip, canvas and speaker notes – all with braille labels.
The tactile graphic image was created and shared with Paths to Technology by S.C.O.E. Vision Support and is also available in the Paths to Technology Tactile Graphics Library.
Download the printable Google Slide tactile graphic here.
Note: If you do not have access to a PIAF or Swell machine, create your own tactile graphic of the Google Slide in Edit view using your preferred tactile graphic materials.
Navigating Google Slides with JAWS commands
Here are the basic JAWS commands used when navigating Google Slides in the edit view.
- Alt + Control + Shift + C – Jump to the Canvas (C for Canvas)
- Tab – Move through elements in the Canvas in reading order
- Alt + Control + Shift + F – Jump to the filmstrip (F for Filmstrip)
- Down arrow/up arrow – Move down/up through the thumbnails
- Control End – Jumps to the last slide
- Alt + Control + Shift + S – Jump to speaker notes (S for Speaker)
Note: Alt + Control + Shift + P will read through all the items that are accessible, but it reads all the HTML code which may be more information that you want!
Speaker notes are a wonderful way for the teacher to share additional information and can include expanded descriptions of items on the screen.
In the quick video below, Dr. Robinson talks about the edit view layout and the basic JAWS commands used to access Google Slides.
Google Slides navigation with screen reader YouTube video by Dr. Denise Robinson:
Advanced options to navigate Google Slides
Dr. Denise Robinson demonstrates three ways to navigate Google Slides presentations. Before choosing your preferred method to access a Google Slides presentation, do the following three things:
- First, make a copy of the teacher-created Google Slide presentation.
- Second, change your JAWS settings.
- Third, restart your Google Slide presentation.
Make a copy
Issue: When the student opens a Google Slide, JAWS may not speak and/or the student may not able to navigate using JAWS commands. JAWS may or may not announce “View Only”.
Solution: Alt + F (Opens file menu) > Make a copy
Change JAWS settings
For best results, change the JAWS default settings to work better with Google Slides:
Insert 6 (opens JAWS settings):
- Graphics and Symbols > Announce special symbols when . . . ALL graphics read to you
- Graphic Recognition Dimensions > make them smaller; minimum height and width should both be 4
- Issue: Graphics were too large for JAWS to recognize them, so JAWS was not finding and announcing graphics
- Graphic Verbosity > All graphics selected, and confirm that minimum height and width should both be 4.
- Issue: JAWS did not automatically announce “Video”, etc.
Restart your presentation after changing JAWS settings.
Chrome is best (when using Edge, tabbing will jump you out of the slide deck).
Three different ways to access Google Slides content with JAWS
- Option 1: Navigating the Edit View and tabbing through items/elements on each screen (basic method)
- Can play videos
- Can access speaker notes
- Option 2: HTML (Move per slide)
- Go to first slide (Page Up; Control + Home does not work)Virtual cursor needs to be ON (Insert Z to toggle virtual cursor on/off) > Insert F7 to open Links List > select HTML View of the presentation Insert down arrow (begins reading all information quickly without listing boxes, etc.)
- Student can pause JAWS announcements and tab through information at a slower pace. Student can also open links in this view, but the HTML version does not access graphics or videos.
- Options 3: Presentation Mode (Start on the first slide)
- Control F5 to go into Presentation Mode (full screen with just the canvas)
- Tab through elements on the slide; Enter to activate video.
Control + Alt + Y will open the alt text menu where the alt text can be added.
In the video below, Dr. Denise Robinson demonstrates the three ways to access Google Slides content with JAWS and how to change the JAWS settings.
Google Slides and how to make it all read with a screen reader – JAWS YouTube video by Dr. Robinson:
Resources
- Creating accessible materials and classroom strategies: summary page
- Creating accessible Google Slides
- Reading order: Google Slides
- Navigating Google Slides with ChromeVox
- ChromeVox: Google Slides video tutorial
- JAWS with Google Slides APH webinar
Google Slide activities
Note: There are many Paths to Technology posts with student activities for PowerPoint and Keynote Presentations; these activities can also be used with Google Slides, many of these activities are based on holidays or themes. Here are a few:
- Tech lesson Week #1: Presentations (PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote) (Includes presentation skills by grade level)
- PowerPoint lesson plan for elementary students
- Pumpkin life cycle lesson: Presentation (PowerPoint)
By Diane Brauner
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