Accessible Educational Material (AEM)

Lewis & Clark College offers SensusAccess, an online document conversion service available to students, faculty, and staff. This tool allows users to convert documents into a range of alternate and accessible formats, including Braille, audio, e-books, and more.

Note: SensusAccess is a supplemental, self-service tool and does not replace the accommodation services provided by the Office of Student Accessibility. For assistance with inaccessible course materials, please contact: osadigital@lclark.edu

Convert a Document using SensusAccess

eBook Access & Purchasing

Digital textbooks are increasingly available through several platforms:

• VitalSource and RedShelf  provide access to digital textbooks with built-in Text-To-Speech (TTS) capabilities.

• The Lewis & Clark Bookstore website includes a digital rights link where you can verify whether a book supports “read aloud” features.

• Kindle also offers eBooks, but not all titles support TTS—check the product details for accessibility.

Common Terms:

• Audio Book: a print book that is read out loud by a human. Audible and Apple Books have many titles though generally no textbooks
• Digital Text: any text that can be retrieved and read by a computer or other electronic device
• E-Book: a digital version of a print publication
• Text-To-Speech (TTS): a type of assistive technology utilizing artificial intelligence to create a human sounding voice (think siri) that reads digital text aloud. It’s sometimes called “read aloud” technology

PDF Accessibility Tips

Many students with print-related disabilities rely on TTS technology. TTS can read renderable (selectable) text but cannot interpret images of text.

• A PDF is likely accessible if:

  • You can highlight and copy/paste the text.

  • You can use the search/find feature.

• A PDF is likely inaccessible if:

  • You see a crosshair cursor instead of a text selection tool.

  • You cannot highlight or search the text.

Need help determining file accessibility? Contact: osadigital@lclark.edu

Learn More

A great starting point to learn how to make your course materials accessible is the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials (AEM Center), which provides comprehensive guidelines, tutorials, and educator resources.

Another great resource is the Lewis and Clark Office of Communications page, especially highlighting the information on Alt-texts: the Ultimate Guide.