Accessibility Ambassadors: Writing Alt Text for the Humanities


This session will provide an overview of how to write alt text and image descriptions for a variety of genres and mediums commonly used in the humanities. We will cover the following: 

  • What alt text is, and how to write it effectively
  • What image descriptions are, and how to write them effectively
  • How to write image descriptions for complex charts and diagrams, including flowcharts
  • How to write image descriptions for art or hybrid mediums, including comics
  • How to describe identity in alt text and image descriptions
  • Why you should provide alt text for decorative images and how to do so effectively

We will also provide a list of templates that you can use to create your own alt text and image descriptions, and we will end with two short workshops that will help you write alt text for your own headshot and for a decorative image. We recommend having an example of each on hand so you can jump right into drafting your alt text.

While this session is geared toward faculty and staff in the humanities, we believe that anyone can benefit from attending. This session is beginner-friendly but will also address more advanced topics.

Writing Alt Text for the Humanities
Thursday, April 16, noon-1 p.m. 

Registration for this session is required. Let us know if you are attending. UMN employees are able to earn 200 Wellbeing Points for attending. Please indicate your interest in receiving points during registration, and a voucher code will be emailed to you after the event.

By default, we enable auto-captioning in the webinar. Please let us know what additional accommodations we can provide. Two weeks’ notice (April 2) at z.umn.edu/a11y-zoom will help us to better fulfill requests. This session will be recorded, captioned, and shared with the Google Group.

About the Presenters

Luke Kudryashov is the Senior Digital Accessibility Analyst and Deputy ADA Coordinator at the Office for Digital Accessibility. Luke performs digital accessibility consultations, evaluations, trainings, and purchasing reviews to ensure the University’s digital resources are accessible to all. His interdisciplinary background in disability studies, gender studies, user experience, and library science allows him to merge cultural and technical approaches to digital accessibility.

Micki Fasteland, PhD is an instructional designer at the University of Minnesota’s Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing. Previously, she also worked as a Visiting Assistant Professor in Writing at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She is particularly invested in creating accessible learning environments where students can bring their whole selves, and she loves brainstorming (and problem-solving) new strategies and technologies to make courses more immersive and engaging. 

About Accessibility Ambassadors

Accessibility Ambassadors is a group of University employees from across all campuses who are passionate about making U of M digital resources more accessible online. They bring different skills, strengths, and backgrounds, but all want to create an inclusive and accessible community at the U of M.

They host events to teach, advocate, and discuss digital accessibility topics and strive to be resources for the University community.

To learn about more accessibility-related events at the University of Minnesota, please visit the Office for Digital Accessibility website.

For more information about the Ambassadors, join the Google Group or send an email to: [email protected].

Topics: Announcements