Google Slides Chapter 8: Accessibility Checker

Owned by Daniel LaGrow, created
Last updated: Apr 05, 2024
2 min read

 Instructions

Section 8.1: Intro to Grackle

Grackle is a Google Add-on that acts as an Accessibility Checker. To activate Grackle,

  1. Go to the Extensions Tab.

    The Extensions Tab in Google Docs

  2. Click Grackle Slides, then Launch. (If you do not see this option, click Add-ons, then Get Add-ons. Then type in Grackle Slides and click Install.

  3. When Grackle is active, it will appear on the right side of your screen. Click on the blue Check button and it will analyze your whole document and check for 16 separate accessibility issues.

    Grackle Slides Accessibility Checker with several checks passed and failed.

  4. Grackle will show what you have correct with a green checkmark. As well as what needs work with a red X. Sometimes, you will see warnings that ask for improvements. Try to fix each problem until you get all 22 checks passed. Grackle also provides you instructions and tips for how to fix the issue. When you think everything is fixed, click the Re-Check button.

  5. Keep in mind that while Grackle does a good job analyzing the slideshow for accessibility issues, you should not solely depend on it. Accessibility checkers are not 100% reliable to see if the document is truly accessible. The best way to test a document’s accessibility is to do several manual checks and test it with a screen reader like NVDA or JAWS.