As a student with low vision, I sometimes have trouble reading the PowerPoint slides that my instructors post on the course website or share with me so I can follow along with class. Things like small font sizes and multi-column layouts are great for presenting a lot of information on a single slide, but can be difficult to read for students with print disabilities or make it challenging to locate important items like hyperlinks or reminders/instructions for an assignment.
To make PowerPoints easier to read on a computer or tablet, I started converting PowerPoint slides with the Microsoft Sway web application into single-column text layouts that feature larger font sizes, options for viewing images in a larger display, and even options for embedding Sways into my notes. Here are my tips for how to make PowerPoints easier to read with Microsoft Sway that I personally use as a student with low vision.
What is Microsoft Sway?
Microsoft Sway is a free web application for creating one-page documents, presentations, newsletters, and simple webpages that incorporate multimedia content (text, images, sounds, file attachments, and more). Users can access Sway content directly from the web browser with no downloads needed and customize the appearance of text, with options for downloading Sway content for offline reading as well. While no Microsoft account is needed to view a Sway (unless viewing restrictions are enabled by the author), users are required to log in with a Microsoft account to create and save their own Sways. Additional premium features for Sway are also available for Microsoft 365 subscribers.
I have used Sway in multiple contexts over the years from creating formula sheets to presentations to conference handouts, and every Sway I have created for school has earned at least a 100%!
Related links
- How To Use Microsoft Sway With Assistive Technology
- Creating Take-Away Documents With Microsoft Sway
- How To Create An Accessible Formula Sheet
- Free Digital Bookmarking Tools For Low Vision
The challenges with reading PowerPoints as a low vision student
Even if I am sitting in the front row, I often struggle to read PowerPoints on the board because they often have inconsistent font sizes across slides or incorporate multi-column layouts that have multiple lines of text starting and ending in different places. To make it easier to see, I typically receive copies of PowerPoint presentations to watch on my own device, but the inconsistent font sizes still remain and it can be challenging to zoom in on text while I’m also trying to take notes during a lecture or for an assignment. If the slide background has a ton of colors or patterns, it takes me longer to find the text or information I am looking for as well.
PowerPoint isn’t a universally inaccessible platform or file format for me, and there are many PowerPoints I can read that incorporate larger font sizes or less text on a single slide. However, many of the presentations in my college and graduate school classes contain smaller font sizes and make it more challenging to follow along with information visually, or I run into issues trying to enlarge images or charts in a size that is comfortable to read.
Related links
- How To Create Accessible PowerPoints
- Disability Accommodations For Fluctuating Eyesight
- Secret Microsoft Office Accessibility Features I Use Every Day
- The Best Study Tips For Visually Impaired Students
- Common Classroom Accommodations For Low Vision
- A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
- Implementing Shared Folders For Accessible Materials
- Using Anthology Ally With Low Vision
My solution: Convert PowerPoint to Sway
Instead of relying on slides that require horizontal scrolling or that only display one section at a time, I prefer using vertical scrolling, consistent font sizes for all content, and having information on a simple background. These are all qualities that Microsoft Sway possesses, so I started converting my class PowerPoints to Sway documents so I could enlarge text more easily, take notes from a page, and follow along with class discussions without trying to guess what is on the board. Sway offers an automatic file upload/conversion tool that converts PowerPoint files to Sway that users can then edit or adjust for their own needs.
To convert an existing PowerPoint to Microsoft Sway document:
- Open Microsoft Sway (sway.cloud.microsoft) and log in
- Create a new Sway and give it a title
- Select Insert Content (plus icon) and select Upload
- Select PowerPoint file (.ppt, .pptx) from file browser
- When the file is finished loading, a prompt will appear that says “Import content from your document to reuse it in Sway, or embed your document so that it can be viewed within your Sway in its original structure and format.”
- Select Import
- Images, text, headings, bulleted lists, and other content will automatically appear in the Sway document
I have had mixed results with videos and sound recordings being added to Sway documents from PowerPoint since Sway requires these types of content to be embedded from an online source, and some table structures may also be missing (though the text is otherwise intact). I still refer to the original PowerPoint for these types of content, but read from the Sway whenever possible.
Related links
- Import content into Sway – Microsoft Support
- How To Make Things On The Board Easier To See
- How To Make Classroom Videos Easier To See
- Five Common Technology Behaviors That Hurt My Brain
Customizing appearance of converted PowerPoint in Sway
After importing a PowerPoint file to Microsoft Sway, I scroll through the document and remove non-essential content like background graphics or internal hyperlinks that don’t affect how I access the information in Sway; this can be previewed in the Design tab. I also fix bulleted lists if needed, referring to the original PowerPoint to see how information is structured.
To customize the appearance of Sway, I select the Styles button to enable the following options:
- Vertical scrolling
- Style 4 for content, which features colored bars across Heading 1 content and no background graphics (the colored highlighting serves as a visual landmark that helps me keep track of what I’m reading)
- Subtle animation emphasis
- Large text size
- Arial Nova font for headings and body
While there is no option to set a fixed font size for Sway (e.g. 36 pt font), users can export Sway documents as a Word or PDF without additional background graphics, and adjust the font size of the Word document either within Word or by opening Immersive Reader/Read Mode. This may be easier than reading a PowerPoint exported to Word as the background graphics are removed and the font sizes are generally larger.
Display Sway with a single-column layout
The vast majority of Sway content uses a single-column layout, though some pictures with a text box directly underneath will show the text and image side-by-side, or show two images side-by-side if they are shown with equal emphasis. An easy way to fix this is to set a higher or lower level of emphasis for the content by selecting the item in the Storyline tab and selecting the desired emphasis/size for the item— there are three size options available with corresponding square icons. I use this for enlarging images so they take up more space on the screen.
Related links
- How I Optimize Microsoft Sway Designs For Low Vision
- Highlighting Information With Low Vision
- Designing Accessible Documents With Microsoft Word
- Reading Bookshare Titles With Microsoft Word
- How I Use Microsoft Immersive Reader With Low Vision
Viewing Sway with Accessibility View
Another option for viewing Sway content is to enable Accessibility View, which shows the Sway in a high contrast design with full keyboard functionality and screen reader access to all content. This can be accessed by opening the More menu (three dots icon) and selecting Accessibility View.
Before opening the Sway in Accessibility View, I strongly recommend verifying that alt text is present for all images, which will be recognized by screen readers to provide information about what is in an image. I personally encountered mixed results with alt text from PowerPoint being imported into Sway— sometimes it imported without any issues, other times it was missing and I would have to copy it from the original PowerPoint.
Related links
- How To Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for the Visually Impaired
- How To Write Alt Text And Image Descriptions For Photojournalism Images
- How To Create Accessible Diagrams For Low Vision
How I read PowerPoints with Sway
Once my PowerPoint is converted to a Sway, I can follow along with the class presentation as the headings and text are exactly the same. Since Sway is displayed in a web browser, I have the freedom to open up other applications or links in a new tab instead of navigating away from the PowerPoint, or I can copy/paste text into notes if needed. I found this especially useful in a class where the professor would often share links to other websites that students were expected to visit or open in a new tab during class, as I could easily locate the links I needed and open them in the background.
When I take notes with Microsoft OneNote, I can add a Sway link to my notebook or embed the Sway so I can read content without having to leave the OneNote app. This is helpful when I am taking notes for a project, as I can have Sway opened on one display and OneNote on the other, with the option to use tools like Ctrl-F to search through text or select an image to enlarge it further (something I can’t do with PowerPoint).
Another strategy for taking notes with Microsoft Sway is to export the Sway as a Word document and edit the document to include additional notes, comments, or highlighting. Alternatively, students can sideload the document into another notetaking application or reading tool to access information.
Related links
- How I Use Microsoft OneNote With Low Vision
- How I Take Notes During Video Lectures With Low Vision
- Make Proofreading Feedback Accessible For Low Vision
- Sideloading and Low Vision
More ideas for making PowerPoints easier to read for students with low vision
- Recording a video lecture? I share strategies for making information easier to see and follow along with in Recording Video Lectures For Visually Impaired Students
- Wondering how to bring up hard-to-read presentations with instructors? I share a few tips in Learning to Self-Advocate and How To Explain Disability Accommodations To Professors
- I’ve also used Sway to create accessible assignments, some of which were converted from Word documents and hyperdocs— learn more in How To Create Accessible Assignments With Microsoft Sway
- Need to display text in really large print? Try a teleprompter app! Check out Ways To Use Teleprompter Apps As Assistive Technology
Published January 21, 2025. Updated January 2025