I recently achieved a major milestone in my PhD program— I successfully defended Portfolio 1! For the PhD in Education at my university, Portfolio 1 involves creating a digital portfolio/repository with over a dozen different documents and forms, as well as a meeting with committee members to answer questions and discuss ongoing progress in the program.
As a student with low vision that also has a committee member with low vision, I wanted to design my digital portfolio in a way that was easy to navigate, incorporating a responsive layout that would accommodate large print and/or screen reader access. Here is how I organized my first PhD Portfolio with Microsoft Sway and optimized for low vision access, as a student with low vision that primarily accesses information visually (large print, screen magnification, color-coding, etc.).
Overview of Microsoft Sway
Microsoft Sway is a free web application for creating one-page documents, presentations, newsletters, and simple webpages that incorporate multimedia content, with additional premium features available for Microsoft 365 subscribers. Users can access Sway content directly from the web browser with no downloads needed and view text with a responsive layout that supports large print and screen reader access.
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. Sways do not show up in search engine results unless they are linked or embedded on another public website (e.g. social media pages). Sways can also be password-protected and/or restricted so they can only be viewed by others within the author’s organization.
I created my first PhD portfolio with Microsoft Sway because I regularly use Microsoft products for school and wanted to have all of my documents and hyperlinks in a single location, plus I was interested in the additional security features and Sway accessibility features. I could also work on Sway from my computer or tablet, and generally prefer the Sway single-column layout to PowerPoint. I have used Sway for several projects over the years, all of which have earned a 100%!
Related links
- Microsoft Sway web application
- How To Use Microsoft Sway With Assistive Technology
- How I Access PowerPoints with Microsoft Sway
Designing a PhD portfolio with Microsoft Sway
When creating my PhD portfolio with Microsoft Sway, I used the following Design configurations:
- Vertical layout
- Style 6: white background with black text
- Arial Nova title and Arial Nova body font
- Subtle animation emphasis (option 1 on slider)
- Large font size (option 5 on slider)
To add more color to each section, I set a solid colored background for Heading 1 sections, using a different color for each section and arranging them in rainbow order. This made it easier for me to locate sections of interest as I would use color as a landmarking tool, and all backgrounds were marked as decorative. Another option would be to use Style 4, which incorporates colored bars behind heading text and uses a single accent color.
I haven’t decided if I will use Sway for my other two portfolios yet, so I saved a copy of Portfolio 1 as a template. This can be done within the Sway by selecting More Sway Options > Save as Template. Whenever I am ready to create my next portfolio, I can use the Start from Template option on the Sway home page to select the portfolio template and edit sections as needed. Templates cannot be shared with others, though Sways can be duplicated or re-used.
Related links
- Creating Take-Away Documents With Microsoft Sway
- The Best Microsoft Sway Designs For Low Vision
- My Favorite Free Fonts For Print Disabilities
- My Talk At I’m Determined Summit: Crash Course In Immersive Reader
Embedding documents and essays
To minimize having to switch between applications for reading, I embedded each of my essays for Portfolio 1 in their appropriate sections. For example, instead of just sharing a hyperlink for my goals statement, I uploaded the goals statement and imported it into the Sway so that it could be read directly on the page. This is easier to read with large print compared to embedding the document where it is displayed in a smaller window.
When importing documents or copy and pasting text from another document, I recommend breaking up paragraphs into multiple text blocks so that they are easier to follow. Heading 2 can also be used to divide individual sections as needed.
Related links
- Low Vision Assistive Technology For Discussion Board Posts
- Free Digital Bookmarking Tools For Low Vision
- How To Create Accessible Assignments With Microsoft Sway
Hyperlink files in responsive formats
Users with visual impairments often encounter barriers with reading PDFs or other fixed layout files that can be challenging or impossible to read with screen magnification or with a screen reader. Instead of sharing PDFs, I converted all of the files for Portfolio 1 into Word documents with comments so that they could be enlarged more easily. There are a few options for accessing Word documents with low vision without editing the original document, including:
- Activate Read Mode (Alt + W, F) or Web Layout (Alt + W, L, 2) to view content in a responsive layout with large print. This does not impact the original font size of the document.
- Enable Immersive Reader by selecting View > Open Immersive Reader, which offers large print and text-to-speech
- For text-to-speech only, use keyboard shortcut Alt + Ctrl + Space to read all text or read from the text insertion point with Read Aloud.
- Alternatively, open the Review ribbon, and then select Read Aloud using keyboard shortcut Alt + R, R
- Enable Dark Mode to read documents with light text on a dark background.
For each document, I would have a hyperlink to the document at the top of the section so that my committee members could open files in Word instead of reading the embedded text in Sway (Section name > hyperlink textbox > embedded text).
I also used Word hyperlinks for all of the final papers in my academic archive, which is linked to Portfolio 1. These hyperlinks were generated from the Share button within Microsoft Word or OneDrive and linked underneath class summaries. The academic archive used the following structure: Heading 1 class name > text box with class details > textbox with class summary, Heading 2 Related links label > hyperlinks to Word documents or other presentations in a bulleted list.
Related links
- Secret Microsoft Office Accessibility Features I Use Every Day
- Designing Accessible Documents With Microsoft Word
- Customize Microsoft Edge Accessibility For Low Vision
- How To Create An Accessible Formula Sheet
Representing research interests with creative alt text
One of the elements of Portfolio 1 is an optional pictorial representation of the student’s research interests and how they all connect. Since my writing skills are much stronger than my art skills, I added creative alt text and a corresponding image description in the form of a short poem to illustrate how my research interests all connect. Knowing the colors or shapes in the image in this context was less important than understanding what it was meant to convey, and this exercise helped me when I was putting together my defense.
To add alt text to Sway:
- On the image card, select Details
- Select either the caption or alternative text section
- Type a description in the text box of the image that describes any important visual details. If an image is purely decorative (e.g. solid color background), select the Decorative checkbox
- Select Image in the top left corner to save the description and close the Details menu
Related links
- How To Write Alt Text For Educational Content
- How To Write Alt Text For Amateur Art
- Using PicsArt To Simulate Low Vision
Embedding multiple Sway pages
To streamline the navigation experience, I created a separate Sway for the academic archive component and embedded it within Portfolio 1, including an additional hyperlink. I also added hyperlinks labeled “Back to Portfolio 1” in the academic archive to make it easier to switch between the two documents. This made it much easier to navigate the academic archive with headings, as Sway only supports two levels of headings.
To embed a Sway within another Sway:
- Open the Sway that will be embedded and select the Share icon.
- Select Get embed code and copy the code that appears in the dialog box.
- To add the embed code to another Sway, select the + icon at the bottom of an existing card and select Media > Embed
- Paste the embed code
- To change the size of the embedded element, select one of the four size buttons at the top of the card. Options include original size, subtle emphasis, moderate emphasis, and intense emphasis.
To add a hyperlink to another Sway:
- Open the Sway that will be shared and select the Share icon.
- Copy the link that appears in the dialog box, which is set to View Only by default.
- Select desired text inside of a text card. Alternatively, select the Link button within a text card.
- Select the Link button or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + K (Windows) or Command + K (iOS/Mac)
- Paste the hyperlink. Add or edit display text that will be used to display the link.
- Select OK to save.
When adding hyperlinks, avoid using generic display text such as here, x, link, or click here, as these are not descriptive. Instead, use descriptive hyperlinks that provide context about what the link is, such as the title of the Sway or other webpage.
Converting Sway to Word document
While Sway is a web application and requires internet access, there is an option to export a Sway as a Word document for offline reading or to print out a copy. This can be done by both editors and authors by selecting More Sway options (three dots icon in top right corner) > Export > Word. All hyperlinks remain functional, however any embedded Sways will need to be exported separately. Users also have the option to export Sway as a PDF, though the font size will likely be smaller. Exported documents can be read in Microsoft Word or sideloaded (imported) into another application.
When I exported my Sway to a Word document, the background graphics for each of the headings exported as separate images with inconsistent sizes— the images themselves were decorative solid colored backgrounds with the Style 6 layout. Style 4 would have been a better option for exporting.
Related links
Viewing Sway with Accessibility View
Accessibility View is designed for use with assistive technologies such as screen readers, braille displays, simplified reading displays, and screen magnification. This turns off all possible animation effects, enables a high contrast view and keyboard shortcuts, and aligned all text to the left in a single-column layout. Accessibility View is activated by selecting More Options > Accessibility View or adding “accessible=true” without quotation marks to the end of a Sway URL.
Even though I had set sans serif fonts for my Sway, Accessibility View displayed text with serif fonts for both the headings and body text. This would not impact the use of a screen reader, braille display, or other nonvisual access options. However, users with low vision that use sans serif fonts for reading would likely prefer viewing my original Sway, using either browser zoom or screen magnification to enlarge text.
If I could make a suggestion for how to improve Accessibility View in Sway for low vision access, it would be to add an option to view the content with serif or sans serif fonts instead of defaulting to serif. Another helpful option would be to hide decorative images from view entirely to further decrease visual complexity.
Sharing Sway during portfolio defense
I shared a view-only Sway link with my chair and committee members a couple of weeks before defending Portfolio 1– all of the required documents and hyperlinks were added to a single Sway, and I could make real-time updates if needed without changing the link. During my defense, I shared my screen and scrolled through the different sections while talking, and provided a link so that my committee could follow along on their own devices if preferred.
In addition to having the Sway on my computer screen, I also had a backup copy of the Sway on my iPad with light text on a dark background— this could be enabled with a dark mode web browser extension, though I used invert colors for the same effect. This made it easier to read text through the bifocal in my glasses and had less visual clutter since there were not any screen sharing controls. When I was rehearsing my presentation, I used a teleprompter app on my iPad to read from notes in very large print and positioned the iPad on a clear laptop stand that was not visible on the webcam.
Another option I considered was to share my iPad screen on Zoom and present my Sway that way, though I preferred to use browser zoom on my computer for enlarging text in a responsive layout since this would preserve the single-column layout. Pinch-to-zoom enlarges information with a fixed layout, only showing a small portion of the screen and requiring horizontal scrolling/panning to view everything. However, I did use my iPad and pinch-to-zoom when filling out forms.
Related links
- Tips For Screensharing With Low Vision
- How To Use Invert Colors With Low Vision
- Choosing Between Light Mode and Dark Mode For Low Vision
- Ways To Use Teleprompter Apps As Assistive Technology
- Filling Out Medical Forms With Low Vision
More tips for organizing a PhD portfolio for low vision access
- Sway does not support uploading videos as of 2024, so videos can either be embedded into Sway or shared as hyperlinks. Next to my video hyperlinks, I shared a short description of the video and confirmed it did not contain flashing lights— I share more about checking videos in How I Talk To Professors About Photosensitivity and Modifying Assignments To Remove Flashing Lights
- For forms that automatically exported as PDFs, I would copy and paste my responses or text in Sway so that they could be easily read in large print. I still downloaded the PDFs and stored them in my email as well. To learn more about how I organize my email, read How I Organize Emails In College With Low Vision
- Since I can’t read my chair’s comments on the PDF form, I asked them to send me a copy as a Word document so that I could enlarge it or use other display customizations shared in A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
Published August 25, 2025. Updated August 2025