MoodlePosium 2016 what is web accessibility

What is Web Accessibility?Ross Mullenross.mullen@canaxess.com.auwww.canaxess.com.au

Moodleposium 2016

I'll be discussing•What and why accessibility• Types of disabilities a user may experience• A few tips to make your content better• Links• Images• PDF files• Videos

What is web accessibility?•making web content accessible to everyone regardless of

impairments• if content isn’t easy for assistive technology to interact with it

and understand, it will make it very difficult for the end user to use the content

Why web accessibility• Disability Discrimination Act• If web content is not accessible it is potentially in breach of the

Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and can result in legal action being taken.

• University policies• It’s the right thing to do

What is WCAG 2.0•Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.0 (WCAG 2.0)• It’s the most consistent way to assess web content• Endorsed by many Governments around the world• Numbered criteria with accompanying techniques

Types of disabilities • Not all users interact with web sites the same way• Assistive technology is a broad term that describes any

number of pieces of hardware and software that ‘assists’ the user

Types of disabilities • Four main types we need to consider when designing

content• Sight• Movement• Hearing• Cognitive

How screen readers work• Reads the HTML code and onscreen text• Announces content through a synthesised voice• Has features which make it easier for users to understand

content• Viewing all page links in a separate window

Challenges•Moodle has accessibility challenges• Authoring your content in better ways helps

1. Link text• It is the visible text on a link• I am a link

Avoid unclear link text

Enrol in this semesters course contentclick here

Screen reader links list window

Better link text

Enrol in this semesters course contentRead the news about the universityread an important announcement

Confusing link text

Course 1 scheduleCourse 2 scheduleCourse 3 scheduleCourse 4 scheduleCourse 5 scheduleCourse 6 schedule

Unique information in the link• Place unique information in the link at the start

• Course 1 schedule (don’t do this)

• 1st Course schedule (do this)

Unique information in the link

1st course schedule2nd course schedule3rd course schedule4th course schedule5th course schedule6th course schedule

Add hint text to links•Make the user aware the link triggers a file to be

downloaded• Give them extra information to assist

Course information [PDF opens an external program]Course content outline [link open in a new window]

Links summary• Avoid using the words “click here” or other vague text•Make link text understandable on its own• Place unique information at the start of link text•Make the user aware if the link opens a file

2. Images• All images must have an ALT attribute• Not all images require ALT text

<img src="image1.gif" alt=""><img src="image2.gif" alt="Canberra skyline showing Mt Ainslie">

Images• If the image is decorative only and it doesn’t convey

information• No ALT text is required

Images• If the image conveys information that is required for

understanding• ALT text is required

• Explain what is in the image, does the description make sense if you were unable to see it?

Images summary• All images must have ALT attributes• Not all images require ALT text (alt="this text")• Use your judgement to decide if an image is decorative

3. PDF files• Can be made accessible• Structured word document will output a structured PDF• Accessibility begins dropping off when images are added• Especially complex images

Please don’t do this• Do not have a PDF file which has screenshots from

PowerPoint• Completely inaccessible

PDF caveat• Assistive technology on mobile devices hasn’t matured

enough to understand tagged PDF documents• If students are accessing content on mobile devices• Cannot rely on PDF alone• Always provide an alternative document format

• Ideally that format should be HTML• And that should be the primary document format

4. Videos• Captions are required for audio content• An audio description may be required if there is background

audio that needs describing• Provide a transcript of the video• Benefits everyone not just those users that require the support• Users may not want to sit through a 45minute video

Autocaptioning• Feature of YouTube• In very limited ways it can provide accurate captions

Autocaptioning fail

"Things like the big butts well we wantto carefully look"

Video summary• Caption all spoken words• Consider a separate audio description• Don’t use autocaption• Always add your own captions

Accessibility testing• Automatic testing tools are good for identifying easy fixes• Cannot be relied upon as the sole source of testing

SQUIZ HTML code sniffer• Browser bookmarklet• Performs strict syntax testing and may display many errors• Not everything is an accessibility problem which needs fixing

• http://squizlabs.github.io/HTML_CodeSniffer/

Issues display•When activated displays a list of issue

Individual issue• Each issue displays an

in-depth description• WCAG criteria• WCAG technique

• Clicking the pin shows the location

Testing with screen readers• Test with JAWS or NVDA• Can you tab to links• Can the links be understood• Are there keyboard traps with the content• What happens when a link triggers a PDF

• View the links in the links list• Insert + F7 (JAWS)• F7 (NVDA)

Testing with users• Test with all ages• With and without impairments

• Testing isn't a once only tasks it needs constant checking

External testing• Automatic testing is good for simple HTML•When course content becomes complex use outside testing

services• An accessibility audit report gives you confidence you're meeting

accessibility obligations

Make your course content inclusive• Provide the best possible experience to the end user

regardless of impairment•Make your course content inclusive

In summary•Web accessibility needs constant effort• Automatic checking tools are good for basic HTML• External companies provide greater checking auditing

capability• It will benefit many people• Its ok to not get things 100%

Continue the conversation• Reach out • ross.mullen@canaxess.com.au• www.canaxess.com.au• @MrRossMullen• au.linkedin.com/in/rossmullen