USABILITY & ACCESSIBILITY IN WEB CONFERENCING TOOLS: A SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON

Accessing Higher Ground, 2009

Presenters

Hadi RanginWeb Design & Accessibility SpecialistUniversity of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign

Marc ThompsonInstructional DesignerUniversity of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign

Web Conferencing Tools Compared Adobe Connect Elluminate Live Saba Centra Talking Communities

Basic Interface Design

Chat area Participants list Main display area

Whiteboard Application sharing Web tours

Audio control area Talk button Volume controls for microphone & speakers

Adobe Connect Pro 701 r. 18

Elluminate Live 9

Saba Centra 7.6.2.403

Talking Communities 8.13

Testing Protocol

Setup & Configuration Navigation Styling Operation (Audio Controls, Chat,

Participant’s List, Application Sharing, Co-Browsing)

Setup and Configuration Considerations

Can the application be installed independently?

Can audio settings be configured independently?

Setup and Configuration: Adobe Connect

Connection/speed test result Random numerical artifacts mixed with

numbered results list items Required Add-in button is not accessible

(interactive Flash object) Results page does not linearize properly Confirm Install prompt not accessible

Audio Setup Wizard Not keyboard accessible Keyboard/screen reader user can’t operate it Buttons in the wizard can’t gain focus with the

keyboard

Setup and Configuration: Elluminate Live

Straightforward installation instructions Provides clear instructions on how to

install Java Access Bridge Session Participant Agreement is not

keyboard accessible

Setup and Configuration: Saba Centra System check, configuration and

installation process are keyboard accessible but not screen reader accessible.

Setup and install process fails while the screen reader program is running.

Setup and Configuration: Talking Communities

Small plugins and straightforward installation.

Installs as a Windows application.

Navigation Considerations

Is the application menu fully keyboard accessible? Can you perform all available functions via menu

system? Can you move the focus from one major application

component to another? Can all elements in the interface associated with a

function be reached with the keyboard? Are there shortcut keys to frequently used functions? Is the tabbing order logical? Do the graphical elements in the interface associated

with functions have proper text and do the alt tag for the toggle elements change accordingly?

Navigation: Adobe Connect

Many useful shortcut keys are available, but some major functions are still missing (e.g., for chat text entry box)

Menu is keyboard accessible, but not to screen reader users.

No menu items for accessing the microphone or chat text entry box.

No graphics, form controls, or buttons are accessible to screen reader users.

Tabbing order is logical and reasonable No keyboard support for pod-to-pod navigation

Navigation: Elluminate Live

Menu system itself is accessible to keyboard and screen reader users.

No navigation mechanism for moving easily between main modules.

No access to functions via menu items (e.g., talk key).

Most graphics & buttons have labels but some could be more effectively labeled.

Navigation: Saba Centra

Many elements in the interface, including the text chat window, do not get keyboard focus.

Some elements on the interface are read by the screen reader when they gain focus, but many are not.

No mechanism for moving easily between major application components, such as Audio Control, Participant List, Agenda, or the Main Window display area.

Navigation: Talking Communities Fully accessible menu system. Shortcut keys for moving between major

application components. All application functions are available via

the menu system.

Styling Considerations

Can the contrast be changed by user to fit individual preferences?

Can the application font-size and color be changed to fit user's preferences?

Can the application be resized without losing content or styling?

Are items that receive keyboard focus clearly visible?

Does styling for toggle items (i.e., talk and mute buttons) change perceptibly when they are toggled?

Styling: Adobe Connect

Default color focus settings are not very visible.

Pods are not resizable but can be made visible/hidden via menu.

Only administrator can change color Focus Settings

Windows High Contrast and Font Size settings can’t be applied.

Styling: Elluminate Live

Focused items need better visual indicators.

Windows can be resized using the keyboard.

Windows High contrast settings can be applied.

No font size increase for text in the Participants List, Chat Area, or Audio Area

Styling: Saba Centra

Focusable elements have poor visibility. Windows High contrast settings apply unevenly

to application components—participants list is not affected, for example, but chat box is.

No font size increase for text in the Participants List, Chat Area, or Audio Area.

Styling: Talking Communities All standard Windows styling are

available (font resizing, zooming, high contrast).

Items are clearly visible when they receive keyboard focus.

Styling for toggle items (e.g., talk and mute buttons) changes perceptibly when they are toggled.

Operation Considerations

Audio control Can user easily and with certainty operate the microphone?

Chat Can user easily and with certainty reach the chat entry box

and edit the text before submitting it? Can user access the posted messages, read and copy

desired messages? Participant/Attendee List

Can user easily and quickly find out who are the current participants?

Can user be notified if someone leaves/enters the room? Can user easily identify status information associated with

each user? Can user easily raise/lower hand?

Operation Considerations, 2

Application, Desktop, and File Sharing: Is user notified if application, desktop, and file

sharing is being activated/deactivated? Can user still interact with the web conferencing

tool while one of the functions above is active? Co-Browsing:

Does user receive audible notification if the content of the co-browsing window changes?

Can user easily and quickly switch to the co-browsing window from other session components?

Operation: Adobe Connect

Audio ControlMicrophone control is keyboard accessible but there is no audible notification.

Chat No audible notification that new chat messages have

been posted. No shortcut key to enter the chat text entry box. Chat posting area is not accessible.

Attendees List Keyboard shortcut for raising and lowering your hand

and other select operations. Not accessible to screen reader users.

Application sharing Graphic mode not accessible

Web Links Not accessible to screen reader users.

Operation: Elluminate Live

Chat Chat entry box is keyboard accessible. No audible notification that new chat messages

have been posted. No screen reader access to posted chat area.

Participant List Layout table with no keyboard access to user

status info. Not all status icons have proper labels. Controls for Participants List are not usable.

Application Sharing: Elluminate Live No audible notification that application

sharing has been activated Graphic mode not accessible Once it is active, users cannot leave the

application sharing area Web Tour is not accessible (form control

with autofocus issue—e.g., Google.com search page).

Operation: Saba Centra

Audio Controls Shortcut key for Talk button, but no audible

indicator. Chat

No audible notification that new chat messages have been posted.

Chat entry box is not keyboard accessible. Posted chat text area is not accessible to

screen reader users.

Application Sharing and Co-Browsing: Saba Centra

Co-Browser operates as another instance of application sharing (uses graphical mode that is not accessible).

Graphic mode not accessible No audible notification that application

sharing has been activated

Operation: Talking Communities Audio Control

Visible and configurable talk button with audible indicator.

Volume control and microphone are keyboard accessible. Chat

Built-in audible chat. Accessible chat text entry box. Accessible chat text posting area with selectable copy

options. Participants List

Fully accessible participants list Text announcement and audible notification when

participants join, leave, or talk.

App Sharing & Co-browsing: Talking Communities

Graphic mode not accessible for application sharing

Built-in IE browser Provides browsing experience

identical to IE browser

Summary: Adobe Connect

Adobe Connect supports a fair degree of keyboard accessibility but is still not sufficient for effective interaction by keyboard users.

Not accessible to screen reader users.

Summary – Elluminate Live

Has potential to become accessible Company is interested in working with us

Summary: Saba Centra

Major accessibility issues for keyboard users.

Not accessible to screen reader users. We have not yet contacted the company

about possible collaboration.

Summary: Talking Communities Very usable and accessible web

conferencing system. Vendor is proactively involved with

accessibility collaboration community.

Questions?