Blog Post
ThierryEMMANUEL
Community Member
OK. All our efforts to make our customers' projects more accessible, with alt text, are remarkable. But has anyone ever studied their own e-learning module with a screen reader (like NVDA) in front of a really and totally black screen? I've done it a few times, and I confess I was completely lost after 5 minutes each time. So I do my best (with alt text and focus order, or with adapting overly complex interactive screens), but I'm never sure of the result. I haven't had any complaints either, but... Screen readers are so complex to set up (plus, the settings are different for each user). A complete black screen is so disturbing for a sighted person, and I'm not used to listening/seeing. I never feel I've done my job to the end. How do you do it?
Jonathan_Hill
2 years agoSuper Hero
I've done this too, Thierry, and it's quite a sobering experience.
I think the awful truth is that designing an accessible online learning experience, that meets everyone's needs 100% of the time is next to impossible.
Screen readers feel clunky because we take visuals so much for granted. I'd like to design something completely non-visual from scratch - I'm sure the end product would be a totally different experience, both to build and to use, than what we regularly produce in corporate L&D.
I think the awful truth is that designing an accessible online learning experience, that meets everyone's needs 100% of the time is next to impossible.
Screen readers feel clunky because we take visuals so much for granted. I'd like to design something completely non-visual from scratch - I'm sure the end product would be a totally different experience, both to build and to use, than what we regularly produce in corporate L&D.
- ThierryEMMANUEL2 years agoCommunity MemberYes Jonathan. My experience: I once participated in a debriefing on an e-learning module as an “expert capable of providing solutions” (Brrrrr!) for a module presenting problems created by another storyliner. The module had been controlled by a blind person and it was only 95% accessible, so we might as well say 0% according to him if it is not 100%. He was angry. I understand that he felt like he was wasting his time and that the people involved in the project hadn't tried hard enough. But his words were not kind.