Best accessibility practices to use when developing a custom player in SL360

Hi MateuszSzuter-e​ 

I noticed you hadn’t gotten a reply from your colleagues in the community yet, so I wanted to jump in. I’m not a designer, but I wanted to share some initial thoughts that might help as you work through your player setup and perhaps bring other items to mind. 

1. Focus order and master layers

• Q: Is there a way to not include all of the items on those master layers in the focus order? Yes. When you open the focus order panel, you can remove any items that don’t need to be read out (like decorative elements).
• Q: Can I create the focus order once and reuse it? Not exactly. Focus order is set per slide with its layers. The best approach is to follow a consistent pattern across all slides. Documenting your approach helps keep things predictable for learners.
• Q: Will screen readers skip items if the layer isn’t visible? Yes. If a layer or object is hidden, screen readers won’t announce it.

2. Accessible text switch

• Q: Should I enable it by default and then hide it? Will it affect my course? You should enable accessible text by default, and I’d recommend keeping it visible because the control is for more than one thing. It won’t affect learners who don’t use it. If you’re worried people won’t know what it is, you can add a quick note in your course intro.

3. Zoom to fit

• Q: Any best practices? Are there downsides to leaving it out? It’s best to leave zoom options available. Learners with low vision may need to adjust how content fits on the screen. There aren’t really downsides to keeping it; it gives people more control.

4. Custom next button and swipe navigation

• Q: Is it okay to use my own Next button and turn off swipe?
  Yes. Just make sure your Next button is accessible (clear meaning, in the focus order, works with keyboard and mouse, etc.). Turning off swipe is fine if it fits your design, as long as learners still have a clear and consistent way to proceed.

The built-in player already handles many accessibility features, such as play/pause, volume control, captions, transcripts, skip navigation, and progress indicators. If you go fully custom, you’ll want to add those features back in so learners don’t miss out.

You’re definitely on the right track. The fact that you’re asking these questions already puts you ahead in creating accessible learning experiences. I’m also looking forward to hearing what others in the community might add to this conversation.