Player Setup Recommendations for 508/WCAG 2.1 AA: Menu, Transcript, Navigation Buttons

Hi BrittanyD​, I would recommend using the built in player if your developers aren't very experienced with accessibility, as they just have to focus on making the content in the slide accessible and not the controls as the player components are accessible.

Regarding transcripts and glossaries, you can use the glossaries component in the player, or if you'd like to design your own you can add a layer to you Master slide the can be Shown/Hidden.

Using the Notes for transcript I'm not a fan of, as the Notes tab is available at the and of the slide (after the media player controls and slide navigation buttons) when using a screen reader. I like a transcript to be easier to access and so use layers on individual slide and provide access at the beginning of the slide.

Don't worry about tab fatigue as it is possible to bypass the table of contents. Having the menu open/closed by default is personal preference but it could be worth defaulting to open for larger courses to show users the content they will be completing.

People will develop their own navigation buttons in order to achieve a particular design, but the onus is then on the developer to ensure those added elements are accessible. It's all possible, but there is more work involved and needs a bit more guidance.

In summary, using the built in player components makes it easier for the developer to meet WCAG requirements, but the trade off is the design flexibility.

Providing orientation of the various components and shortcut keys available is a good idea.

I think one of the most important aspects of building accessible content is learning how to test it and learning how to use a screen reader correctly.

Some of the key items my testing includes:

• Complete the course using keyboard only
• Complete the course using keyboard + screen reader only
• Check colour contrast
• Ensure semantic HTML is used
• Check ALT text
• Check closed captions and transcripts for video/audio content
• Ensure all content can be accessed in the intended order.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Sam