Is anyone getting Storyline to work with Jaws?

Aug 27, 2012

We have a course in Storyline that we have not been able to get to work with Jaws.

We set up a support case and while the feedback was quick, it did not provide enough for us to know how to fix the issue.  We admit we're brand new at Storyline and 508 compliance. The answer we were given by Articulate is: "Make sure that you are using the latest version of JAWS and Internet Explorer. JAWS will only read the items that are highlighted." Can someone tell me what that means? 

Does anyone have a best practices of the steps you need to follow to set a course up for interacting correctly with Jaws for 508 compliance?

So far using Jaws to test, nothing plays initially. Jaws reads the buttons and Navigation links if they are clicked on, and will read the titles of the menu when that is clicked on, but the slash key tells us there are no clickable buttons.  We heard from Articulate : "Our output doesn't support the Slash key in the sense that the slash key will move to the next clickable item.  This shortcut key is typically associated with HTML content." We were sent a link to a page showing Jaws keystrokes.

Do these specific Jaws keystrokes need to be created in Storyline as triggers? Or is there something else we're missing?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

8 Replies
Diane Elkins

"JAWS will only read the items that are highighted."

The student can move from item to item on the screen by using the tab key.  Items are read from top to bottom and left to right.  You do need to be careful if you have items coming in and out in the timeline.  If the object disappears before the student tabs to it, it will never be read.

I do know that Articulate is working on a best practices paper about 508 compliance.

Japneet Kaur

Hi,

I have been following this post as I am also experiencing the same problem. I am working on a course template that needs to be compliant with JAWS. I along with my team tried to test the course on JAWS. Unfortunately, it didn't read any textual content on the slides. It only read the hotspots and buttons.

Not sure what is wrong. I manually fixed the focus order for all the slides. Yet, JAWS didn't read the heading, or any text on the slide. Just hotspot and buttons.

What can be done to fix the problem?

Can someone from the staff look at the source file?

Thanks

Japneet

 

 

 

Leslie McKerchie

Hello Japneet, and welcome to E-Learning Heroes. 😊

This conversation is a bit dated, referring to an older product, and we've made many improvements to accessibility in Storyline 360.

Learners use their screen reader navigation keys (e.g., Down and Up arrows) to move through all text and interactive objects on the slide, listening to each item along the way.

If you only accessed interactive objects, such as hotspots and buttons, I assume you were using the Tab key to navigate.

Storyline 360: Slide Content Is More Accessible

Japneet Kaur

Hi Leslie,

Thank you so much for your response to my query. I understand that the conversation is a bit dated. I am working on articulate Storyline 360.

My team and I, we did use the Up and Down arrow keys to move through the text and interactive objects on the slide. But, we couldn't hear anything.

Can I share the source file for you or your staff to test? If Yes, where can I share the file?

Thanks

Japneet