tutorial on 508 compliance?
Jun 22, 2012
I would love (love!) to see a tutorial on how to use the 508 features in the new Storyline software. All the video tutorials you folks post are really helpful and since Storyline is said to be 508 compliant, you would be doing some of us a big favor if you showed us how to use it in making 508-compliant e-learning courses, from interactivity, accessibility tags, quizzes, etc.
This is a really important topic for those of us who provide e-learning to federal agencies or would like to do so. I think the trend will be for other agencies, state, private, etc, to move toward accessibility for users in the future.
I don't agree with the regulations, i.e., everybody has to be able to use all training materials even if they would be unable to perform the job for which the training is provided. But I, and others, have to live with them.
Tutorials would be a huge, huge help. (Did I state that strongly enough?) 
62 Replies
Hi Lonnie,
Did you try right-clicking on the marker itself, on the slide? I believe the Size and Position option appears in the shortcut menu. Then, from the size and position dialog box you can click on Alt Text (left in dialog box).
My pleasure
Hi Jeanette,
Any ideas when a 508tutorial might come out? It was originally asked for almost two years ago. I'm a federal contractor who could really sue the help.
Thanks, Rick
Hi Rick,
Jeanette is no longer with Articulate (we still keep her tutorials as they are awesome!) but I don't know that there would be a particular tutorial on achieving 508 compliance, as full compliance of Section 508 will vary by organization. Thus, additional steps beyond what our documentation provides may be necessary (e.g., accounting for video captioning, interactive scenarios, etc.). This article and the methods described there provide guidance on how to create a Section 508 compliant course.
The information on Storyline's 508 compliance is available here, and this table breaks down individual elements that meet the requirements.
Group:
I am preparing to utilize Storyline for learners who are government employees. With Section 508 in mind, what type of font and its size should be utilized? As I plan for the design, what additional guidelines should be followed to ensure that the visual aspects are compliant with Section 508?
Have you found any additional training or resources on Section 508 that I could tap into?
I found information on eLearning Guild's website to be very useful.
Russ
I too am working towards 508 compliance. Question: People are saying that we need to create an alternative branching page for some with disabilities. Would an alternative layer also work? I ask because I set my courses for 70% completion and adding slides messes up the completion.
Question 2: Also - my designs are really 5 videos triggered by a Storyline player navigation page with 5 buttons on it. I always pop a full transcription into the notes section. What exactly are the rules for video? Am I sunk or saved?
How's everyone going?
I actually do need some help with accessibility standards for a course that I'm working on. I attached a sample page from one of the courses. Here's a description of what happens:
- This course has 2 "paths": One is for the normal learners, and the other is those with visual disabilities.
- VisionDis is a variable that controls which path is shown (Path 1 or 2).
On Path 1, the user can navigate normally (either by clicking or tabbing through with the focus box).
On Path 2, while the audio is playing, the user's focus box tabs through Menu and Closed Captions only, but then they can go to the play/pause/stop/previous/next buttons when the audio is done.
These work the way I want it to inside Storyline, but on the published html file, here's what happens:
- There are instances that I cannot tab my way back to the screen if I'm on Menu/Closed Captions.
- Our QA person who checked this using JAWS couldn't press on the play button.
- The tabs don't seem to get read (or it doesn't read all the time).
I'm not sure if this has anything to do with our JAWS reader being on trial mode, to be honest.
I guess I'm just looking for some additional direction on how to make this function better on Path 2. I know I can probably assign buttons on the keyboard for the course buttons, but any recommendation on how to make this more user-accessible would be great!
Has anyone had issues with the question slides and screen readers not reading the pop-up after submitting answers? Any work arounds or suggestions please!
Hello Victoria!
Are you talking about the Feedback Layers that are shown after the learner answers a quiz question? You might consider adjusting the focus order to ensure the content is read. Do you mind posting a screenshot of the focus order?
Hi Lauren,
Yes talking about the correct and incorrect layers. Attached is the new focus order that I adjusted and am hopeful that resolved the issue, but would appreciate your assistance or insight in what would resolve the reader not catching the pop ups. Thank you!
Hello Victoria!
Thank you so much for sharing the screenshot! I've added numbers to your screenshot. Can you try changing the focus order and checking if the Feedback Layers are read by a screen reader using this focus order?
Here's the screenshot.