I have this conversation every now and then with Learning Experience Designers, Trainers, Graphic Designers, etc. who are new to accessible design and are very skeptical that their design can be as engaging and beautiful even when they ensure accessibility.
Every time I hear the concern that they will have to make their design "boring" I want to immediately share examples of gorgeous, engaging accessible eLearning. I just don't know of a resource that provides this. Does eLearning Heroes have such a resource (that highlights beautiful accessible design)?
Hi Cathy! Thanks for posting here. We recently had an e-learning challenge where community members shared accessible e-learning examples. I also created this accessible drag-and-drop interaction. We have plans to create and compile even more examples, so I'll share that when it's ready.
I've reviewed several of the examples (using JAWS) and there are accessibility issues with every one of them. You can contact me privately if you want to know what I found, but I won't post names here so as not to call out anyone on their work.
Accessibility issues in a nutshell:
1. color contrast
2. focus order
3. target size
4. graphics that should have been marked decorative
5. auto-advancing
6. missing instructions
7. the need for marking the base layer as hidden
8. correctly identifying interactive elements (button labels)
9. flashing
10. audio issues
I have a few examples of some accessible slide templates which I 'borrowed' from some of the PPT templates provided in your downloads section. I don't import the PPT slides though, since importing slides causes accessibility issues as well. But, some of the PPT examples are really nice and professional looking. :-)
Hey Cathy! Thanks for sharing your findings! I just realized that the community challenge link I shared was to make a previous course more accessible, which is great that people are taking more steps to create accessible courses...But that also means they aren't fully accessible yet, and you are looking for fully accessible. I'm glad you were able to find PPT templates that you like! I hope to create, compile, and do a write-up of accessible e-learning examples and share that with the community. I'm not sure when I'll have that ready, but it's definitely on my radar. I'll make a note to post an update here once we have that. In the meantime, perhaps the community might have some accessible examples to share. 🤞
If you want me to share what I created, I'll have to get permission from my work first. But, I've got several examples that I created since asking this question and based on those PPTs I downloaded.
Thanks for your thoughtful response! It's fantastic to see the community actively working towards making courses more accessible. Your commitment to creating, compiling, and sharing accessible e-learning examples is commendable! I'm eagerly looking forward to your update, and I'm sure it will be a valuable resource for the community. In the meantime, exchanging ideas with the community sounds like a great way to gather more accessible examples. Let me know if there's anything I can contribute or assist with the process. Keep up the excellent work!
7 Replies
Hi Cathy! Thanks for posting here. We recently had an e-learning challenge where community members shared accessible e-learning examples. I also created this accessible drag-and-drop interaction. We have plans to create and compile even more examples, so I'll share that when it's ready.
Thanks Sarah! I'll have to check out all of the examples. :-)
Hi again Sarah,
I've reviewed several of the examples (using JAWS) and there are accessibility issues with every one of them. You can contact me privately if you want to know what I found, but I won't post names here so as not to call out anyone on their work.
Accessibility issues in a nutshell:
1. color contrast
2. focus order
3. target size
4. graphics that should have been marked decorative
5. auto-advancing
6. missing instructions
7. the need for marking the base layer as hidden
8. correctly identifying interactive elements (button labels)
9. flashing
10. audio issues
I have a few examples of some accessible slide templates which I 'borrowed' from some of the PPT templates provided in your downloads section. I don't import the PPT slides though, since importing slides causes accessibility issues as well. But, some of the PPT examples are really nice and professional looking. :-)
Cathy
Hey Cathy! Thanks for sharing your findings! I just realized that the community challenge link I shared was to make a previous course more accessible, which is great that people are taking more steps to create accessible courses...But that also means they aren't fully accessible yet, and you are looking for fully accessible. I'm glad you were able to find PPT templates that you like! I hope to create, compile, and do a write-up of accessible e-learning examples and share that with the community. I'm not sure when I'll have that ready, but it's definitely on my radar. I'll make a note to post an update here once we have that. In the meantime, perhaps the community might have some accessible examples to share. 🤞
:-) no worries, Sarah.
If you want me to share what I created, I'll have to get permission from my work first. But, I've got several examples that I created since asking this question and based on those PPTs I downloaded.
Thanks for your thoughtful response! It's fantastic to see the community actively working towards making courses more accessible. Your commitment to creating, compiling, and sharing accessible e-learning examples is commendable! I'm eagerly looking forward to your update, and I'm sure it will be a valuable resource for the community. In the meantime, exchanging ideas with the community sounds like a great way to gather more accessible examples. Let me know if there's anything I can contribute or assist with the process. Keep up the excellent work!
If you're allowed to share, that would be awesome, Cathy!