Forum Discussion

NoraatMM's avatar
NoraatMM
Community Member
7 months ago

Rise upload video file accessibility ideas?

We hit a showstopper accessibility snag with Rise's upload multimedia block. We are required to use WAVE as our checker and it throws a missing video alt tag error for videos we upload.  We've loo...
accessibility
advice
rise 360
NoraatMM's avatar
NoraatMM
Community Member
7 months ago

Hi, 

We're being told the null or empty alternative text is the issue preventing us from publishing the modules -- they're being viewed as accessibility errors. 

We're trying the Storyline block approach now. Storyline lets you provide alternative text for the video. Fingers crossed. I'd love to get back to regular file upload option though so I'll probe the "feature feedback" angle. Thanks!

LeslieMcKerchie's avatar
LeslieMcKerchie
Staff
7 months ago

Thanks, NoraatMM!

So, perhaps we're talking about text alternatives. In Rise:

  • The caption field can describe the purpose of the media.
  • Text blocks can be used for text descriptions of media.
  • Closed captions can be imported for videos with narration.
  • NoraatMM's avatar
    NoraatMM
    Community Member
    7 months ago

    Thanks! We did 2 of the 3 in the original module (also a transcript) and proposed the caption field method. The department that reviews for accessibility interpret WAVE to mean the video itself requires alt text and I'm not familiar enough with WCAG AA standards to know if it's required or not.  I think you're saying it's not? No pressure! Won't hold you to it :-)  Just want to be sure I'm understanding your response correctly.

    • JoseTansengco's avatar
      JoseTansengco
      Staff
      7 months ago

      Hi NoraatMM,

      Glad to hear that you have implemented text alternatives for your video. There isn't a requirement for alt text on a video, but you would want the correct information to be announced. The good news is, the video is announced in Rise, so a text field that sets the expectations for all users about the video would be wise.

      • NoraatMM's avatar
        NoraatMM
        Community Member
        6 months ago

        Hi, 

        We're still trying to resolve this issue. We're in a situation where we need a clean WAVE test and can't use a third party video host unless it's our last resort (it gets us into third party terms of use, starting our content use consent process over). 

        Here are our two latest ideas:

        1. Modify a course file (Rise multimedia upload block)

        One of the agency course developers looked at the code for the Rise multimedia block. Here's what he found. Is the strategy he suggests possible?

        "I just looked at the code and there was that image file.  This would solve all the issues and we could easily embed videos if I could just modify the course file prior to uploading. 

        <img loading="lazy" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="" src="assets/Child-Dev-Laura-on-Preschool-v2-Final.jpg">

        That's causing the error on the embedded videos.  The empty alt is the culprit. It apparently seems to create an image, a screen shot I gather of the first frame, and uses that before the video starts.  Maybe.  Guessing here. I just selected CODE in the details of the Null or empty alternative text:

        2. Storyline Block
        Storyline lets you add alt text for videos so we thought we were onto something. The blocks work fine in the Rise environment but not live and we're not sure why (we used the blank 1st slide method to get around the black box issue, we tested "cover page" but went with the blank 1st slide approach -- better looking, smoother video launch experience)

        Rise Review: 

        Live:

        Would love any ideas. Thanks!