Articulate Rise - Section 508 Accessibility
Jul 22, 2020
By
Maggie Lewis
While researching aspects of Rise 360, I read the following:
"Rise 360 isn't fully accessible yet. Our ultimate goal is to meet accessibility guidelines. So far, we’ve increased the contrast for built-in course features, added alt text for images, added keyboard-accessible navigation, and closed captioning for videos. We’re currently working on full screen reader support as well. Stay tuned! Rise 360 courses don't fully support screen readers yet. We're working on screen reader support. Stay tuned!"
Is there an estimated date as to when it will be fully accessible, especially with screen readers? We want to use Rise, but unfortunately, cannot if it does not meet accessibility requirements.
13 Replies
I am in the same boat. Also - if it is not fully accessible but IS accessible via a Reader what does that mean? Does it mean we simply should not use certain features such as the dreaded drag and drop?
Hello, Maggie and Patricia! Thanks for bringing up this important topic.
While we can't share more specifics on timing and the order of features yet, our end goal is to get Rise 360 output WCAG 2.1 compliant by the end of 2020.
To help us get it right, we've hired Deque, a leader in digital accessibility, to perform a 3rd party audit for Rise 360 so we have an accurate and comprehensive list of items to tackle. We've also dedicated developers to own accessibility on Rise 360 long term.
While screen readers are not supported yet, we do plan to maintain this link for instructions on keyboard-accessible navigation.
Let me know if that answers your questions!
Hi there,
Thank you for the reply.
Question: Though they can navigate with a keyboard (good for mobility issues) - the reader is not reliable on reading what is there correct?
The ID in me just wants to have or create a simple QRG (quick reference guide) that does something like this:
Block Type Screen reader-friendly Keyboard Navigation ETC
OR
Interaction Type Screen Reader Friendly Keyboard Nav Avail ETC
Storyline Drag and Drop NA/Easy/Cumbersome for User NA
Rise Video Block
Rise Flipcards
What do you think? Would someone on your team be able to help me "fill in the blanks"?
Thank you!
Best,
Patricia Stitson, MA, ILT
Instructional Designer
National University, Center for Innovation in Learning
[cid:431c744e-564f-4807-ba1a-9315e86c6eaf]
11255 N. Torrey Pines Rd, Suite 177, La Jolla, CA 92037
Phone: (858) 642-8202 | Email: pstitson@nu.edu | www.nu.edu
Click to find out more about the NU Instructional Designers!
Hi Patricia!
Yes, you are correct. Rise 360 doesn't have full screen reader support yet. If you use a screen reader on a Rise 360 course now, you may find that it doesn't perform well. We'll let you know when screen reader support is ready!
By the way, replying via email includes your signature with contact information in the public forum. Feel free to edit your reply here.
Thanks for this update. Follow-up question: Are there any specifics, i.e. project timelines that can be shared besides "our end goal". Asking because the choice of using the tool right now or not is impacted by knowing the likelihood that there will be a WCAG compliant version available by end of year.
Hi Steve, I understand where you're coming from! I don't have specific timelines to offer right now, but we promise to share any new information that becomes available. We're still on track to be WCAG 2.1 compliant by the end of this year.
Well the keyboard navigation for the Text blocks are always missed and this needs a quicker fix from Articulate technical team. This feature will at least helps the learner to move to the lesson as per the content flow.
Hi, actually in the navigation instructions for:
"Arrow Keys: Use the arrow keys to scroll through text, interact with media, and navigate between items in a lesson, block, or question."
The above one is misleading, as actually the arrow key do not support to jump to a text block. Therefore could the Articulate team fix this so that the learner can jump between text box by using navigation keys.
Hello, SibaPrasad!
Thanks for your note. I'd like to differentiate between keyboard navigation (Tab/Arrow keys) vs. screen reader navigation.
Keyboard navigation (Tab/Arrow keys) helps users navigate to the interactive elements in your lesson with the use of a keyboard. Interactive elements are objects you can click to perform specific tasks, such as buttons, hyperlinks, and zoomable images. As you've noticed, you won't be able to tab to text elements because they are not clickable/interactive.
Screen reader navigation doesn't exactly use the Tab key to go from one element to another. Screen readers have their own controls to navigate through page elements, both interactive or static text elements. Your tab focus will continue to jump to the interactive elements on your page, and your screen reader will read the active selection. If you would like to read all the visible text elements on your page, you must utilize the screen reader's navigation controls. This also depends on the screen reader you are using.
Please keep in mind that screen reader support isn't ready yet, but we're hoping to release that enhancement soon. Stay tuned!
Are there any updates on Rise and screen reader support? I have multiple projects that I would love to use Rise for and I'm running out of time. Any help would be appreciated!
Hi Ryan,
We just released an update, and we now support screen readers! You can read more about it here.
Hi Alyssa,
Did you meet your goal for WCAG 2.1 by End of 2020?
We did, Mark! Don't miss our Rise 360 Accessibility Collection, which includes the VPAT to describe how Rise 360 conforms to WCAG 2.1 Level AA criteria.
We also updated our roadmap to include Rise 360 features we’re continuing to develop to better support WCAG.
Let me know if you have any questions about what I shared!