One year ago there was a discussion around accessibility - WCAG AA, WAI-ARIA Labels, Section 508, DDA, Equality Act and Screen Reader Supports.
It was noted that Articulate were working on this and that there would be further developments in this regard. Have the accessibility issues been addressed. This is important for me as I am about to develop a course and would like to use RISE rather than Storyline.
It's really interesting yo read what you have done. I am about to start with such a course so needed your guidance. what guidelines you follow/ what suggestions you have for develipment/testing /execution of such a course.
Rise 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, and added keyboard-accessible navigation. And we’re currently working on full screen reader support. Stay tuned!
Is that for both the authorware side as well as the content that is produced? I do not understand why - in this day and age - products are not produced with accessibility as a central tenet of the core design.
Brian W. Wojcik, Ed.D., ATP
Assistant Professor
Director of Special Education Graduate Programs
University of Nebraska at Kearney
Department of Teacher Education
COE B-189
1615 W. 24th Street
Kearney, NE 68849
Preferred Phone: 309-319-6341
Office Phone: 308-865-8613
FAX: FAX: 308-865-8097
Book an Appointment with Me
Sharon or anyone else who has tested accessibility in Rise, do you happen to know if Storyline blocks that are built to standard maintain their usability when imported to Rise?
Rise doesn't currently fully support screen readers, so the Storyline blocks likely won't work either. There's some more information about accessibility here.
If there's anything else I can do to help, please let me know!
Hi Elizabeth - whilst Rise does not fully support screen readers, testing we've done with JAWS does (for the most part) work. Even if an authoring tool is classified as accessible, poor design can still result in a finished product that is not. For example, drag and drop activities. It is also important to remember that accessibility is for all disability types, not just for visual impairment. So Rise can work, you just need to really consider the design. The main issue in Rise is the lack of Heading styles (eg H1, H2 etc) which screen readers use for navigation purposes, and there are certain functions that screen readers tend to get stuck in (from memory, labelled diagram is one).
To answer your question in relation to Storyline blocks- the integrity of the block functionality has been maintained in all the testing we have done.
Hi Beth, I think it is important to point out that even if an authoring tool is classified as accessible, poor design can lead to a eLearning module that does not meet WCAG standards or result in an accessible course simply because the authoring tool was capable of doing so. Much like MS Word, you can create a document that is accessible, or one that is not simply because you don't know how. Perhaps Articulate can put together some short courses on how to use Storyline to create an accessible course. Or maybe run a series of challenges in the theme?
I absolutely agree. It is possible to make an inaccessible document even when the tool is accessible. However, if the tool is inaccessible, there's not much you can do. I would LOVE Articulate to do a workshop on accessibility and have suggested it more than once.
They have for me Elizabeth. I needed to create a number of scenarios and used Storyline block with customised tab orders and that worked. I also created a few quiz blocks as the Rise knowledge check has a 'try again' button even if the learner has responded correctly. This is confusing for vision impaired learners. Again, all Storyline functionality worked within Rise.
Would you be open to sharing your course? I'd be interested in seeing the functionality and the output. I am currently looking to make a decision about developing in Rise or Storyline 360 and I haven't used Rise before.
Hi folks. Editing my reply to answer the most recent query! So far, we’ve increased the contrast for built-in course features, added alt text for images, and added keyboard-accessible navigation. And we’re currently working on full screen reader support.
I don't have an update about additional features just yet, but since you've replied here, you'll be notified when we share more information. Thanks!
It's great to see that Rise is working on becoming more accessible! This is timely, as we were about to abandon use of it for this reason!
I noticed more keyboard features than before so I looked into it and found this article https://articulate.com/support/article/Rise-Keyboard-Accessible-Navigation . I don't have JAWS installed right now for testing, but can I assume that a screen reader reads the text as it is 'tabbed-to'? What about the body text and headings? It doesn't appear to function the way Storyline does in that the in-focus element is visible when using the keyboard so I can't anticipate what the screen reader will be reading in the same way that I can with Storyline. It appears as though it isn't possible to tab to the body text or header - just images and interactive elements. Does that mean that body text won't be read by a screen-reader?
Is there any rough timeline around screen reader support (weeks, months, years, etc.) This has become a priority for my organization and knowing even a rough ballpark will be the deciding factor in whether we can use Rise or not. Thanks,
since it has been a while, I'm wondering if naviation buttons will ever become accessible by readers, right now I cannot use the continue nor buttons stack blocks, thank you
124 Replies
Hi Sharon,
It's really interesting yo read what you have done. I am about to start with such a course so needed your guidance. what guidelines you follow/ what suggestions you have for develipment/testing /execution of such a course.
And if possible will you be able to share your course with me: shruti.sinha@schneider-electric.com
Thanks
shruti
Hi Brian!
Rise 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, and added keyboard-accessible navigation. And we’re currently working on full screen reader support. Stay tuned!
Is that for both the authorware side as well as the content that is produced? I do not understand why - in this day and age - products are not produced with accessibility as a central tenet of the core design.
Brian W. Wojcik, Ed.D., ATP
Assistant Professor
Director of Special Education Graduate Programs
University of Nebraska at Kearney
Department of Teacher Education
COE B-189
1615 W. 24th Street
Kearney, NE 68849
Preferred Phone: 309-319-6341
Office Phone: 308-865-8613
FAX: FAX: 308-865-8097
Book an Appointment with Me
Hi Brian! Our accessibility improvements are for the learner. Thanks for your sharing your thoughts and feedback with us, we do appreciate it.
This is a great conversation on an important topic.
Could an audio clip be added at the top of a lesson's page to enable a person with a visual impairment to listen to the content?
Would a screen reader see the audio clip and provide a prompt for the individual to click to listen to the audio?
Sharon or anyone else who has tested accessibility in Rise, do you happen to know if Storyline blocks that are built to standard maintain their usability when imported to Rise?
Hi Elizabeth,
Rise doesn't currently fully support screen readers, so the Storyline blocks likely won't work either. There's some more information about accessibility here.
If there's anything else I can do to help, please let me know!
You could push for full accessibility... 😊
I'll do what I can, Beth! :) Accessibility is definitely a priority for us.
Hi Elizabeth - whilst Rise does not fully support screen readers, testing we've done with JAWS does (for the most part) work. Even if an authoring tool is classified as accessible, poor design can still result in a finished product that is not. For example, drag and drop activities. It is also important to remember that accessibility is for all disability types, not just for visual impairment. So Rise can work, you just need to really consider the design. The main issue in Rise is the lack of Heading styles (eg H1, H2 etc) which screen readers use for navigation purposes, and there are certain functions that screen readers tend to get stuck in (from memory, labelled diagram is one).
To answer your question in relation to Storyline blocks- the integrity of the block functionality has been maintained in all the testing we have done.
Hi Beth, I think it is important to point out that even if an authoring tool is classified as accessible, poor design can lead to a eLearning module that does not meet WCAG standards or result in an accessible course simply because the authoring tool was capable of doing so. Much like MS Word, you can create a document that is accessible, or one that is not simply because you don't know how. Perhaps Articulate can put together some short courses on how to use Storyline to create an accessible course. Or maybe run a series of challenges in the theme?
I absolutely agree. It is possible to make an inaccessible document even when the tool is accessible. However, if the tool is inaccessible, there's not much you can do. I would LOVE Articulate to do a workshop on accessibility and have suggested it more than once.
So adjustments to tab order and use of alt tags "sticks" in the Storyline block? That's the bulk of what I was thinking about.
They have for me Elizabeth. I needed to create a number of scenarios and used Storyline block with customised tab orders and that worked. I also created a few quiz blocks as the Rise knowledge check has a 'try again' button even if the learner has responded correctly. This is confusing for vision impaired learners. Again, all Storyline functionality worked within Rise.
Hi Sharon. This is great information. Thank you!
Would you be open to sharing your course? I'd be interested in seeing the functionality and the output. I am currently looking to make a decision about developing in Rise or Storyline 360 and I haven't used Rise before.
Just jumping on to be alerted as well when there are any new Rise accessibility features added.
We are still waiting for developments in the Rise accessibility.
Does anybody add a comment on their Rise course alerting about accessibility standards to alert the user?
Hi there. Is there any update or timeline for accessibility features in Rise? 🙏
Hi folks. Editing my reply to answer the most recent query! So far, we’ve increased the contrast for built-in course features, added alt text for images, and added keyboard-accessible navigation. And we’re currently working on full screen reader support.
I don't have an update about additional features just yet, but since you've replied here, you'll be notified when we share more information. Thanks!
It's great to see that Rise is working on becoming more accessible! This is timely, as we were about to abandon use of it for this reason!
I noticed more keyboard features than before so I looked into it and found this article https://articulate.com/support/article/Rise-Keyboard-Accessible-Navigation . I don't have JAWS installed right now for testing, but can I assume that a screen reader reads the text as it is 'tabbed-to'? What about the body text and headings? It doesn't appear to function the way Storyline does in that the in-focus element is visible when using the keyboard so I can't anticipate what the screen reader will be reading in the same way that I can with Storyline. It appears as though it isn't possible to tab to the body text or header - just images and interactive elements. Does that mean that body text won't be read by a screen-reader?
Hi Fiona,
Rise 360 doesn't have full screen reader support just yet, but we're working on it! We'll let you know when that's ready.
I am interested in finding out as activities/blocks in Rise are made accessible. Thanks.
Is there any rough timeline around screen reader support (weeks, months, years, etc.) This has become a priority for my organization and knowing even a rough ballpark will be the deciding factor in whether we can use Rise or not. Thanks,
Hi Nathan,
I'm sorry but I don't have an ETA to share right now. Since you've replied here, you'll be notified when we share more information.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
since it has been a while, I'm wondering if naviation buttons will ever become accessible by readers, right now I cannot use the continue nor buttons stack blocks, thank you