As mentioned on the website under FAQ for Rise "Are Rise courses compliant with accessibility guidelines? Rise employs many modern web standards for accessibility, and additional accessibility improvements are in development."
Could you please specify in detail which of these are supported in current version: WCAG AA, WAI-ARIA Labels, Section 508, DDA, Equality Act and Screen Reader Supports.
You were right! What I did was take out the hotspots, put a rectangle the same color as the background, and grouped the text and images together to make it all clickable. It was still a little cumbersome with the tabbing, but it ended up fine.
Hi All. I'm not sure if folks have noticed this, or if it has become an issue for others, but when I was discussing my Rise course with my 508 compliance expert at work, he noticed that each lesson title header is an H2 header, not H1. In order for the course to be 508 compliant, he said, titles need to begin with H1 headers, then H2, then H3. Has this become an issue for anyone else? Thanks!
Commenting to follow this thread. My specific questions about accessibility in Rise surround
1) the ability to control the Tab order (as you can in Storyline)
2) complete keyboard control for JAWS users
3) the order of the heading tags (same issue Andrew raised). Our accessibility team pointed out the same...that the headers need to follow the order H1, H2, H3, etc.
Any updates on when this functionality will be ready? Thanks.
Adding my voice regarding the need for 508 compliance. I am new to Articulate but was very impressed at my ability to develop a course with a turnaround of only a couple of days in Rise...but very disappointed that I could not use that course with a JAWS reader. The content was not readable even though it was keyboard accessible. I work in higher ed for a state agency, so I am required to make my compliance training compliant. Rise would be perfect for fast course development if I could do that. I am trying to learn Storyline 360 as fast as I can, but of course that will take me more time and in the meantime, I have auditors looking over my shoulder...
Thanks for getting this issue addressed as soon as possible.
Hello just checking in to see if there's any update here. I just watched the new/upcoming features video and I didn't see anything about improved accessibility. I'm specifically concerned about 508 compliance.
I have been doing my testing using the NVDA screen reader since I don't have JAWS, and I share your concerns about 508 compliance.
With NVDA, I am able to access Rise content, although navigation doesn't seem straightforward. The NVDA reader does read the content though.
It sounds like you have a different experience with the JAWS reader? You are not able to access the content at all?
Like you, I would love to be able to use Rise for development, but without accessibility it's not an option. It's difficult to plan for the future without knowing when Rise will be 508 compliant.
One more note to add to Karen Forkish's comment--we are currently developing recommended tools lists and accessibility guidelines for use with different tools, and would love to put Rise on the list--however, it's not quite there yet. In our large organization, there are many developers who would really like to see these features in place today.
I appreciate your quick response but was unable to reach the "What's New" link that you sent. Please resend correct link. We are keeping a close eye on when screen reader functionality will be included in Rise.
Just adding my voice, here. The fact that Rise isn't compatible with a JAWS screen reader is throwing a huge wrench in my project. I hope this much-needed feature is being prioritized. Thank you!
342 Replies
Hi Karen,
You were right! What I did was take out the hotspots, put a rectangle the same color as the background, and grouped the text and images together to make it all clickable. It was still a little cumbersome with the tabbing, but it ended up fine.
Thanks!
Hi All. I'm not sure if folks have noticed this, or if it has become an issue for others, but when I was discussing my Rise course with my 508 compliance expert at work, he noticed that each lesson title header is an H2 header, not H1. In order for the course to be 508 compliant, he said, titles need to begin with H1 headers, then H2, then H3. Has this become an issue for anyone else? Thanks!
I'm so glad that worked for you Andrew!
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for posting this information from your 508 compliance expert. Helpful to know!
Commenting to follow this thread. My specific questions about accessibility in Rise surround
1) the ability to control the Tab order (as you can in Storyline)
2) complete keyboard control for JAWS users
3) the order of the heading tags (same issue Andrew raised). Our accessibility team pointed out the same...that the headers need to follow the order H1, H2, H3, etc.
Any updates on when this functionality will be ready? Thanks.
Thanks, Marc! Keep the accessibility needs and feedback coming.
I don't have an updated ETA to share yet, but as soon as we have more info we'll let folks know in these discussions.
Adding my voice regarding the need for 508 compliance. I am new to Articulate but was very impressed at my ability to develop a course with a turnaround of only a couple of days in Rise...but very disappointed that I could not use that course with a JAWS reader. The content was not readable even though it was keyboard accessible. I work in higher ed for a state agency, so I am required to make my compliance training compliant. Rise would be perfect for fast course development if I could do that. I am trying to learn Storyline 360 as fast as I can, but of course that will take me more time and in the meantime, I have auditors looking over my shoulder...
Thanks for getting this issue addressed as soon as possible.
Hi Thieme. Thanks for being honest about your experience. If you need any help with Storyline in the meantime, please let me know!
Hello just checking in to see if there's any update here. I just watched the new/upcoming features video and I didn't see anything about improved accessibility. I'm specifically concerned about 508 compliance.
Thank you
Hi Tiana,
We're still hard at work on the accessibility features and updates mentioned earlier, but I promise as soon as we have an update to share we'll post in discussions like this one.
Thanks for your patience as we continue to build a product you can love and use with all your learners!
Hi Thieme,
I have been doing my testing using the NVDA screen reader since I don't have JAWS, and I share your concerns about 508 compliance.
With NVDA, I am able to access Rise content, although navigation doesn't seem straightforward. The NVDA reader does read the content though.
It sounds like you have a different experience with the JAWS reader? You are not able to access the content at all?
Like you, I would love to be able to use Rise for development, but without accessibility it's not an option. It's difficult to plan for the future without knowing when Rise will be 508 compliant.
One more note to add to Karen Forkish's comment--we are currently developing recommended tools lists and accessibility guidelines for use with different tools, and would love to put Rise on the list--however, it's not quite there yet. In our large organization, there are many developers who would really like to see these features in place today.
Hi Karen and Jamila. Thanks for sharing - we're making sure your voices are heard!
Karen, more specifically, this is how keyboard navigation should work with Rise. Let me know if you're seeing anything different. Thanks!
Hello,
We are also interested in the updated features being added to and incorporated in Rise for accessibility.
Is there a plan for screen reader accessibility or is this being introduced via NVDA for now?
If we use a cloud version of Rise, do we need to update the software to get newly added features for accessibility?
Accessibility is very important and we are also looking to meet WCAG standards and 508 compliance.
Sincerely,
Terianne
Hi Terianne,
Accessibility is important to us too, and although Rise isn't fully accessible yet, our team is continuing to work on new features.
Our ultimate goal is to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). So far, we’ve added these accessibility features:
• Increased contrast for built-in course features
• Alt text for images
• Keyboard-accessible navigation
And we’re currently working on full screen reader support. Keep an eye on our "What's New" page and the Rise release notes for details:
• What's New
• Rise release notes
We'll also post in the E-Learning Heroes community once we do have an update, so you can keep an eye out for that too!
"Accessibility is important to us too, and Rise isn't fully accessible yet, but...."
If it was truly important to you this would have been included in the product from the start.
Ashley,
I appreciate your quick response but was unable to reach the "What's New" link that you sent. Please resend correct link. We are keeping a close eye on when screen reader functionality will be included in Rise.
Thank you,
Terianne
All fixed now, Terianne! Sorry, a little extra space added to that hyperlink. 🙃
We really like Rise and we would like to ask you, when is your anticipated Accessibility compliance date?
Hi Shirin,
We're releasing features as they're ready (you can see what we've already released here) and we'll keep sharing as we do!
I don't have an ETA yet for the upcoming features, but as we have more information we'll let folks know!
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Just adding my voice, here. The fact that Rise isn't compatible with a JAWS screen reader is throwing a huge wrench in my project. I hope this much-needed feature is being prioritized. Thank you!
Following this thread. I LOVE this product, but accessibility is a great need- especially in higher ed.
Are there any updates on this? We have created a course on Rise and have observed several issues making the course inaccessible!
Thanks Nora, Kimberly and Priya for checking in. Once we have new information to share, we'll be sure to post an update to this conversation!