Useful Tools and Resources
Hi everyone, I'd like to share some accessibility (a11y) resources. I hope these will be helpful in making your content more inclusive and accessible to everyone. Whether you're new to accessibility or looking to deepen your understanding, these resources provide valuable insights, and best practices to ensure your work is accessible to all users, regardless of their abilities. Thanks. Understood: Understood is the leading nonprofit empowering the 70 million people with learning and thinking differences in the United States. https://www.understood.org/ Funkify: A disability simulator that helps you experience the web and interfaces through the eyes of extreme users. https://www.funkify.org/ Accessible Numbers: Presenting numbers and data clearly. https://accessiblenumbers.com/ Neurodiversity Design System: A set of standards and principles that combine neurodiversity and UX design for Learning Management Systems. https://neurodiversity.design/ WhoCanUse: A tool that brings attention and understanding to how colour contrast can affect people with different visual impairments. https://www.whocanuse.com/ Viz Palette: Colors in action. https://projects.susielu.com/viz-paletteIntroduction
Welcome to our Accessibility Group! We're excited to have you join this collaborative space, where you can find inspiration and connect with like-minded individuals. We're all human and learning on this accessibility journey. Use this group to ask questions, share ideas, support each other, and learn about the latest guidelines and laws. Together, we'll grow in accessibility maturity and create a supportive community through this safe and inclusive space.Creating alt text for complex images easier
Hey folks, I'm really glad to see this new accessibility Group on E-Learning heroes. Right now in my own line of work, I'm pushing for really accessible courses and it's quite crazy how trainers are missing fundamental things such as alternative text on images. Which I would end up having to do to ensure a project gets done in time. Anyway, I made a video tutorial very recently on how you can speed up creating alternative text for graphics using Microsoft Copilot. It can also be done with other tools such as ChatGPT. I hope it helps and more importantly, gets more people to make sure that all their graphics have alternative descriptions. Enhancing Accessibility in Instructional Design with Microsoft CopilotChecklist for 508 Compliance Testing in Storyline
I just heard about this 508 compliance testing tool/checklist created by the Social Security Administration. https://www.ssa.gov/accessibility/testmethod.html?tab=2 Even if you are a 508 compliance expert (I thought I was, turns out there is more to learn) this can be a helpful tool when testing your eLearning for compliance.Group Guidelines
Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with our community guidelines. These guidelines ensure that we maintain a friendly and welcoming space, which allows a positive experience for everyone. Key points include: Be Respectful: Treat all members with kindness and respect. Stay On Topic: Keep discussions relevant to accessibility. Be Helpful: When providing feedback, be constructive and helpful. No Spam: Avoid posting spam or self-promotion. If you encounter any technical issues, please post them in the Discuss Forum. Thank you for being a part of our community. Let’s work together to create a supportive and engaging environment for all.Behind the Scenes: Alternative text tip and counter
Hi there! When we released Storyline 360 Update 90 back in July, we introduced the following enhancement: When writing alt text in Storyline 360, you’ll now see a dynamic character count and a tip not to exceed 150 characters. You may be wondering why, well, check out this behind-the-scenes video! If you'd like to learn more about adding alternative text, check out Storyline 360: Adding Alternative Text for Screen Readers Thanks, Ronnie Pilman, CPACC Sr. QA Engineer II
The Accessibility Checker is now available in Storyline 360!
An accessibility checker has long been one of the most requested Storyline features, and now we’re delivering it to you with Update 100! Built to support you at every stage of course creation, the new accessibility checker in Storyline 360 scans your project for common accessibility issues and gives clear, actionable guidance on how to fix them. Our first accessibility checker release will help you spot 24 accessibility issues across 15 WCAG success criteria. To help you build accessible courses from the start, we’ve also added a new accessible project template. Learn more in our latest journal entry. Big kudos to Ronnie_Pilman on this significant milestone!Accessibility: Frameworks, Prioritization, and Maturity
How Articulate uses a prioritization framework to drive accessibility maturity Thanks to everyone who joined us for this webinar with Deque. We had a great time, a great turnout, and some great questions. I wanted to share some resources with you: Webinar recording: How Articulate uses a prioritization framework to drive accessibility maturity Presentation slides Webinar takeaway - Accessibility Maturity: A Guide to Getting Started with Your Organizational Model In addition, I'm evaluating all the questions that came in, and I'll select the ones related to this topic that we did not discuss during the live Q&A. Let's continue the conversation right here in the comments! Original Post: Join Articulate for this free webinar with Deque on September 26, 2024. How Articulate Uses a Prioritization Framework to Drive Accessibility Maturity I'd love to hear about the processes your organization is using for accessibility maturity.In Case You Missed It (ICYMI): Accessibility Updates in Q3 2025
Welcome to our Q3 2025 update! This quarter brought big steps forward in accessibility, localization, and learner experience across Rise and Storyline. From new focus order controls and audio enhancements to expanded screen reader support and additional languages, every update helps make course creation and learning more inclusive for everyone. Our community keeps growing, too. This quarter, we welcomed 95 new members, bringing us to 753 people who care about making things more accessible. We’re so glad you’re part of it. Let’s take a look at what’s new this quarter! Product Updates Rise New: Use the custom block focus order panel to set keyboard and screen reader order independently of object order. New: 9 new languages have been added to Articulate Localization. Enhanced: Windows Narrator and Magnifier are now officially supported in published courses, giving learners more ways to engage with content. Enhanced: Chart blocks are now keyboard and desktop screen reader accessible. Enhanced: Learners can adjust the volume and mute audio wherever it appears in training. Enhanced: While authoring, your browser tab updates to show the current lesson title for better context and accessibility. Enhanced: Audio player transcripts are now keyboard and screen-reader accessible. Enhanced: In the custom block, add alt text to objects, object groups, and the canvas. Enhanced: Add audio transcripts to audio objects in custom blocks. Storyline Enhanced: We boosted the accessibility checker's performance to keep even the largest projects running smoothly and added sort order options for easier navigation. Enhanced: Windows Narrator and Magnifier are now officially supported in published courses, giving learners more ways to engage with content. Enhanced: Localization added support for 9 new languages—Khmer, Lao, Luxembourgish, Maori, Nepali, Nyanja, Samoan, Tetum, and Tigrinya. These languages are now available to everyone as text label options. Enhanced: Screen readers provide richer context for multiple choice and drop-down questions, math equations, and the player seekbar, ensuring learners can navigate and track progress more intuitively. Enhanced: Player controls, resources, and glossary terms remain fully accessible when resizing the browser or zooming up to 400%, giving all learners a smoother experience. Enhanced: The accessibility checker now displays scene thumbnails, making it quicker to identify and fix scene-title issues. Fixed: Screen readers ignored the search results in the player menu. Fixed: Screen readers didn't always announce the visited state of buttons or shapes. Fixed: Custom alt text added to buttons, radio buttons, text boxes, and checkboxes couldn't be changed or reset to the default. Fixed: Checkmarks on correct responses now provide text alternatives to conform with WCAG 1.1.1. Fixed: Closed captions from multiple audio files stacked on top of each other when using the seekbar. Fixed: Screen readers didn't announce the default alt text for text-entry fields. Other Updates New Articles Why creating accessible training is always the right move What’s New in Articulate 360: Q2 2025 Microsoft Powers World-Class Customer Support With Localization Localization Best Practices: Learning That Transcends Borders How AI is Transforming Instructional Design Smarter Design, Purposeful Interactivity, and AI as Your Sidekick: Five Member-Powered Takeaways from Articuland Boston Updated Articles Accessibility at Articulate Accessibility Index Storyline 360: Accessibility Checker Covered Issues Storyline 360: Improving Experiences With the Accessibility Checker Articulate 360 FAQs: Accessibility Rise 360: Browser Support Storyline 360: System Requirements Storyline 360 Supports Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Rise 360 Supports Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Combined System Requirements for All Articulate 360 Apps Storyline 360 Supports Section 508 Accessibility Guidelines Rise 360 Supports Section 508 Accessibility Guideline Storyline 360: Our Accessibility Journey Storyline 360: Navigation for Screen Reader and Keyboard-Only Users Storyline 360: How Screen Reader or Keyboard-only Navigation Works for Multiple Choice and Multiple Response Questions Rise 360 Accessibility Conformance Report Training Yukon Training: Using the Storyline 360 Accessibility Checker
