Get More Insight Into How Articulate 360 Apps Meet Accessibility Standards
When you want to ensure your e-learning works well for every learner, accessibility standards give you benchmarks to aim for. That said, it’s not always easy to know how these general guidelines map to actual app features and settings. That’s where the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) comes in. Companies use this document to share how their apps meet specific accessibility standards. And the practical insights in VPATs can help you explore the capabilities of the apps you use now and those you’re considering using in the future. VPATs have been available for Storyline 360, Rise 360, and Reach 360 for some time. Our recent updates, though, have made these documents even more useful for you! Here’s a peek at what’s new: EU guidelines: We originally developed our VPATs with US accessibility standards in mind. But to meet the needs of more customers outside the US, we’ve expanded these reports so they also align with EN 301 549 guidelines—the European standard for digital accessibility. WCAG AAA criteria: This is the highest level of accessibility conformance in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). In a previous update, we added the AAA criteria to the Storyline 360 VPAT. And we’re now delighted to include this information in the Rise 360 and Reach 360 VPATs too. WCAG 2.2 criteria: A recent update to the WCAG standards added exciting new success criteria. As a result, we've updated our Rise 360, Storyline 360, and Reach 360 VPATs with this information as well. That way, it's easier for you to understand how to use our apps to address these accessibility expanded recommendations. VPAT accessibility: We’ve also enhanced the accessibility of the VPATs themselves by shifting to more readable font sizes and colors. Whether you’re aiming to meet US or EU accessibility guidelines or are just looking for more insights into how our apps can help you craft truly accessible e-learning, these updates have a wealth of information to offer. Want to create accessible e-learning but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial. And subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest product updates, e-learning examples, and expert advice sent directly to your inbox. If you have questions, please share them in the comments.Expand Your Possibilities With These New Articulate 360 Features
Articulate 360 is constantly evolving to better meet your needs. Our latest collection of features is full of exciting new ways for you to design, develop, and share your e-learning courses. From new resources to enhance the learning experiences you build, expanded options for distributing courses, and one of our most requested enhancements to Storyline 360, there’s so much that can make your work easier and more effective! Check out this video for some of the highlights. And keep reading to dig in to the details. Create exciting and engaging e-learning 64-bit Storyline If you create large, media-rich courses, you’ll experience a noticeably speedier authoring experience with this release. The new 64-bit Storyline 360 takes full advantage of the power of modern computers, giving you increased stability and faster performance—even with your most complex projects. Learn more about this highly requested feature here: Storyline 360: 64-bit App. Improved Text-to-Speech Voice Quality The more natural text-to-speech voices sound, the less likely they are to distract from your course content. That’s why we’ve upgraded many of the voices included in Storyline 360 using new neural voice technology. They sound better than ever, and they’re still incredibly easy to use! Check out this link for the current list of neural voices in Storyline 360. Background Audio Triggers Building on the Storyline 360 background audio feature from earlier this year, this update gives you even more options for controlling the experience. With it, you can use triggers to play, pause, or stop the playlist on each slide. So you and your learners have more ways to customize course audio. Find out more here. Trans-inclusivity Microlearning Need to get much-needed training out fast, but don’t have the time research, write, and build it yourself? Our library of Rise 360 real content templates has you covered! Our latest addition—4 Ways To Build a Trans-inclusive Workplace—helps define key terms and gives learners concrete steps they can take to make their organization more inclusive. We’ve taken care of the hard work of researching and building the experience. You can either launch it to your learners exactly as written or tweak it to fit your company’s needs. It’s your call! New Illustrated Characters Finding just the right character can help your courses connect with learners and make scenarios ring true. That’s why we’re excited to add three new illustrated characters wearing casual outfits to Content Library 360: Shanae, Wren, and Don. Template Accessibility Updates We’re always looking for ways to make it easier to build accessible e-learning—and this latest update is a real timesaver! We’ve reworked many of our Storyline 360 and Rise 360 templates so they’re even more accessible right out of the box. The former now has updates to the focus order and video controls. And the most popular templates for the latter feature the removal of italicized content, as well as broader improvements to their content and design. With the templates taking on more work for you, it’s faster than ever to create courses that all learners can access. Collaborate with team members and stakeholders Share Link Permissions Want more control over who can and can’t see an item in Review 360? You’ll love this new feature. With it, you’ll be able to make a Review 360 item invitation-only—so it’s only visible to the specific reviewers you’ve chosen. Distribute courses to all your learners Custom Certificates From branding your course completion certificates to including important accreditation requirements on them, this feature is here to help. With our simple certificate editor, you can include company information like logos and learner performance details like course duration, quiz scores, and more. Plus, you can save time by creating a library of certificate templates to use in any course in Reach 360. SSO for Learners Make taking training in Reach 360 even simpler with Single Sign-On (SSO). Since this method allows people to securely access multiple applications with just one set of log-in credentials, your learners don’t have to remember yet another password to check out all the training you share with them in Reach 360. Learn more about how to use this feature to manage groups and users here. Microsoft Teams Integration - COMING SOON Weave training into the flow of work with this upcoming Reach 360 integration. With it, learners can get due date and enrollment notifications and also see previews of training right in Microsoft Teams. And by including that information in a tool they already use for work all the time, you’ll make it easier for them to stay on top of training deadlines and explore what courses you’re offering. Reporter Role Want to streamline reporting for different groups in Reach 360? Try assigning users to the new reporting role. With this feature, you can grant someone access to the analytics from just one or more specific groups, so they don’t have to wade through the training data for all your learners to get access to the targeted information they’re looking for. Wrap-Up If you want to get your hands on everything these new features have to offer, you’ll be glad to know most of them are available right now! Just log in to your account, make sure you’re running the latest version of Storyline 360, and you’ll be all set. And keep an eye out for the features labeled “coming soon”; they’ll be available to you in no time at all. But not to worry if you don’t currently have an Articulate 360 subscription. Just start a 30-day free trial to try out all these helpful features and more. And you can also subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest product updates, e-learning examples, and expert advice sent directly to your inbox. If you have questions, please share them in the comments.Elevate Your E-Learning by Prioritizing Accessibility and Usability
As an e-learning developer, you want to create content that engages learners and delivers on the learning objectives you worked hard to define. But what if that engagement and learning can't happen because of issues with accessibility or usability? In this article, you'll find out what accessibility and usability are and how you can apply the principles behind them to design courses that work better for all learners. Then, you'll get tips on reviewing and testing your courses to ensure they meet those standards. Let's get started! Understanding Accessibility Accessibility—also known as a11y—is the practice of making experiences work for everyone, regardless of their ability. In e-learning, accessible content means it's been designed for all learners to access—including those with auditory, visual, mobility, cognitive, or other disabilities. For example, using sufficient color contrast helps learners with low vision or color vision deficiency. Offering textual explanations for visual content is another common accessibility best practice. Focusing on web accessibility allows everyone to perceive, navigate, and interact with content. Guidelines—such as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)—and laws—like Section 508 (United States)—provide guidance and ensure all learners can access online materials equally. Understanding Usability Usability in e-learning measures how easy content is to use and examines how users experience it. Content should be user-friendly, intuitive, efficient, and effective. For example, if learners must complete a quiz, they should be able to test their knowledge without encountering confusing errors or getting stuck and feeling frustrated with the process. The Nielsen Norman Group is a firm focused on improving the everyday experience of using technology. They've defined five key components of usability that can also be applied when creating e-learning courses: Learnability. Accomplishing basic tasks should be easy, even the first time a learner encounters a course. Efficiency. Barriers that prevent learners from completing courses efficiently should be removed. Memorability. Learners who revisit content shouldn't have to start from scratch. Errors. Encountering errors—and recovering from them—shouldn't derail learning. Satisfaction. Engaging with the content should be enjoyable and pleasant for learners. Benefits of Combining Accessibility and Usability Accessible content enhances everyone's experience. For example, closed captions and transcripts for accessibility not only help learners who are deaf or hard of hearing. They also allow those in a loud environment where audio can't be heard or in a public space that requires silence to access content. Captions and transcripts improve understanding for foreign-language learners as well. However, ensuring that your e-learning content conforms to accessibility guidelines like captioning and transcripts doesn't mean your course automatically provides a usable learning experience for all. Conversely, while usability centers user experiences, usable content isn't necessarily accessible to people with disabilities. For example, a visually stunning course might be engaging for some learners. However, if it uses colors and other visuals alone to convey information or move the learner through, the content won't be accessible to those with low vision or color vision deficiency. To ensure truly equal access to digital content, apply accessibility and usability practices in tandem during the course development process. Testing for Accessibility and Usability The best way to find out if the content you're creating is accessible and usable is to test it. If you're new to this process, you might feel intimidated. But don't worry! We'll introduce you to some trusted accessibility testing tools and give you tips for usability testing to get you started in the next section. Accessibility Testing Accessibility testing can be done with automated tools or manually—both of which have advantages and disadvantages. For the most optimal results, combine both types of accessibility testing. Automated Testing Automated accessibility testing tools scan content for accessibility issues. They're easy to run and don't require in-depth accessibility knowledge to detect minor problems. Examples of automated accessibility testing tools include: Deque axe DevTools® WebAIM WAVE® TPGi ARC Toolkit ANDI (Accessible Name & Description Inspector) While automated accessibility testing tools boost speed and efficiency, they don't catch all accessibility issues. They also sometimes report false positives or misunderstand accessibility requirements. Additionally, your results might vary depending on the testing tool. Manual Testing Given the limitations described above, automated testing can be a practical place to start but usually won't finish the job. Manually reviewing your published course one slide at a time offers the most complete results. If that sounds overwhelming, don't panic. We've got you covered! Here's a checklist of universal design basics for text, multimedia, images, and interactivity elements in e-learning: Accessible E-Learning Checklist. Examples include: Check the accuracy of automated tests. Ensure learners can easily navigate content—such as hyperlinks, alternative text (alt text), menus, and closed captions—with a keyboard and screen reader. Make sure your course has plain and inclusive language appropriate for your audience and provides accessibility instructions wherever user input is required. While manual testing requires you to learn about accessibility requirements and standards, it's the best way to ensure everyone can access your content. Here are multiple resources to support you on your accessibility learning journey: Articulate 360 Accessibility Index of Support Articles Storyline 360: How to Design an Accessible Course Rise 360: How to Design an Accessible Course How To Test Your E-Learning Course with a Screen Reader My Course Isn’t Accessible! Now What? Usability Testing Usability testing is conducted by real people who scan content for usability problems. You can improve your usability testing and boost accessibility at the same time by including people with disabilities and those who use assistive devices and technology when you recruit and engage usability test participants. For example, organizations like Fable connect digital teams with people with disabilities to do usability testing. Wrap-Up We hope this article inspires you to provide accessible and usable e-learning experiences for all learners. What did you find most interesting? Is there anything we missed? Let's discuss! Share your thoughts in the comments below. For more help creating accessible courses, check out these helpful resources: All About Accessibility Articulate 360 Training Videos About Accessibility10 Most Popular E-Learning Heroes Articles of 2023
As we wrap up 2023 and look ahead to all the things to come in 2024, now is the perfect time to catch up on the most popular content shared in the E-Learning Heroes Community in 2023. To save you time, we’ve rounded up the best of the best for your review. Check them out: 4 AI Basics Every E-Learning Creator Needs To Know in 2023. Get up to speed on artificial intelligence with this quick introductory article. Introducing the Articulate Beta Program. Learn about this new opportunity to share your feedback on our latest features. 4 Impactful E-Learning Trends for 2023. See how you can shape the future of learning by following these strategies in your workplace. 8 Business Use Cases for Microlearning. Discover how to leverage short-form courses for these common workplace situations (and get creating faster with customizable examples!). 4 Ways To Choose an E-Learning Color Palette. Check out these tips for curating the perfect hues for your next project. How To Write Alt Text for the 4 Most Common Types of Images in E-Learning. Explore alternative text best practices for handling the most common image types in e-learning. 6 Ways the E-Learning Heroes Community Makes Your Job Easier. Learn more about all the resources, discussions, articles, and connections this site offers to help you work faster and create more innovative projects. 4 Advantages of Microlearning. Discover the main reasons e-learning designers and learners are loving this bite-size approach to training. 3 Ways To Boost Your Articulate 360 Skills. Whether you’re a total newbie or you’ve dabbled in our apps before, these tips will help you get to the next level. 3 Things That Can Make or Break Your E-Learning Design. Craft beautiful and effective online training from the start with these helpful ideas. We hope you find these articles helpful! If we missed any other E-Learning Heroes articles you liked in 2023, comment below and let us know. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest e-learning inspiration and insights directly in your inbox. You can also find us on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). And if you have questions, please share them in the comments.How To Write Alt Text for the 4 Most Common Types of Images in E-Learning
Alt text is descriptive text that you—as a course author—can add to on-screen imagery to explain its content and purpose. Including alt text in your e-learning courses is important for a few reasons: To ensure all learners can access all your course content. Alt text helps learners using a screen reader—like those with visual or cognitive disabilities—understand the content and purpose of visual media. For compliance. It’s required by criterion 1.1.1 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), so if your courses need to be accessible, you have to include alt text. In case an image doesn’t load. If your learner runs into loading issues, the alt text will appear in place of the image, ensuring they can still understand the content. For alt text to be effective, it needs to include the right information. But depending on the type of image, the “right” information differs slightly. Let’s take a look at some best practices for handling the most common image types in e-learning. 1. Decorative Images Decorative images—like dividers, borders, or background images—don’t add any relevant information to your content. They’re simply there for visual interest. To determine if an image is decorative, ask yourself if removing it would impact the learning experience. If not, it’s decorative. If that’s the case, it’s best to tell screen readers to ignore it. This saves learners using a screen reader time by letting them skip right to essential content. For example, the photograph in the image below is purely decorative. It’s not adding anything to the learning experience, it just makes the slide more visually appealing. That’s why we’ve told the screen readers to skip over the image by putting "" in the alt text field. Alt text: In Rise 360: "" In Storyline 360: uncheck Object Is Visible to Accessibility Tools box To learn more about alt text for decorative images, read this article: Decorative Images. 2. Functional Images Functional images—like those used as buttons or links—serve a specific purpose. When a learner interacts with these images, something happens. For example, they’re brought to another part of the course, a browser window opens and loads a specific site, or a file is downloaded. When it comes to functional images, your alt text should describe exactly what happens when they interact with that image, so there are no surprises. For example, if there’s an icon learners can click on to download a PDF, the alt text should include the action (download), the name of the document, and the file type—like in the example below. Alt text: Download Driving Your Career Worksheet PDF To dig into the details of alt text for functional images, head over here: Functional Images. 3. Informative Images Informative images not only add visual interest, they also provide additional context or information. Informative images can be either simple or complex. Let’s take a look at the difference between the two. Simple Simple informative images are illustrations, photographs, or diagrams whose content and purpose you can explain in a sentence or two. For example, the alt text for the illustration below includes not only the visual description but also the meaning of the road sign that’s pictured. Alt text: A road sign that’s round, blue, and has an arrow pointing to the right indicating that you must turn right. Complex Complex informative images are anything with content or purpose that’s too involved to explain in one or two sentences. This could include charts, graphs, screenshots, etc. Because alt text is meant to be concise, it’s best to include the explanations for these kinds of images in the course text directly, instead of in the alt text. For example, to understand everything that’s pictured in the graph below, a longer explanation is required, so the alt text gives a brief overview of what’s pictured and tells the learner to keep reading for more information. Alt text: Graph showing accounts receivable data from January to June. Keep reading for more details. For more details on how to handle alt text for informative images, check out this article: Informative Images. 4. Logos Logos are another type of image that doesn’t fit squarely into any of the above categories. That’s because they’re somewhat decorative, somewhat informative, and sometimes even functional. For that reason, we decided they deserved their own category. When it comes to alt text for logos, it’ll depend on whether the logo includes a link. With a link When a logo is functional—meaning it links to a website—you’ll want to include both the name of the organization and information about where the link leads. For example: Alt text: Alpha Airlines - home page Without a link If the logo doesn’t link off to anything, you can simply include the organization’s name and the word “logo” the first time it appears. For subsequent instances of the logo, it’s best to have the screen reader skip over it to avoid repetition. First instance: Alt text: Alpha Airlines logo Subsequent instances: Alt text: In Rise 360: "" In Storyline 360: uncheck Object Is Visible To Accessibility Tools box Wrap-Up By applying these practical tips, you can be confident you’re writing alt text that’s actually helpful to your learners and therefore creating a better learning experience for everyone. Looking for more accessibility best practices? Check out this helpful series of articles: All About Accessibility. And remember to subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest e-learning inspiration and insights directly in your inbox. You can also find us on LinkedIn and Twitter. And if you have questions, please share them in the comments.Accessibility for E-Learning: Webinar Series 2023
Whether you’re a training expert or creating courses for the first time, it’s crucial that you prioritize accessibility. In this three part series hosted by Articulate pros, you’ll learn everything you need to know about building courses that meet accessibility standards and empower all learners. Part 1: Unlock the Secrets of Accessible E-Learning View the Unlock the Secrets of Accessible E-Learning recording and presentation Download the Accessible E-Learning Checklist Part 2: How to Write Alt Text for E-Learning View the How to Write Alt Text for E-Learning recording and presentation Read the article summarizing the key points of the Alt Text webinar Part 3: My Course Isn’t Accessible! Now What? View the My Course Isn't Accesible! Now What? recording and presentation Check out our accessibility resourcesHow To Test Your E-Learning Course with a Screen Reader
When you’re building an accessible e-learning course, one requirement is that your content work on screen readers. (If you’re not familiar with screen readers, check out this article before continuing: Accessible E-Learning & Screen Readers: What You Need to Know.) If you’re using Articulate apps to build your course, you’re in luck! Rise 360 and Storyline 360 courses work automatically on a variety of screen readers. However, it’s still a good idea to test each new course you create. It’s always a good idea to test your e-learning courses in the same environment as your learners to ensure they’re getting a good experience. For accessible courses, this includes testing them out with a screen reader. But if you’ve never used this kind of tool before, testing your course with one can be a challenge. After all, unlike your learners, you’re not used to screen readers, so you don’t know what to expect. That’s why we’ve got you covered! In this article, we’ll walk you through what to do, step by step. Here goes. 1. Get Comfortable with Your Screen Reader Before you get started, it’s important to set aside some time to understand the technology and get familiar with the controls so you don’t feel confused and overwhelmed when you go to test your course. To get to know the screen reader your learners are using, follow these steps: Screen readers are software, so you can easily download and install one if it’s not already on your device. If you know which screen reader the majority of your learners use, grab that one. If not, head over to this article for more information on the most popular screen readers. Learn the basic keyboard shortcuts (for computers) or multitouch gestures (for touchscreen devices) for your screen reader. Close your eyes and try “reading” something like a Wikipedia article just to get a feel for the experience. When you’re done, make note of anything that stood out to you. You might notice, for example: How the screen reader often provides context for what it’s reading by saying whether it’s part of the site navigation, a heading, a list, a link, etc. Some screen readers read punctuation out loud (dash, comma, etc.). Some screen readers (like NVDA and JAWS) stop reading after 100 characters. If you’d like it to continue, you can customize this setting or use the down arrow to continue reading. The big takeaway is to spend some time getting to know the screen reader your learners will be using. By testing out your course with the same screen reader your learners use, you’ll have a better feel for how it works and what your learners can expect. 2. Learn How Your Course Is Designed to Work with Screen Readers For the most part, screen readers interact with e-learning course content the same way they do websites. However, depending on the authoring app you use to create your course, there might be some differences. If that’s the case, it’s important that you be aware of them so you know what to expect. If you’re using Articulate apps, check out these articles for more information: 3 Insights About How Rise 360 Courses Work with Screen Readers 4 Things to Know About Storyline 360 Courses and Screen Readers 3. Review Your Course with a Screen Reader Now that you’ve taken the screen reader your learners will be using for a trial run and you’ve read up on how your course content works with screen readers, you’re ready to test-drive your course. First, make sure your screen reader is activated. Then, launch your course. From there, close your eyes and move through the course as a learner would—using the keyboard shortcuts or multitouch gestures. When you open your course, start by quickly going through all the content on the first slide. Screen reader users often move through the entire content of a page (or in this case, a slide) to get a feel for how it’s set up before deciding what to do. Test out this experience and see what it’s like. Then, start over and review the slide slowly, listening to the audio description for each item one by one. Continue moving through your course in this way, ensuring that you’re able to make it through from start to finish without getting stuck. As you go along, ask yourself the questions outlined in this article: A Checklist for QA Testing Courses with a Screen Reader. If you run into technical difficulties, follow these troubleshooting steps: Check your screen reader’s user manual to ensure you’re using the keyboard commands correctly. Review the information provided by your authoring app vendor about how content should behave and determine if what you’re seeing is expected or not. (See the article links in the previous section for Articulate apps.) Reach out to your authoring app vendor. If you created your course using Articulate apps, feel free to reach out to our support team. They’ll be happy to help you figure out what’s going on. 4. Ask a Screen Reader User to Review Your Course Once you’ve reviewed your course with a screen reader and made any necessary adjustments, it’s a good idea to ask someone who’s familiar with screen readers to review your course as well. If there’s no one on the project team who fits the bill, try reaching out to professional accessibility testers. People who are accustomed to consuming content in this way are sure to give you helpful feedback about the experience. Ask them to make note of any areas where they felt lost, the navigation was confusing, or the content was hard to understand. The Bottom Line Using a screen reader to access an e-learning course is a completely different experience than clicking through a course with your mouse and taking it in visually. The only way to ensure that the learning experience is a great one is to test it out for yourself. Looking for more tips on creating and testing your accessible courses? Check out these helpful resources: All About Accessibility 6 Best Practices for Designing Accessible E-Learning Articulate 360 FAQs: Accessibility How to Design an Accessible Course with Rise 360 How to Design an Accessible Course with Storyline 360 Do you have any experience testing your e-learning courses on screen readers? We’d love to hear how it went. Let us know in the comments! Want to try building an accessible e-learning course in Articulate apps, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.The 4 Best Places to Discover What’s New With Articulate 360
If you like getting your hands on new things right away, Articulate 360 might be right up your alley. We release features as soon as they’re ready, so you don’t have to wait for a new version of an app or a once-a-year update of resources. That said, those steady releases come with a challenge—making sure you don’t miss anything. Thankfully, all you need is a few links so you can know when new features launch and get a sneak peek at what’s coming soon! Version History Pages Right after every update, we add information about what’s changed to the version history pages on the Articulate website. These release notes include a wealth of information about exciting new features. They also outline the numerous enhancements and refinements to our apps that make a huge impact on your day-to-day workflow. While there are version history pages for each Articulate 360 app, our authoring apps are what we update the most. So just regularly checking these two pages can make keeping on top of updates simple. Rise 360 Storyline 360 What’s New Page If you want to explore these powerful updates with a little more fanfare, visit our What’s New page. It offers a deeper dive into some of our new or expanded features, as well as videos and screenshots to help you discover the practical ways they can help your work. Articulate 360 Feature Road Map Curious about cool new updates and features on the horizon? Our feature road map page gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the exciting things coming your way. Our Accessibility Journey We want to help you create accessible experiences that are easy for you to build and enjoyable for your learners. That’s why we work out loud and share the progress we’re making on our accessibility journey pages—there’s one for Rise 360 and another for Storyline 360. There, you’ll find the latest accessibility updates to our apps, context on how they impact the learner experience, and guidance on how new or improved features align with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Wrap-Up Staying up to date on what your tools are capable of is one of the best ways to ensure you’re getting the most from them. And whether you’re using the Articulate 360 apps after some time away or a seasoned pro looking for the latest tips and tricks, staying informed about our updates is easier than you might think. By simply checking just a few links, you’ll never miss another valuable new feature again! Don’t have Articulate 360 at the moment but find yourself intrigued by the new features shared here? Start a free 30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.Accessible E-Learning & Screen Readers: What You Need to Know
If you’ve been asked to create an accessible e-learning course, you might’ve come across the term “screen reader” and understood that your course needs to work with them. But what exactly are screen readers? Who uses them? How do they work? And how can you make sure your e-learning courses work with them? In this article, we’ll answer all those questions and more. Ready? Let’s dive in! What’s a screen reader? A screen reader is a software application that turns the visual content displayed on a computer or mobile device—like buttons, text, and imagery—into text-to-speech (TTS) audio or braille (with the help of a refreshable braille display). Many—but not all—modern devices come with built-in screen readers. Here’s a list of some common screen readers: JAWS (Job Access With Speech): JAWS is the industry-standard screen-reading software for Windows computers. This software must be purchased. NVDA (Non-Visual Desktop Access): NVDA is free, open-source screen-reading software for Windows. It was created as an alternative to the paid software. VoiceOver: The screen reader built into Apple devices. TalkBack: A screen reader created by Google that’s installed by default on Android devices. Who uses screen readers? People with visual impairments—like partial sight, low vision, color blindness, legal blindness, and total blindness—are the primary users of screen readers, since these impairments make it difficult or impossible to interact with computers on their own. However, some people with cognitive disabilities also use screen readers to cut out visual distractions and allow them to focus on the content. How do screen readers work? When people use screen readers on a computer, they rely on keyboard shortcuts—not a mouse—to navigate. On touchscreen devices, they use multitouch gestures. As they navigate, the screen reader converts on-screen information into text-to-speech audio or braille. For text-based information, this is pretty straightforward. The screen reader simply reads the text aloud or displays it in braille. But what about images? When screen readers run into an image, they look to see whether there’s any alternative text (alt text)—a description—associated with it. When creating software, websites, or e-learning courses, developers can choose to include alt text for this purpose. If no alt text is present, the screen reader will often read the file name. For example, if the learner comes across your person1.jpeg file, they’ll hear image person one dot j peg. Obviously, that’s not ideal, because it doesn’t provide the user with the same information as a sighted user. To give every learner a great experience, it’s a good idea to write effective alt text for informative images and hide decorative images, so screen readers skip over them. This is easy to do in most authoring apps, including Rise 360 and Storyline 360. Check out the basics of alternative text for some helpful tips to keep in mind. What’s it like to use a screen reader? Although there’s no substitute for the real thing, these short videos will give you a rough idea of what the experience is like: Screen Reader Experience on a Computer Screen Reader Experience on a Smartphone Screen Reader Experience on a Tablet Of course, the best way to understand the screen reader experience is to try it out for yourself. You can download NVDA on your computer for free or simply open the default screen reader on your mobile device and give it a test drive. Once you’ve got the screen reader open, close your eyes. If you’re on your computer, try to navigate using the keyboard shortcuts (e.g., the down and up arrows). If you’re on a mobile device, try using multitouch gestures. You’ll be surprised how different it feels to interact with technology without any visual input. How can you create e-learning courses that work with screen readers? Some authoring apps—like Rise 360 and Storyline 360—allow you to create courses that work with screen readers automatically. But if you want to provide screen reader learners with a top-notch experience, these articles share a few design considerations you’ll want to take into account: How to Design an Accessible Course with Rise 360 How to Design an Accessible Course with Storyline 360 Once you’ve created your accessible course, it’s a good idea to quality-test it with the screen reader that most of your learners will be using. For tips on how to do this, check out these articles: How to Test Your E-Learning Course with a Screen Reader A Checklist for QA Testing Courses with a Screen Reader Learn More Hopefully this article has given you some insight into what screen readers are, who uses them, how they work, and how to create screen reader–compatible courses. For more detailed information about screen reader usage, check out the results of this screen reader user survey. And if you want to learn more about creating accessible e-learning, be sure to dig into these helpful resources: All About Accessibility 6 Best Practices for Designing Accessible E-Learning Articulate 360 FAQs: Accessibility Do you have any experience using screen readers with e-learning courses? We’d love to hear about your experience! Leave a comment below to share. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest e-learning inspiration and insights directly in your inbox. You can also find us on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).Why I’m Prioritizing E-Learning Accessibility—and You Should Too
I’m a big fan of making lists in my day-to-day life—from my grocery list, to my daily to-do list, to my bucket list. So it’s probably no surprise that I’ve got a list of professional goals too. Lately, a top priority on that list is making the e-learning content I create more accessible (learn more here: What Is Accessible E-Learning?). And I’m not alone—companies are prioritizing accessibility by hiring accessibility specialists at a rapidly growing rate. In this article, I’ll share four reasons why I think you should join me in making e-learning accessibility a priority. Alright, let’s dive in! 1. To ensure courses work for all learners. Have you ever gotten stuck on a course slide because it didn’t include obvious navigation controls? Or maybe you needed to review a project with video content, but the file wouldn’t play. It’s frustrating and time-consuming when things don’t work as expected. Unfortunately, those types of experiences are all too common for learners who depend on assistive technology to access e-learning. When course authors don’t consider accessibility, their content often doesn’t work properly for all learners. For example, if they don’t think about keyboard users, learners might not be able to easily or logically move through the content. They might even get stuck and have to exit the course without finishing it. And if authors don’t include a transcript or closed captions, learners with auditory impairments will miss out on information included in the audio or videos. As a course creator, you want the content you design to be fully functional and enjoyable for everyone. So, just like it’s important to ensure that your course contains the right content and has functional navigation, it’s also essential to make sure it’s accessible. 2. To improve the learning experience for everyone. Not only do accessibility features benefit learners with visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor impairments, they also improve the learning experience for everyone. For example, adding closed captions to a video helps learners with auditory impairments, and makes it easier for people in loud or distracting environments to stay focused on your content. This isn’t to say that accessibility wouldn’t be a priority if only a few learners benefited from it—the content we create should work equitably for all—but knowing accessibility makes your course better for all learners certainly drives home how valuable it is. 3. To stay compliant in remote and hybrid work environments. More and more workplaces are permanently embracing hybrid work environments. And the switch to hybrid work often results in training that previously occurred in person shifting to e-learning. As a result, accessibility accommodations need to shift too. In many cases, making sure your e-learning is accessible is a compliance and legal requirement. Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, which could include providing assistive technology or other resources. So, if your organization previously relied on having resources available at the office to aid learners with accessibility needs, it’s time to ensure those same resources are available everywhere. For example, if learners at the office receive a course transcript handout, you’ll need to include the course transcript as a downloadable file for remote workers. That way, no matter where your learners are, they’re supported by content that meets their accessibility needs. 4. To attract and retain employees. Thanks to a booming job market, employees have lots of options to choose from for employment. In order to attract and retain talent, it’s important to be competitive and ensure employees have the resources they want and need. And while we might think of pay, flexible work locations, or benefits as the primary resources job seekers look for, it’s important to note that learning and development opportunities also rank high on the list. As a result, organizations are ramping up training offerings and creating new learning paths for staff. But if those programs don’t plan for accessibility, a portion of employees won’t be able to take advantage of one of their top-valued benefits. And that could encourage them to look for roles elsewhere. In addition, studies show that people want to work for organizations that share their values, such as diversity and inclusion. And many companies are taking notice and making these things a priority. But for an organization to truly be inclusive, it has to provide an equitable experience for all employees. In the world of e-learning, this means focusing on accessibility. So if you’re working at an organization committed to inclusion, make sure your e-learning reflects that! And even if your organization isn’t particularly committed to inclusion, you can set an example by making it a priority in the work you do. What Now? Now that you know why you should make accessibility a priority, you’re probably wondering how. Lucky for you, it’s never been easier to make your e-learning more accessible. There are loads of tools, tips, and tricks out there to help you get started. Here are a few of my favorites: Apps with built-in accessibility features—for example, Rise 360 and Storyline 360. On-demand training webinars—like this one on 5 Things You Need to Know About Accessibility and this one that teaches how to create an accessible drag-and-drop interaction in Storyline 360. Free downloads—such as these accessible color palettes. Online resources—like our All About Accessibility article series. And if you need advice or have a question, try asking the friendly folx in the Building Better Courses forum. We’re all here to learn from and support one another—the most important thing is that you try! I hope you’re feeling excited about putting accessibility at the top of your priority list! Personally, these reasons encourage and inspire me to continue learning and creating better learning experiences for everyone. What’s your reason for prioritizing accessibility? Share your thoughts in a comment below. And to learn even more about accessible e-learning, check out these helpful articles: 6 Easy Ways to Make Your E-Learning More Accessible 5 Ways to Convince Stakeholders to Create Accessible Courses Understanding WCAG: A Quickstart Guide for E-Learning Developers Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest e-learning inspiration and insights directly in your inbox. You can also find us on LinkedIn and X (Formerly Twitter).
