Digital Accessibility Session (An intro)

Here you’ll find the notes and links from the session…

Components of the Learning Process

  • •Attention
  • •Memory
  • •Language
  • •Processing and organizing
  • •Graphomotor (writing)
  • •Higher order thinking

Fleming’s VAK Model

•Visual

•Auditory

•Kinaesthetic

•Visual – Audio Descriptions, Colour Paper/Filters, Diagrams , Easy Read

•Auditory – Subtitles, Closed Captions, BSL, Language Translations, Volumes,  Music removal

•Kinaesthetic – Handouts, takeaways, demo videos, follow-up 121s

New 2024 UK Laws for Digital Accessibility

As of October 2024, UK public sector websites and mobile applications are required to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at the AA level. This standard ensures that digital content is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. The UK government has updated its accessibility regulations to reflect this requirement, emphasizing the importance of making digital services perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/accessibility-requirements-for-public-sector-websites-and-apps

The Equality Act 2010 obligates all service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled individuals. Ensuring digital content meets WCAG 2.2 AA standards is a recognized method to fulfill this obligation and mitigate potential legal risks.

What does WCAG2.2 mean?

https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/glance

Tools to test your content accessibility…

https://wave.webaim.org

  • •Windows install – NVDA
  • •Windows inbuilt – Narrator – Windows+Cntrl+Enter
  • •Mac – VoiceOver – Command+F5
  • •Android phone – Talkback – Settings>Accessibility>TalkBack
  • •iOS Phone – VoiceOver –
  • •Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver

Try a webpage on a desktop with the following buttons on a keyboard…

  • Tab
  • Up arrow, down arrow, right arrow, left arrow
  • Home, End
  • Spacebar

Posting Accessible Images

  • •Alt Text/Alt Tag
  • •File Name / Title
  • •Descriptions
  • •Captions

https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker – Contrast Checker

https://workspace.google.com/marketplace/app/accessibility_checker_for_docs/452529936240 – Google Docs Plug-in for Accessibility Checker

You can also use the in-built one on the Microsoft 365 suite using Review>Check Accessibility

Here’s an example of an image with all the text options filled in, this is a WordPress wesbite.

This is an Alt text example. Wide shot of lady with pink nails, holding mobile phone with black screen. Her hair is in shot to the left, and we are looking over her shoulder. A grass verge is in the background.
This is a Caption example.