a11y (digital accessibility)

If you're looking to gather a wide range of accessibility news articles check out Deque's monthly Accessibility Reads newsletter. #accessibility

This research article explores common digital accessibility barriers relating to PDF files and Moodle course pages. Some of the common accessibility errors include a lack of alternative text on meaningful images, hard-to-read text, and redundant non-descriptive links. Please check out the full article for more information. #accessibility

I found this alternative text advice to be very helpful and to cover a wide range of use cases. #accessibility

This article highlights some of the accessibility issues related to read-only controls and why they should be avoided in most circumstances. #accessibility

This article from last year highlights how hCaptcha intentionally makes their product inaccessible and only provides a special cookie to bypass their test for people who are blind. hCaptcha customer service made some faulty assumptions and temporarily banned a blind individual from accessing their bypass cookie. Software and web applications should embrace universal design that includes all users rather than providing accommodations for people with specific disabilities. #accessibility

This article highlights why form fields should always be enabled. Authors should consider accessibility and the user experience before disabling a button too. A decision tree and a variety of examples are provided. #accessibility

This website provides LMS and webpage design strategies that foster inclusion for people who are neurodiverse. The suggested strategies include making only the necessary items visible, limiting animation, and structuring numbers that match their real-world use. These types of strategies foster universal design and can make content more accessible to everyone. #accessibility

Mu-An Chiou talks about trying to improve accessibility, without support or resources, at GitHub prior to its purchase by Microsoft.

Mu-An writes:

Eventually, I found that there are tons of accessibility issues that are just stale, and a lot of them were just like: this icon button isn’t labeled. I looked at them and thought oh that’s easy. I will fix it.

At one point I added so many aria-labels that AT users got mad that they’re getting misused.

Yes that was me. I am very sorry. I had no idea what I was doing. But then I learned the error of my ways and tried to be better.

The W3C has a helpful decision that can help content authors determine if the image is meaningful or decorative. It also highlights what details to include in the alt text. #accessibility

This journal article explores creating an AI algorithm for dyslexic Italian university students. The algorithm was trained to provide strategies based on the challenges students were facing. It was found to have around a 90% success rate at providing useful strategies. Example strategies are highlighted in Table 2, including audiobooks and recording the lecture. This could be a convenient way of helping students explore relevant learning strategies. #accessibility

This is a podcast episode with Steve Sawczyn who is the Director of web and mobile digital accessibility at HealthPartners. Steve is also blind and shares personal examples that highlight the importance of accessibility in healthcare. For example, Steve had to troubleshoot an inaccessible billing form when he was trying to care for his daughter. This makes the work he does personal to him. Please check out the episode to learn more. #accessibility

This article from Mozilla provides a lot of helpful web accessibility information. #accessibility

This article highlights how incorporating scrollbars that are not stylized and using consistent headings can make it easy for users to estimate how long an article will take to read. This can benefit a wide range of individuals including people who are neurodiverse. I know as a student the first thing I do when assigned an article is to scroll through it and estimate how long it will take me to read. #accessibility

Check out this article exploring two different kinds of focusable UI elements. The article explores elements that can be focused sequentially and those that can only receive focus programmatically. An example is also provided. #accessibility

This journal article explores applying Universal Design For Learning principles to the K-12 classroom. It focuses on practical digital accessibility strategies teachers can take like using an accessibility checker and implementing heading levels. In addition, self-monitoring strategies like providing a checklist, rubric, and a schedule with due dates are highlighted. Check out the full article for more information. #accessibility

This article explores the barriers blind students encounter when accessing learning content online. Some of their findings include images lacking alternative text, math content presented as images, inaccessible tables, and buttons without labels. The article also highlights accessibility barriers present in video games too. Please check out the full article for more information. #accessibility

This WebAIM article highlights why accessible reflow is important when content is magnified. It is very difficult to read content if it is consistently cut off and requires additional side-scrolling. Responsive reflow helps ensure content is not cut off when it is magnified. Please check out the full article for more information. #accessibility

Lainey Feingold’s article highlights how project 2025 will negatively impact people with disabilities and can set back the disability rights movement. Please check out her post for all the details. #accessibility

This article highlights the importance of using plain language to convey digital accessibility strategies. It also provides a link to different resources including a manual accessibility testing checklist for documents. #accessibility

This journal article explores the barriers related to virtual and hybrid events. It also provides accessibility guidance such as being proactive and understanding the needs of the attendees and presenters. Specific digital accessibility strategies are highlighted like ensuring the hosting platform is accessible, providing captions/transcription, and ensuring presentation files are provided in an accessible format. #accessibility

Has anyone tried Grackle Go? It is a new online PDF accessibility checker that I believe is free. I plan to explore it more next week. I wonder how it compares to PAC and Adobe. #accessibility

Just noting that the WCAG domain is owned by eSSENTIAL and not the W3C. This W3C article provides guidance on important accessibility items for content authors like page titles, alternative text, heading structure, and descriptive links. #accessibility