a11y (digital 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

This journal article explores UDL strategies in a higher education learning environment by interviewing faculty members. The findings suggest that it is very important for faculty and instructional designers to cultivate partnerships and standardize UDL implementation across courses. Faculty members also expressed being resistant to UDL strategies because of limited, time, and institutional priorities, and reliance on an accommodations-based model. #accessibilty

June 28, 2025, is when the European Accessibility Act will take effect. This will require countries to check the accessibility of their digital content, ensure it is accessible, and provide a way to report any accessibility issues. This should lead to more accessible digital books that meet WCAG 2.0 or EPUB 3 standards in the European Union. Hopefully, the impact of this act will extend across the world and lead to more accessible digital content. #accessibility

This article highlights how gamification can be used to teach educators about how to incorporate digital accessibility strategies. They used a flipped classroom model, points, badging, and encouraging different winners to support learners as they progressed through the different digital accessibility modules. Most learners expressed increased satisfaction and engagement because of the gamification strategies. Check out the full article for more details. #accessibility

Adrian Roselli provides a lot of helpful tips on this podcast to help people create accessible web content. He highlights accessibility strategies like ensuring an easy-to-read color contrast ratio, using programmatic headings, and alternative text, and how testing with the keyboard is a good first step for web and mobile content. Check out the full interview for more information. #accessibility

This article gathers feedback from 11 VR and digital accessibility experts. It explores how the metaverse needs to develop to be accessible and inclusive. This requires compatibility with assistive technologies, navigating different environments seamlessly, ensuring privacy, and creating VR environments that incorporate universal design principles. #accessibility

This article provides insights from educators about how digital accessibility knowledge and responsibility are shared in higher education. Recommendations include extending digital accessibility training beyond individual champions and leveraging communities of practice to share knowledge. Also, to encourage self-directed learning and interdisciplinary employees to take ownership and promote digital accessibility strategies. #accessibility