Improve the e-learning accessibility of your LMS
Making digital content accessible is an important requirement for many organisations today. Whether it is a web page or a learning management system (LMS), it must be designed in a way that allows people living with disabilities to interact with it.
While most LMS systems are created to support e-learning accessibility, you cannot ignore the accessibility requirements when it comes to the design of your site and your course content. This will ensure that you deliver quality digital learning experiences to all users.
Below we unpack the Web Content Accessibilty Guidelines, as well as provide some tips on how you can make your content more accessible today.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
The World Wide Web Consortium, the international standards organisation for the WWW, created the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as a way to set the standard for content on the internet. These guidelines are widely referenced and an excellent starting point for making your site accessible to all users.
WCAG principles – POUR content:
The WCAG has four key principles that you should keep in mind when designing content. It states that content must be POUR – perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
Perceivable
The first principle is ‘Perceivable’ – information and content must be presented to users in ways that are available through sight, hearing or touch. For example, text must be adaptable to other formats, such as larger fonts or captions for audio files.
For course design, it is critical that the content is easily distinguishable.
One of the most common errors course designers make is in the use of colour. It’s often assumed that a variety of colours on a page make it look interesting and exciting. In reality, however, too many colours make a page distracting and harder to read.
A complex or extensive layout can also confuse some learners.
Ensure your content is designed in a way that doesn’t overwhelm a user – keep colours consistent and simple, and consider breaking your content into bite size chunks.
Operable
The second WCAG principle is that all components and navigation of the user interface must be operable. This has a wide range of implications. The most obvious one is that the content and interface must be compatible with a keyboard, without needing to worry about the timing of keystrokes. This doesn’t mean the mouse can’t be used, only that an alternative to it is available.
Try testing your content yourself by simply disconnecting your mouse. Can you move around the course page as needed?
Content needs to be designed so that it avoids known seizure causing ways, such as flashing more that three times a second, or flashing red.
Free tools, such as the Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool (PEAT) exist to help review your content to identify these risks. Further information can be found at the Trace Research & Development Center.
Understandable
The third WCAG principle is ‘Understandable’. It means that the content must be easy to read and comprehended for users; as well as for assistive technologies such as screen readers.
While both, the LMS solutions that we support, Moodle and Totara, have a WCAG2.1 Level AA accreditation, all content that you add to your LMS must also meet this requirement.
Make sure that your vocabulary is appropriate for your learners. Look at adding a glossary, to provide learners with definitions of new jargon or idioms.
Also, make sure that help access is clearly marked on your course page.
Most importantly, stick to a site design that is functional, logical and proven. Something that is simply pretty, but the user can’t easily access, quickly becomes frustrating.
Robust
The fourth and final WCAG principle is ‘Robust’ – meaning that the content is able to be interpreted across a wide variety of user agents, including: web browsers, media players, mobile devices and plugins.
It is also important to ensure that content is designed in a way that follows standard conventions, so that new assistive technologies will be compatible with them.
Make your content more accessible today
1. Add descriptive text to images in your LMS
Without alternative text (Alt Text), screen reader users cannot see the images and can miss vital content.
Keep Alt Text concise and contextual e.g. “two students are looking at a laptop pointing at the screen”
2. Use proper heading structure
Heading tags – H1, H2, H3 etc., are important to create a logical structure to your content.
3. Colour contrast
While using too many colours on a page is not a good idea, having some contrast is still important. You can use accessibility tools such as Tota11y during the development phase to test your LMS theme early in the process and adjust what’s required.
4. Pay attention to your links and buttons text
“Learn more” is not as helpful from accessibility perspective as “Learn more about such and such course” or “Download X Handbook”. This is one quick fix that can make a real difference from accessibility perspective.
5. LMS Accessibility Tools for Moodle LMS
There are great third party tools available for Moodle users such as ReadSpeaker (text to speech software), and a comprehensive toolkit by Brickfield Education Labs. We recommend that you check those out.
Creating an inclusive LMS isn’t just about compliance, it’s about designing better learning for everyone.
Services to improve LMS accessibility
The Catalyst e-Learning Consulting Team has extensive experience of helping educators and learning and development managers to improve the content and design of their Moodle and Totara LMS platforms to support WCAG Guidelines. Let us help you, get in touch today.
