Accessibility: Difference between revisions

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Websites built with '''accessibility''' in mind are flexible in meeting different user needs, preferences and situations. Though these methods can increase [[Development:Usability|usability]] for everyone who uses the web they are often legally required to be implemented in a specific effort to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities.
{{About Moodle}}
Moodle's goal is to be fully accessible and usable for all users regardless of ability.


See the tracker under [http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-7396 Accessibility Compliance in Moodle 1.8] and [http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-7860 Compliance with Italian Legislation on Accessibility] for more information on what we are doing for Moodle 1.8.
This page describes the current state of '''accessibility''' in Moodle as well as our plans for the future.
== Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) ==
Digital accessibility is key to ensuring the Moodle platform is accessible and inclusive for all users. An overview of Moodle's conformance with the [https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/ WCAG 2.1] guidelines can be found in our [[VPAT#Moodle accessibility conformance report|accessibility conformance report]].
== Established practices ==
Moodle core developers spend a lot of time making sure new developments are accessible. Part of the process when building new code in Moodle is to follow established best practices and part of the process for accepting new code into core is to test pages carefully and gather feedback from experts.
== Conformance to standards ==
The Moodle platform is a complex system with many parts. Its code is always evolving. Modules can be enabled and disabled. The interface can be heavily customised using themes and thousands of settings. Actual content can be produced by any teacher or any student. As such it is impossible to say with 100% certainty whether Moodle or any site based on Moodle is absolutely accessible or not. Accessibility is not a state, it is a process of continuous improvement in response to our users and the wider technical environment.
===WCAG 2.1===
When deciding how Moodle should present its content for best Web accessibility, the [https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/ WCAG 2.1] guidelines are followed.
===ATAG 2.0===
As Moodle is a place to construct content (as well as consume content), we also refer to the [http://www.w3.org/TR/ATAG20 ATAG 2.0] guidelines. Moodle has as standard a powerful rich-text editor ([[TinyMCE editor]]) to allow users to create formatted content within a user-friendly interface.


===ARIA 1.1===
As many parts of the Moodle user interface are dynamic and interactive, we follow the [http://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria ARIA] recommendations to inform assistive technologies, such as screen-readers.
=== Section 508 (US) ===
As Moodle is used by US Government agencies, the [https://www.section508.gov/section508-laws US Section 508 amendment] can be relevant to Moodle.
=== European Accessibility Act ===
As Moodle is used by government agencies and universities in the European Union, the [https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1202 European Accessibility Act] is also relevant.
== Discussions ==
One of the main places accessibility work is being carried out is on the Moodle Accessibility Collaboration Group mailing list, see http://collaborate.athenpro.org/group/moodle/.


== Starting points ==
There are also many discussion on [https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-61129?jql=text%20~%20%22accessibility%22 issues in the Moodle Tracker].
 
== Known bugs and issues ==
These are some readable introductions to accessibility that cover; what accessibility is, why it is important, as well as practical advice.
This is [https://tracker.moodle.org/issues/?jql=component%20%3D%20Accessibility%20AND%20project%20%3D%20MDL%20AND%20resolution%20%3D%20Unresolved%20ORDER%20BY%20priority%20DESC the main list of accessibility issues], organised by priority. This list is always changing.
* [http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/accessibility.php Web Accessibility Initiative's ''Introduction to Web Accessibility'']
* [http://diveintoaccessibility.org/ Mark Pilgrim's ''Dive into Accessibility'']
* [http://joeclark.org/book/ Joe Clark's ''Building Accessible Websites'' book]
 
== Standards, guidelines and legislation ==
 
* [http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld200001/ldbills/003/2001003.htm SENDA - Special Educational Needs and Disability Act/Bill]
* [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/1995050.htm Disability Discrimination Act 1995]
* [http://www.section508.gov/ Section 508]
* [http://www.w3.org/WAI/ Web Accessibility Initiative]
** [http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)]
** [http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag20 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (draft)]
*** [http://www.alistapart.com/articles/tohellwithwcag2 an article on the problems with WCAG2]
 
== Tools ==
 
* [[Web developer extension]] for [[Firefox]]
* [[Accessibility extension]] for Firefox
* [[W3C validation]] (for [[HTML in Moodle]], [[CSS]] and [[RSS]])
* [http://wave.webaim.org/ Web accessibility evaluation tool]
* [http://cynthiasays.com/ Cynthia Says accessibility checker]
* [http://www.standards-schmandards.com/projects/fangs/ Fangs – the screen reader emulator] for Firefox
* [http://www.nvda-project.org/ NVDA NonVisual Desktop Access] - open source screen reader for Windows
 
see also this [http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tools/complete long list of accessibility tools].
 
== Resources ==
 
* [http://webstandards.org/action/atf/manifesto/ Web Standards.org's ''Accessibility Task Force Manifesto'']
* [http://alistapart.com/topics/userscience/accessibility/ Accessibility articles from ''A List Apart'']
* [http://diveintomark.org/archives/2003/08/29/semantics Mark Pilgrim's ''Won’t somebody please think of the gerbils?'']
: [http://diveintoaccessibility.org/ Dive Into Accessibility] by Mark Pilgrim
* [http://joeclark.org/access/webaccess/ Joe Clark's writings on accessibility]
: [http://joeclark.org/book/ Building Accessible Websites] by Joe Clark (online version)
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_accessibility Wikipedia article on ''Web Accessibility'']
* [http://juicystudio.com/article/validity-accessibility.php ''Validity and Accessibility'']
* [http://www.edtec.unsw.edu.au/inter/support/accessibility/access_vids.cfm Videos showing as student accessing another Learning Management System via Screen Reader software]
 
== See also ==
== See also ==
* [[VPAT#Moodle accessibility conformance report|Moodle accessibility conformance report]] (VPAT)
* [https://moodle.com/news/moodle-wcag-2-1-aa-accessibility-compliance/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organicsocial&utm_campaign=name~MoodleAccessibility+cat~lms+mp~no+type~pressrelease+date~44185 The Moodle LMS achieves WCAG 2.1 AA Accessibility compliance] - note (December 2020)
* [[:dev:Accessibility|Accessibility in the dev docs]]
* [[Accessible course design]]
* The [https://moodle.org/plugins/block_accessibility Accessibility block] is a Moodle additional plugin that provides options for changing text size and colour scheme. Settings can be saved to persist between sessions. Also integrates ATbar from Southampton University ECS
* Other [https://moodle.org/plugins/index.php?q=accessibility accessibility related additional plugins] for Moodle
* [http://www.callscotland.org.uk/information/text-to-speech/orato/ Orato] is a free text reader which can be installed on your PC or run from a USB Pen Drive for portable use.
* [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=367206 Question types and WCAG 2.0 compliance] - Another way to look at it is that the Open University, UK, has more disabled students than all other UK universities combined, and we use a lot of Moodle quizzes, and only occasionally do we hear that a student had a problem with the mechanics of answering the quiz.
* [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=392676 Customizing Moodle for Visually Impaired Students]
* [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=400533 Easy-to-use free screen reader for accessibility testing]


* [[Moodle Accessibility Specification]]
[[es:Accesibilidad]]
* [[Semantic HTML]]
[[de:Barrierefreiheit]]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?f=820 Accessibility forum on Moodle.org]
[[it:Accessibilità]]
* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=85119 New Accessibility Themes] forum discussion
* [http://www.easy.pro.br/ EASY: Interface Between The Virtual Environment Moodle Learning and People with Visual Impairments]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2008/03/homepage_accessibilty.html BBC blog post on how their Web 2.0 homepage was made accessible]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/ BBC Accessibility Help]
 
 
[[Category:Accessibility]]

Latest revision as of 21:28, 30 January 2024

Moodle's goal is to be fully accessible and usable for all users regardless of ability.

This page describes the current state of accessibility in Moodle as well as our plans for the future.

Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)

Digital accessibility is key to ensuring the Moodle platform is accessible and inclusive for all users. An overview of Moodle's conformance with the WCAG 2.1 guidelines can be found in our accessibility conformance report.

Established practices

Moodle core developers spend a lot of time making sure new developments are accessible. Part of the process when building new code in Moodle is to follow established best practices and part of the process for accepting new code into core is to test pages carefully and gather feedback from experts.

Conformance to standards

The Moodle platform is a complex system with many parts. Its code is always evolving. Modules can be enabled and disabled. The interface can be heavily customised using themes and thousands of settings. Actual content can be produced by any teacher or any student. As such it is impossible to say with 100% certainty whether Moodle or any site based on Moodle is absolutely accessible or not. Accessibility is not a state, it is a process of continuous improvement in response to our users and the wider technical environment.

WCAG 2.1

When deciding how Moodle should present its content for best Web accessibility, the WCAG 2.1 guidelines are followed.

ATAG 2.0

As Moodle is a place to construct content (as well as consume content), we also refer to the ATAG 2.0 guidelines. Moodle has as standard a powerful rich-text editor (TinyMCE editor) to allow users to create formatted content within a user-friendly interface.

ARIA 1.1

As many parts of the Moodle user interface are dynamic and interactive, we follow the ARIA recommendations to inform assistive technologies, such as screen-readers.

Section 508 (US)

As Moodle is used by US Government agencies, the US Section 508 amendment can be relevant to Moodle.

European Accessibility Act

As Moodle is used by government agencies and universities in the European Union, the European Accessibility Act is also relevant.

Discussions

One of the main places accessibility work is being carried out is on the Moodle Accessibility Collaboration Group mailing list, see http://collaborate.athenpro.org/group/moodle/.

There are also many discussion on issues in the Moodle Tracker.

Known bugs and issues

This is the main list of accessibility issues, organised by priority. This list is always changing.

See also