Learning environments are hugely popular right now. However, you see that these are not always accessible to everyone. Videos without subtitles, only 1 form of content, unclear navigation…. you name it.
Even websites still lack quite a few standard features to make them accessible to everyone, that is, regardless of their background, education level and physical and mental health. We would rather not exclude anyone but (unconsciously) still do so on a website, learning environment or app. That’s a shame!
A while back, there was an interesting discussion on Facebook about the accessibility of a website or app. I got talking to Kimberley, who is an e-learning accessibility consultant for companies and educational institutions in Canada, where she also resides.
Kimberley and I regularly work together for a particular client, so because of this, I sometimes get tips on how to make their website and learning environment more accessible. Today I let her speak and she tells all about website accessibility and what you should consider then.
Hi Kimberley!!! Can you tell something about who you are and what exactly you do?
I am Kimberley, an e-learning and accessibility consultant for companies and educational institutions who find it important that their work environments, (online) learning environments and websites are fully accessible and inclusive for everyone according to accessibility guidelines and laws.
I have lived in Canada since 2013 and in addition to my consulting work, I work part time for MacEwan University as a “Learning Specialist” in Services to Students with Disabilities.
For it is my great passion to make education accessible to everyone, regardless of background, level of education and physical and mental health. This leads to togetherness and equality: two great pillars in my work. I do this through applying technology, empathy, making adjustments and having in-depth conversations. What do people want to learn and what do people run into? How can I help remove these obstacles?
What exactly do you mean by accessibility of a website or app?
There are all kinds of technical definitions, of course, but in my experience, accessibility has a lot to do with inclusive design. By that I mean that all information found on a website (in any form, text, images, videos, podcasts) is accessible to everyone. So that means that all text can also be read by a screen reader or magnified, videos are always subtitled, images contain alt text and a transcript is available for podcasts – just to name a few.
We often say that the Internet is accessible to everyone, but in practice this is disappointing. Even when a company is based in America or Canada and has to comply with regulations, you still see that few websites are so accessible to people with disabilities. How does this come about?
Unfortunately, there is still too little thought given to accessibility. In larger companies (where it is more likely that they have or will employ someone with a disability), in government agencies and in educational institutions, things tend to be fine. But smaller companies and entrepreneurs in particular still pay too little attention to the accessibility of their website or online learning environment. Often because knowledge and experience in this is lacking. In doing so, these companies and entrepreneurs are neglecting a very interesting target audience.
By accessibility, we quickly think of people who are visually impaired, but it’s more than that. When we talk about accessibility for all, what exactly do you mean by that?
Actually, it is not so much about limitations, but more about obstacles that people experience. For example, there are all sorts of reasons why a font should not be too small. People who are visually impaired cannot read it, but it also becomes difficult for people who have difficulty concentrating (for whatever reason, but consider diagnoses such as anxiety disorders and ADHD) or who simply need reading glasses. Subtitling a video is necessary not only if you cannot hear, but also if the spoken language in the video is not your native language, or if you want to watch the video in a quiet room.
I’m curious about how testing websites and learning environments is done in college, though. Can you tell something about that?
I really find that the users themselves are my best source of information. Students access their learning materials and online learning environments in many different ways and encounter a variety of obstacles. I identify these obstacles and then we find a solution. Examples of obstacles include: videos are not subtitled, websites are accessible to screen readers, or only one format is used (such as text) while students would much rather listen to the material (or have no other way).
Surely low contrast between colors and small fonts are the 2 most common mistakes. Do you have more examples of what often goes wrong?
Other examples include: videos without subtitles, illustrations without descriptions (alt text), pieces of text that are inaccessible to screen readers, no clear structure in the website making it difficult or even impossible to navigate. Even very simple things are sometimes missing, such as clearly indicating a menu button with “menu,” for example.
In the Netherlands, only the government (national, provincial, municipal and water boards and institutions in the (semi-) public sector) is obliged to comply with the guidelines. In doing so, we as online entrepreneurs exclude a whole group of people even though they may not belong to our target audience. What do you think about that?
First, it is non-inclusive and (unconsciously) discriminatory. Second, entrepreneurs are leaving out a very valuable audience that could possibly add a lot of revenue for their business.
What does it gain you as an online entrepreneur if you make the website accessible to everyone?
You show that you care about inclusiveness. In addition, this way you give all possible customers a chance to learn about your product or service. This naturally leads to more customers and more profits!
Now we cannot always have a group of people navigating our website, is there any way we can still test if our website and app is accessible to everyone?
I work with all kinds of people who can test from their own experience, which is often the most reliable anyway. There is also a lot of technology available (both built-in and external) that can be used to perform these tests. What is the appropriate approach to determining the level of accessibility depends very much on the target audience and the purpose of the app and/or website.
Supplement Naomi: Want to do a quick scan of your website to see how accessible it is? Then use the WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool to analyze your Web site. With this, you can get a good start.
Is there 1 tip you would like to give to people what they can change today?
Awareness is the first step! 😉
Want to set up your own online training, but not sure how? Or do you already have an existing training or website and want to know if it meets all accessibility guidelines? If so, please contact Kimberley.
Thank you Kimberley for sharing your knowledge. I definitely try to take into account the accessibility of a website, but this is mainly about using screen readers, delivering content in different forms (text, video and audio) and actually also from an SEO point of view… Very nice that you gave me new insights. I’m going to work on it!
Where can we follow you for more tips & advice regarding accessibility of a website or app?
