TOPIC:

Hi Xerte Community
With accessibility in mind, will customisation with the code for ‘Print’, ‘Try Again’, ‘Restart’ or Variables with code for names added to Variables to allow personalisation in a page, for example, affect accessibility?
Xerte ticks the accessibility boxes but I just wonder about using the specific code I have mentioned and ensuring accessibility.
I am assuming it will be OK, but if you can advise I will really appreciate this.
Thanks in advance for your advise.
Anne

Hi Anne
all too frequently people generalise about accessibility without being specific or going into enough detail. Generally what you create with Xerte has a high degree of accessibility but when it comes to more specific accessibility needs whether it be native Xerte or custom code you still need to be aware that needs and therefore best solutions will vary. Generally I don't think the customisations that I think you are referring to will add any additional barriers. However if any of the customisations are critical to the learning content then you might want to provide specific examples for us to comment further.
HTH
Ron

Hi Ron,
Thanks for the quick reply. It is appreciated.
Yes you are correct, I wasn't specific enough.

Question to all Xerte Community...
I was focusing on accessible to people with disabilities.
With Xerte, users can use the keys on the keyboard to manoeuvre the screen. With the customisation to 'Variables' with text input for name for example, can you let me know the keys a user would press on the keyboard to navigate the screen and enter their text (without the use of a mouse) and with the 'Print', 'Re-try' and 'Restart' buttons on the screen, which key on the keyboard would enable the user with disabilities to perform these actions? Is there a document which explains which key to use for actions to navigate a Xerte without a mouse?

Thanks in advance for your advice and help.
Anne

Hi Anne

There's no document specifically about which keys users should use to navigate in Xerte without using a mouse. By default (on any web page) users can access any form fields using the tab key and this would be the same for any input fields you add to a Xerte page. In fact in Xerte most items are reached using tab and then selected with return or space. For drag & drop activities, labels can be tabbed to, selected by pressing space bar, then tab to the hotspots & dropped with space again.

For screen readers it's good practice to mark up the label that goes with any input fields properly like this (with the for attribute matching the id):
There's some other good advice here: webaim.org/techniques/forms/controls

Using variables to label things is fine as the variable markup is replaced with the string that you see on screen & it's this that the screen reader will pick up on.

Hope this helps

Hi Fay,
Thank you for the information which is very helpful. I appreciate this.
Anne