# data[].attributes.headline
Accessibility Considerations in Padlet (Univ Lincoln)

# data[].attributes.subject
Accessibility Considerations in Padlet (Univ Lincoln)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Accessibility Considerations in Padlet (November 2020)

This helpsheet will detail some of the considerations that need to be made when using Padlet in your teaching and learning, due to its currently limited provision of features for users with additional accessibility needs.

Whilst Padlet is a great tool for collaborative working, teaching and learning, Padlet's development team acknowledge that accessibility is an area that they are behind on, and are currently working towards improving the features available to those with accessibility needs. Padlet is being tested and redeveloped to meet its target of achieving the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 level AA compliance.

There are a range of considerations to make when using Padlet. Firstly, zooming in the Padlet site beyond the 100% level will restrict the ability to easily view and consume content, users would be heavily reliant on the ability to use the X and Y scroll bars in the browser application. Additionally, there are limited options for changing the colours, font or text size of this site other than predominantly for decorative purposes. Also, the site has not been widely tested for navigation by speech recognition.

Screen Readers

Padlet is described as being 'basically compatible' with screen reader software, for example Apple VoiceOver, however due to the styles and layouts used in Padlet, and the range of content types, a screen reader may find it difficult to read and present information in a logical and descriptive way.

Types of Internet Browser

Padlet requires JavaScript and CSS to run effectively. You can access https://uol.padlet.org/ from the following web and mobile browsers: Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, Mobile Safari, Mobile Chrome on Android Jelly Bean. You should ensure that you have the latest version installed, as outdated versions of these browsers may not support Padlet correctly.

Keyboard Only Navigation

At present a user can navigate the login page and the dashboard of Padlet using only a keyboard. Padlets can also be viewed in this way, however settings cannot be changed easily without using a mouse as an input device. Keyboard compatibility updates for settings, post creation, post editing, and post expansion are all being worked on at present.

Adapting Colour Contrast

It is not possible to adjust the contrast levels of the user interface within Padlet to suit those with visual impairments. A recommended workaround from the Padlet team at this time is to download a web extension such as 'High Contrast' from the Chrome Web Store, which allows you to change or invert the colour scheme to make web pages easier to read.

Adding Comments to Images - Whilst there is no explicit way to add Alternative Text to images, videos and other multimedia content, users of Padlet can add comments to these types of content. Students should be encouraged to add additional descriptive comments for any image that is not purely decorative.

Captioning Videos - Audio recordings will not have automatic transcripts available, and videos will not feature captions unless implemented prior to being uploaded to the collaborative tool. You might decide to make a text document featuring the transcript available to students through Padlet or ensure that you have edited captions in a video editing software. Panopto could be of use here to automatically generate and subsequently download the captions for you to correct and amend.

As the Padlet Tool is currently being used as part of a one-year Pilot Scheme within the University of Lincoln, it will be incredibly beneficial to understand how users are engaging with the tool, and the accessibility issues that they encounter during genuine and natural use, as opposed to testing.

Contact the Digital Education Team by email with the subject heading Padlet Accessibility and we will explore the issue with you - digitaleducation@lincoln.ac.uk.

It is also requested that accessibility concerns are raised to the Padlet team in order to help with their development of the platform. You can get in touch by email with the subject line Accessibility at the email address hello@padlet.com.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
< See all Padlet: Guides for Staff
< See all Padlet: Guides for Students

Padlet is not fully accessible, they are currently in the process of testing Padlet for WCAG 2.1 level AA compliance.
What needs to be improved

The login page and dashboard can be navigated with a keyboard however, posts cannot be created or edited using the keyboard only.

Colour contrast cannot be set within Padlet, A browser extension, such as High Contrast for Chrome can be installed to increase contrast.

Alternative descriptions for images, links and videos are not currently supported.

How to make content accessible

In the meantime, to ensure your Padlet boards are as accessible to the widest number of students and staff as possible. The University of Leeds Disability Services recommend that users follow these guidelines:

Padlet templates
Creators of Padlets can choose from 7 templates. Please select Stream. This will help users to orientate themselves on the screen that they are using and in particular those who use assistive technologies.

Use of images and videos
Currently, Padlet lacks the ability to add alternative text to any images that are posted on it. This is problematic for users that use assistive technology such as screen readers. To enable all users to access the images please provide alternative text in the description box whenever an image or video link appears. You could also attach video transcripts as an attachment.

Padlet creators are asked to advise contributors to do the same.

Use of links to web resources
As with all learning materials, staff must ensure that any resource that is the linked on a Padlet can be accessed using assistive technology. If this is not possible then offer an alternative means of presenting the information.

Padlet creators are asked to advise contributors to do the same.

Mitigations
If you need to set your Padlet up in a certain way for your learning and teaching activity, where possible, mitigations should be made to allow all everyone to take part. You could put participants into small groups where only one person adds content to the Padlet on the groups behalf.

< See all Padlet: Guides for Staff
< See all Padlet: Guides for Students

Related Guides

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
See all Padlet: Guides for Staff < See all Padlet: Guides for Students Padlet is not fully accessible, they are currently in the process of testing Padlet for WCAG 2.1 level AA compliance. What needs to be improved The login page and dashboard can be navigated with a keyboard however, posts cannot be created or edited using the keyboard only.

# data[].attributes.headline
5 Common Accessibility Issues on Wordpress Websites

# data[].attributes.subject
5 Common Accessibility Issues on Wordpress Websites

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Common Accessibility Issues on Wordpress Websites

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Building a website on WordPress? Make sure you avoid common web accessibility mistakes. Here’s a quick overview to help you get started.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Freedom Scientific - High-quality video magnifiers, braille displays, screen magnification software, and #1 screen reader, JAWS.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Freedom Scientific provides software solutions for blind and low vision needs. Whether you are looking for a screen reader, like our world renown JAWS software or a magnification software such as ZoomText, we have a variety of solutions to meet your specific needs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In this Make WordPress Accessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both "direct access" (i.e. unassisted) and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with a person's assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) Handbook you will learn what the best practices are for web accessibility, the many great accessibility tools, the testing we do to improve WordPress, themes, and plugins, and how to get involved in WordPress accessibility.

The Accessibility Team works to make WordPress accessible to as many people as possible. This means making sure people are not just able to read web pages but also to maintain websites.

You are a part of this mission. You benefit from this mission. So in the spirit of one of the largest open-source communities in the world, let's work on universal accessibility.

The Make WordPress Accessible Team needs your time and talent. Writers, documentarians, marketers, developers, copy editors, testers: anyone can help.

Join us. You'll learn how to make WordPress, the right way.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this Make WordPress Accessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both "direct access" (i.e. unassisted) and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with a person's assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Did you know that there are Flickr groups for blind photographers?. It's true! We have many members of the Flickr community who are blind, and we're proud to provide a product that can be enjoyed by our community regardless of their physical abilities.

As part of our efforts to make the Flickr experience even better for the community, we are excited to announce that today you can access most Flickr content by keyboard navigation and by using a screen reader.

Just using numbers from the United States, in 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that over 8 million people in the U.S. had difficulty seeing, and 2 million of those were blind or unable to see. Additionally, over 19 million people had difficulty lifting and grasping, which could prevent them from using a mouse.

Here's an overview of some of the Flickr features that are now optimized for accessibility.

Navigation Bars

We've optimized the top navigation and sub-navigation bars to facilitate accessibility on Flickr. Details of these improvements include:

The main navigation bar at the top of every page and the secondary navigation bar that appears on some pages (e.g. Explore, Camera Roll, Photostream, etc.)

Navigate through top menu items and within dropdowns by tabbing back (tab + shift) and forward (tab), or by using the up and down arrows

Expand/collapse dropdowns by pressing enter

Collapse expanded dropdowns by pressing escape

Screen reader (VoiceOver on Mac)

Jump to the main or secondary navigation bar by turning on Quick Nav by Landmarks, navigating using the up and down arrows, and selecting Main Navigation or Secondary Navigation

Alternatively, press Control-Option + U to bring up the list of Landmarks and select the landmark you wish to access

Search Tools

Navigate through search filters by tabbing back and forth (tab + shift, tab).

Apply filters and expand dropdowns by pressing enter.

Screen reader (VoiceOver on Mac):

Search tools are now screen reader friendly. Options in the color picker and the style picker come with descriptions.

Photo Page

The photo page is now more keyboard friendly.

Navigate through photo details by tabbing back and forth (tab + shift, tab)

On your own photo page, edit photo details by pressing enter on the edit icon

Photo Lists

All pages that display a list of photos are accessible. These include your Photostream, Search, Explore, Trending, etc.

Navigate through photos by tabbing back and forth (tab + shift, tab)

Navigate to the photo page by pressing enter on a photo

Fave a photo by pressing enter on the fave icon

Screen reader (VoiceOver on Mac)

Photos are defined as heading elements

Jump between photos by turning on Quick Nav by Headings, navigating using the up and down arrows, and selecting the photo you wish to access

Alternatively, press Control-Option + U to bring up the list of Headings and select the photo you wish to access

Camera Roll

For navigating through items in the toolbar, use the same method of navigation as the navigation bars

Select a thumbnail by pressing enter. The focus will then shift to the tray and you can exit out of the tray by pressing tab + shift

Zoom into a thumbnail by pressing enter on the zoom icon within each thumbnail

Screen reader (VoiceOver on Mac)

The categories that your thumbnails are sorted by are defined as heading elements. If you are sorting by date taken/uploaded, the dates are headings. If you are sorting by Magic View, the categories/autotags are headings.

Jump between thumbnails by turning on Quick Nav by Headings, navigating using the up and down arrows, and selecting the thumbnail you wish to access.

Alternatively, press Control-Option + U to bring up the list of Headings and select the date/category you wish to access.

Share Your Thoughts

Let us know your thoughts on the Help Forum! We're especially looking to hearing from you if you regularly use keyboard navigation or a screen reader. :)

Thanks,
Yerusha Nuh
Flickr Engineering

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Did you know that there are Flickr groups for blind photographers?. It's true! We have many members of the Flickr community who are blind, and we're proud to provide a product that can be enjoyed by our community regardless of their physical abilities.

# data[].attributes.headline
Twitter’s web redesign isn’t as accessible as it should be, experts say (CNET)

# data[].attributes.subject
Twitter’s web redesign isn’t as accessible as it should be, experts say (CNET)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Twitter’s web redesign isn’t as accessible as it should be, experts say – TechCrunch

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
After teasing its new font in January, Twitter made some major changes to its website and app design this week. But while Twitter framed these updates as making the platform “more accessible,” some accessibility experts say that these changes missed the mark. Most noticeably, tweets now appear in “…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Here at Twitter, our mission is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without barriers, including people with disabilities/Disabled people. We have a dedicated group of cross-functional inclusive designers and engineers, with and without lived experience of disability, focused on providing the best experience regardless of device, platform, or disability by incorporating established guidelines and best practices.

While we know that our work never stops, here are just some of the ways we have worked toward improving the accessibility of Twitter for various disabilities.

Screen reader and refreshable braille display support

Font size and high contrast settings

Dark mode support, with themes for dim or lights out

Keyboard shortcuts

Switch device, Voice Control (iOS), and Voice Access (Android) support

Custom Magic Tap shortcuts (iOS)

In order to get the best accessible experience, we recommend that you use the most current versions of relevant software:

Latest operating system version

Latest assistive technology version

Latest version of Twitter on iOS or Android

Latest browser version

In addition to our internal Accessibility Experience Team, we rely on the support of external accessibility consulting companies to augment and validate our efforts, including testing with disabled people, to ensure we are always up to date with the latest in accessibility guidelines, laws, and practices.

Community created content

One of the best parts of Twitter is being able to create and share content, especially media like images and videos. While not all content creators are willing or able to provide content in an inclusive way, we are continuously working to encourage content creators to share accessible content by educating and providing tools to simplify adding meaningful text alternatives and descriptions.

We know accessibility is an on-going process and there will always be work to do, but if you need support or would like to provide feedback you can reach us on Twitter @TwitterA11y. We take all your feedback and suggestions seriously, honestly, and with care.

By using Twitter's services you agree to our Cookies Use. We use cookies for purposes including analytics, personalisation, and ads.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here at Twitter, our mission is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without barriers, including people with disabilities/Disabled people. We have a dedicated group of cross-functional inclusive designers and engineers, with and without lived experience of disability, focused on providing the best experience regardless of device, platform, or disability by incorporating established guidelines and best practices.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Twitter is the haiku of social networks. Unlike a Facebook post, which can be as long as it needs to be, Twitter messages, known as tweets, have a 140 character limit. Users must condense their thoughts into a compact posting. So why would you want to constrain your thoughts and use Twitter? On Twitter you can Follow any number of interesting people and organizations. On Facebook, you need to Friend other users in order to follow their posts. On Twitter you can follow anyone, and, unless you protect your account, anyone can follow you and benefit from the wit and wisdom of your pithy and informative Tweets.

When you set up a Twitter account, you are presented with a list of suggested people you might wish to follow. Do you have a favorite comedian? He or she is likely using Twitter, and if you Follow him or her you may be rewarded with an occasional one-liner or rye observation. Are you a news junkie? Follow @CNN and keep up with headlines as they break, often long before you will hear about the same stories on air.

Other Twitter Features

Besides posting tweets and reading the tweets of others, you can also:

Reply to a tweet, or retweet a post so people who follow you can enjoy it.

Tweet a link to a webpage or video you enjoyed, or open a link someone else has tweeted.

Direct a public message to another user by adding the "@" character before his or her Twitter handle. For example, if you follow the Facebook Accessibility Team at @fbaccess, they will see the tweet "@fbaccess Excellent job on that new accessibility feature."

If you are following someone and they are following you, you can send direct, private messages back and forth that do not display to others.

Accessing Twitter

These days many people use their smartphones to access their Twitter feeds. Both the iOS and Android Twitter apps are quite accessible using VoiceOver or TalkBack respectively. Many Windows PC users enjoy the extra screen reader accessibility features provided by the third-party Chicken Nugget Twitter app, which interfaces directly with the Twitter feed. Night Owl is a popular third-party option for Mac VoiceOver users.

Recently, Twitter has been tightening their restrictions, and the future of these and other third-party solutions is a bit murky. Consequently, you may wish to begin your Twitter experience using one of the official Twitter mobile apps, or at the website.

Twitter Shortcut Keys

Like Facebook, the Twitter website uses a number of shortcut keys to help you access its various features. Below is a list of these shortcuts, but don't worry about trying to memorize them. If you access Twitter with a screen reader, the site will offer you the opportunity to review them.

Many of these shortcut keys may conflict with your screen reader's quick navigation commands. Consequently, you will need to use your screen reader's pass-through command, or turn off enhanced browser navigation (Forms Mode in JAWS, Focus Mode in NVDA, and Browser Mode in Window-Eyes).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Twitter is the haiku of social networks. Unlike a Facebook post, which can be as long as it needs to be, Twitter messages, known as tweets, have a 140 character limit. Users must condense their thoughts into a compact posting. So why would you want to constrain your thoughts and use Twitter?

# data[].attributes.headline
AW Asks the Experts: YouTube Accessibility

# data[].attributes.subject
AW Asks the Experts: YouTube Accessibility

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Bill Holton

AccessWorld authors strive to stay current and keep our accessibility skills sharp, but we don't know everything. That's why we're launching the "AW Asks the Experts" series, where we go to those in the know to get you, our readers, the inside track on accessibility and tech. Though we can't offer tech support to individuals, we do welcome your general accessibility questions for, and feedback on, this series.

This article was prompted by a reader question that can be paraphrased as: "What's up with YouTube? Why is the website so complicated and difficult to use with a screen reader?"

To help answer these questions we consulted with Hueiyen Tsai, Program Manager for YouTube Accessibility. We covered YouTube in general and its layout and some of its most perplexing features. Toward the end of the article you'll find some resources that may make your YouTube video watching more accessible.

The Basic YouTube Experience

"Yes, the YouTube webpage can be very complex and confusing to users of access technologies," Tsai agrees. "There is a tremendous variety of selections to be presented and considerable functionality to explore and use."

A quick "sight" tour reveals that the top of each page includes a navigation bar with a "Skip Navigation" button and search region. Various functions, such as "Create a video or post" and "YouTube apps," and commands, such as screen Messages," "Settings," and "Sign in," are also at the top of each page. After that, the web interface splits into either two or three columns, depending on whether you're on the homepage , a search results page (where you see the results of a search you've requested), or a watch page (where you actually watch videos). The left navigation will either be shown or hidden via the "Guide toggle button," although it is displayed ("selected") by default. The Guide provides a list of links that are marked as heading level 3, to take you to Home, Trending (list of trending videos), your Library (which includes all your playlists), and various other quick links. The rest of the page is a series of video thumbnails, unless you're on the Watch page, where the layout is different.

You can usually reach the first video with a few taps of your screen reader's heading quick nav key, but of course things may change. Google is known for adjusting its interface on a regular basis.

What you will find and where depends on whether or not you are signed in. If you do not have a Gmail account or if you haven't signed in, the first level 2 heading will offer up a collection of "Trending" videos. These are videos that have proven popular over the past many hours and days. Each video is denoted by a level 3 heading, so it's easy to go from one to the next. Recommended videos are found at the next level 2 heading, and "Recently Uploaded" at the next.

Once you have signed in with your Gmail account your homepage results will look much different. "We use your search history and watch history to give us a better sense of what videos you would like to see on your homepage," says Tsai. You may also find various offers to subscribe to special interest channels dynamic collections of videos grouped by producer, topic or theme that you might be interested in subscribing to and receiving notifications for. There is almost always a "Not interested" button, which will make these recommendations disappear...at least for a time.

The YouTube Player

After many years of Flash, the YouTube player now runs entirely on HTML5. Begin any video by pressing Enter or the Spacebar on the title and the player will autoload and begin video playback. YouTube often inserts an ad before the beginning of the video. You can often skip this ad after a few seconds. It can be tricky to find the Skip button while the video is still playing, but a couple of presses of the Tab and Shift+Tab keys will often navigate your screen reader to this button. Tsai reports that Google is actively looking for a more accessible way to notify screen reader users when an ad can be skipped and then help to skip it.

YouTube incorporates many keyboard shortcuts, most of which use either a single character or the shift modified key, such as M for mute/unmute and Shift+N for the next video. Your screen reader will doubtless interfere with some of these commands, so be sure to use your bypass key before pressing < (greater than) to speed up video playback or J to skip ahead 10 seconds. For JAWS the bypass key is JAWS+3; for NVDA it's NVDA+F2, and for Narrator it's Narrator+3.

Unfortunately, YouTube does not currently support "Application Reserved Keystrokes," which perform an auto-bypass of certain single-key web shortcuts.

Here is a complete YouTube web player keyboard command list. This list can be accessed anytime on YouTube by activating the Settings menu and then Keyboard commands, or by simply pressing ? (question mark).

As you Tab through the YouTube player you will find many options besides Play/Pause, including Share, Like and Dislike this video, and Next and Previous video. There is also a seek slider for volume.

YouTube Channels

As we mentioned earlier, once you have signed into YouTube and begun watching videos you will be asked if you wish to subscribe to various channels. Channels are collections of videos assembled by a YouTube user. They may contain all of the user's own videos, such as the Microsoft Channel, or a user may assemble a curated list of third-party videos, such as the humor of George Carlin or funny pet videos.

Once you click on a channel, you are presented with the various videos that have been collected there. You can watch them in any order and you can subscribe to the channel to make it easier to summon the next time you use YouTube.

Want to find a good channel that matches your interest? Start at the YouTube Channel Official Site, where you can search for and subscribe to channels

If you search for the term "audio description," along with videos about audio description you will also find a list of YouTube videos that have been described by the producer of that video. Currently, YouTube does not have a way to add audio description in a secondary language channel.

YouTube Playlists

Playlists are your own collections of videos that you want to watch now or save for later. Perhaps you'd like to make a collection of your favorite music videos and then play them one after the other automatically you can make a playlist to do so. You may also find videos on other websites with the offer to "Watch Later as (your account name)" These videos are saved into a special "Watch Later" playlist on YouTube. Videos in the "Liked Videos" playlist are just that: videos where you have clicked the Like button.

How screen-reader accessible these and other YouTube features are may vary, depending on which browser you are using. Naturally, Tsai recommends Chrome, both for PCs and Macs. For Chrome OS users it's the default. Other browsers, such as Safari, Firefox, Edge and IE may have issues with this or that feature.

Getting YouTube Accessibility Help...and Offering It

Google offers a central help center for all accessibility and a disability support team, where you can get help with various products, including YouTube, via either email or chat sessions. I used this service when I could not figure how to retrieve a list of additional videos when I subscribed to a channel. The tech was friendly and followed up with pertinent questions. After several chat exchanges and a few emails they used the screen reader I myself use to figure out the solution. You can see the final email with the solution in the last section of this article.

According to Tsai, "one of the hurdles to implementing better accessibility is a paucity of feedback from our users." Did you know you can become an Accessibility Trusted Tester and offer your feedback and suggestions on new and updated Google products? Or sign up to participate in Google accessibility studies as a potential subject for a future Google Research Study?

A Little Extra Access: Resources for Using YouTube with a Screen Reader

JAWS users may be interested in downloading and installing a free set of YouTube scripts produced by Doug Lee. Use these scripts to help skip ads, check remaining time, mute a video, and other commands that aren't easily accessible. For example, with the scripts installed, typing { (left brace) followed by the S key will skip the remaining ad. Typing { followed by C will take you to the YouTube channel that owns the current video. These commands only work on a video page.

Another way to watch YouTube videos more accessibly is to visit and bookmark the YourTube Accessible YouTube site from povidi. You can also go to the Povidi homepage and search for the accessible YouTube link. (Be warned: visiting YourTube.com directly will lead you to a different site that makes extensive use of popups.) YourTube creates an accessible skin for the YouTube platform. All of its controls are accessible. It achieves near-complete YouTube accessibility using headings, links, buttons, combo boxes, and slider controls. The only control missing from the site is a button to skip ads. But you won't need it. The site does an excellent job of removing nearly all of them for you!

Getting a YouTube Channels List of Videos

Here is the final email I received from Google's accessibility support:

I did some testing on my side for you and seem to have found a solution to the issue. Meaning I found a way to access the YouTube page which displays all videos uploaded by a channel, using JAWS 19.

1. Search the YouTube channel you are searching for or alternatively navigate to the channel name if you are currently watching a video from the channel.

2. Select the Channel name.

3. This should bring you to the channel page.

4. Navigate by pressing Tab until you find the home tab button.

5. Once you have found the home tab button please press the right arrow key to navigate across to the videos tab button.

6. Select the videos tab button.

7. You can then use the Tab key to navigate through all of the videos that have been uploaded by that particular channel, and select at will any one you would like to play!

Note: I found it easier to use the JAWS CTRL+F "find" command to locate the channel name and the Home tab of the channel, and the Down Arrow or CTRL+Right Arrow key to move from there to the Videos tab.

This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
Comment on this article.
Related articles:

More by this author:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
AW Asks the Experts: YouTube Accessibility

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Bill Holton AccessWorld authors strive to stay current and keep our accessibility skills sharp, but we don't know everything. That's why we're launching the "AW Asks the Experts" series, where we go to those in the know to get you, our readers, the inside track on accessibility and tech.

# data[].attributes.headline
Facebook Accessibility for Users with Visual Impairments - from AFB

# data[].attributes.subject
Facebook Accessibility for Users with Visual Impairments - from AFB

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Facebook is an excellent way to keep in touch with friends and family. For users of computer and mobile access technologies, however, at times, there can be challenges. The company continuously evolves its products, which can introduce changes to screen reader flow. So, in order to help readers more fully enjoy their Facebook experience, we are excited to offer the following information.

Thanks to consumer feedback, and working with several organizations, including the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), Facebook has taken accessibility to a whole new level. In July of 2011, the company formed the Facebook Accessibility Team to improve its support of accessibility across products. Recently, AccessWorld spoke with team founder, Jeff Wieland, and accessibility engineer Ramya Sethuraman, who offered us a top-10 list of things they'd like our readers to know about Facebook's accessibility program and products.

Facebook Offers Extensive Keyboard Navigation

For computer users who do not use a mouse, including most screen reader users, the main Facebook website makes extensive use of headings, landmarks, and lists, which can be easily navigated with your screen reader navigation keys. Additionally, the main Facebook website also offers an extensive roster of Access and Shortcut keys to help you navigate the site and quickly perform actions, such as liking, searching, and sharing.

Access Keys

"Access keys let you jump quickly from page to page [within Facebook] with a single key combination and without having to Tab down to or search for the appropriate control," says Wieland.

Key combinations vary by browser and/or system:

Chrome for PC users combine the ALT key with the access keys listed below.

IE users combine the ALT key with the access keys listed below, completing each command by pressing the Enter key.

Firefox for PC users press Shift + ALT in combination with the access keys listed below.

Mac users press Control + Option in combination with the command keys below.

Facebook Access Keys
Home

1

Timeline

2

Friends

3

Inbox

4

Notifications

5

Settings

6

Activity Log

7

About

8

Terms

9

Help

0

Shortcut Keys

Much the same way as most screen readers offer single-key navigation shortcuts to help you quickly find your way around a webpage, Facebook offers a number of single-key commands to perform various actions. Many of these shortcut keys conflict with browser keys, however, so for now, at least, you will have to either use your screen reader pass-through command, or turn off enhanced browser navigation (Forms Mode in JAWS, Focus Mode in NVDA, and Browser Mode in Window-Eyes).

"If you happen to be in an edit box, or on some other pop-up control, you may have to Tab away or close the dialogue before using the shortcuts," says Wieland.
Facebook News Feed Shortcuts
Scroll forward through News Feed stories

j

Scroll backward through News Feed stories

k

See more of the selected story

Enter/Return

Post a new status

p

Like or Unlike the selected story

l

Comment on the selected story

c

Share the selected story

s

Open an attachment from the selected story

o

Search

/

Search chat contacts

q

Open a list of these keyboard shortcuts while in News Feed

?
Facebook Messenger Shortcuts
Search conversations

CTRL + g

Show/hide keyboard shortcuts

CTRL + q

Archive/unarchive conversation

CTRL + Delete

Mark as spam

CTRL + j

Start a new message

CTRL + m

Go to Inbox

CTRL + i

Go to Other

CTRL + u

Facebook Is Making Photos and Videos More Accessible

"We're still rolling out the Dynamic Alt Text Generator to more products that will improve the accessibility of both photos and videos," says Wieland. "We gather all the metadata a user supplies and combine it to generate a caption that tells a more complete story about that." This Facebook Design video shows voicing for photos and videos before and after Dynamic Alt Text captioning.

Check out the Mobile Apps for Facebook

Facebook offers a mobile site, but Wieland encourages iOS and Android screen reader users to try the native apps for these operating systems. "We've put a lot of work into improving the accessibility of the Facebook and Facebook Messenger native apps, and in some cases we can build accessibility experiences in these applications we simply can't easily replicate on the Web (like use of gestures)," he says.

When you have finished reading a timeline entry using the iOS app, for example, you can now perform a two-finger double-tap to summon a VoiceOver menu, which includes options to Like the post, comment, turn on notifications, or indicate "I don't want to see this" (which will hide the story). The two-finger scrub gesture also now works to close any pop-up or dialogue screen. The Facebook Messenger iOS app also now includes an Action item on the rotor. Perform a one-finger swipe up to delete a message thread, mute a conversation, archive a conversation and more.

It's Easy to Contact Facebook

"Facebook offers several ways to get in touch with the Accessibility Team, and we love getting your feedback," states Wieland. Users can Like the Facebook Access for People with Disabilities page to stay up to date on accessibility work and improvements, visit the Facebook Accessibility Help Center, and follow the Facebook Accessibility Team (@fbaccess) on Twitter. The Accessibility Help Center offers an accessibility bug report contact form where you can report accessibility issues.

Spreading the Accessibility Message to Other Facebook Employees

In October of 2014, the Accessibility Team launched an installation at Facebook Menlo Park, California headquarters called the Empathy Lab. The lab is designed to showcase the different and various methods that people use to interact with Facebook and broaden the company's understanding of how to build products that are both usable to those with limited bandwidth and accessible to screen reader users.

"We're hoping to give Facebook employees an idea of what it's like to use Facebook with magnification or a screen reader. We do this with a collection of laptops and mobile devices which can only be used with a keyboard or using screen readers or on slow network connections," says Ramya Sethuraman. "The installation has become so popular, we're looking to expand it to other campuses so more members of the Facebook team can experience it."

The Facebook Team Is Constantly Improving the Accessible Facebook Experience

Below Wieland outlines just a few of Facebook's recent accessibility enhancements.

You now have the ability to control font size in the iOS Messenger app.

New VoiceOver gestures were added to help people more easily access the Delete, Mute, and More actions within iOS Messenger.

New access keys were added to the mobile site.

A "Skip to News Feed" link was added to Facebook for people using just the keyboard and screen readers to easily jump to the News Feed stories.

We now support multilingual caption files for Facebook Videos so you can provide subtitles for all of your video content.

Facebook Will Keep You Updated

Every month the team posts a comprehensive review of the key accessibility changes and enhancements. Here's the February 2015 update and the Accessibility Year in Review. "Follow our Facebook page so you don't miss any future updates," Wieland suggests.

Facebook Wants Your Help

Facebook has a dedicated User Experience Research team that runs many different kinds of studies, including in-house usability studies and phone interviews with people who use their products.

"Our last round of accessibility usability testing focused on TalkBack with Facebook for Android," relates Wieland.

If you would like to be considered for participation in future studies and getting paid for your feedback, send an e-mail to the accessibility research team.

Accessibility Beyond Facebook

"The Facebook Accessibility Team is passionate about making accessibility more mainstream, and one of our top priorities is to introduce accessibility to new audiences," says Sethuraman. "For instance, last year we spoke at Stanford University to introduce students to writing accessible code. We also gave a talk on Web accessibility basics at the Grace Hopper Conference."

In addition, the Facebook Accessibility team actively consults and collaborates with various disability organizations. Notes Wieland, "Last year we sponsored and spoke at the American Foundation for the Blind's Leadership Conference. We also sponsored the American Council for the Blind's summer conference in Las Vegas. We recently joined the American Association of People with Disabilities Tech Forum and are excited about collaborating with industry leaders on a range of accessibility related initiatives."

For Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), Facebook hosted companies from the Bay Area for a round of lightning talks on accessibility implementations. Guests included the co-founders of GAAD, Jennison Asuncion and Joe Devon.

Facebook Is Hiring!

"We recently grew our dedicated accessibility engineering team, and we are still hiring," says Wieland. "We are actively looking for an Accessibility Specialist." You can read more about the position on Facebook's careers page.

Comment on this article.

Related articles:

More from Bill Holton:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Facebook Accessibility for Users with Visual Impairments: What Facebook Wants You to Know

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Facebook is an excellent way to keep in touch with friends and family. For users of computer and mobile access technologies, however, at times, there can be challenges. The company continuously evolves its products, which can introduce changes to screen reader flow.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings are designed to work with screen readers, braille devices, screen magnification, and more.

Use a screen reader

If you already use screen reader software on your computer, such as ChromeVox, NVDA, JAWS, or VoiceOver, follow these steps to get started.

Step 1: Turn on screen reader support

The first time you use Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides with a screen reader, you need to turn on screen reader support:

1. Go to Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides, and open a file.

2. In the Tools menu, select Accessibility settings.

3. Select Turn on screen reader support.

Step 2: Check your screen reader settings

For some screen readers, you might need to adjust your settings when you use Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, or Drawings. Check your screen reader instructions below.

If you use ChromeVox on Chrome OS, you don't need to do any additional setup.

On Windows, for the best experience, use the latest version of NVDA with the latest version of Chrome or Firefox.

Docs, Slides, and Drawings

1. Go to Google Docs, Slides, or Drawingsand open a file.

2. Listen for these words: "Screen reader support enabled." If you don't hear anything, go to the Tools menu, select Accessibility settings, then select Turn on screen reader support. You should hear "Screen reader support enabled."

3. Press NVDA + Ctrl + k, then turn off Speak typed characters and Speak typed words.

4. Optional: Change your NVDA startup keyboard shortcut so that it doesn't conflict with Docs, Slides, or Drawings. The default NVDA keyboard shortcut, Ctrl + Alt + n, is commonly used in Docs, Slides, or Drawings (for example, Ctrl + Alt + n then g navigates to the next image in a document). To change your NVDA keyboard shortcut, open Properties from the NVDA shortcut. On the Shortcut tab, edit the Shortcut key so it doesn't conflict with Docs, Slides, or Drawings (for example, Ctrl + Alt + \).

Sheets

To get started in Sheets, simply turn on screen reader support as described in Step 1 above.

Tip: Focus mode generally provides a better experience than browse mode. To switch between focus and browse modes, press NVDA + Spacebar.

On Windows, for the best experience, use the latest version of JAWS with the latest version of Chrome or Firefox.

Docs, Slides, and Drawings

For Docs, Slides, and Drawings, follow these steps to adjust your JAWS settings:

1. Go to Google Docs, Slides, or Drawings and open a file.

2. Listen for these words: "Screen reader support enabled." If you don't hear anything, go to the Tools menu, select Accessibility settings, then select Turn on screen reader support. You should hear "Screen reader support enabled."

3. If you use Firefox:

​Set key echoing to no echoing: Press JAWS + 2 until you hear "None."

Turn off the virtual cursor: Press JAWS + z until you hear "Use virtual PC cursor off." Then press JAWS + z + z until you hear "The virtual cursor will be turned off for all applications."

Adjust forms options: Make sure that the focus is on the top toolbar, then press JAWS + v. In the settings window, search for "Forms options" and uncheck both "Auto forms mode" and "Forms mode off when new page loads." Then press OK.

Tab from the address bar through the Docs toolbar controls until you hear application mode announced, then press Escape to return to the editing area.

Sheets

To get started in Sheets, simply turn on screen reader support as described in Step 1 above.

Tip: Forms mode generally provides a better experience than virtual mode.

Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings are compatible with VoiceOver on the latest version of macOS. The recommended browser is Google Chrome.

For the best experience, turn off VoiceOver's Quick Nav feature by pressing the left and right arrows at the same time.

Docs, Slides, and Drawings

1. Go to Google Docs and open a document.

2. Listen for these words: "Screen reader support enabled." If you don't hear anything, go to the Tools menu, select Accessibility settings, then select Turn on screen reader support. You should hear "Screen reader support enabled."

3. If you've turned on "Automatically speak the webpage" in VoiceOver, you'll hear the screen reader. Press Escape to return your focus to the editing area.

4. Press VoiceOver + Shift + down arrow to interact with the editable text.

Sheets

To get started in Sheets, simply turn on screen reader support as described in Step 1 above.

Keyboard shortcuts and VoiceOver

VoiceOver shortcuts conflict with menu shortcuts for Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings. To open the menus, first use the VoiceOver pass-through keys Ctrl + Option + Tab, then type the menu shortcut, such as Ctrl + Option + f for the File menu. You can also quickly search the menus by pressing Option + / then searching for a term such as File.

If VoiceOver doesn't automatically focus on the correct part of the page (for example, if a dialog window appears), press Escape to return your focus to the editing area. Then press VoiceOver + Shift + down arrow to return to the editing area.

Step 3: Start editing

Learn more about using Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings with a screen reader in the following help pages and videos.

Tip: In Docs, Sheets, and Slides, you can turn off the screen reader announcements about other people entering, editing, or leaving the file. Learn how to turn off collaborator announcements.

Video tutorials

Screen reader videos for Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Use a braille display

You can use a braille display to read and edit documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and drawings.

View files in high contrast mode

You can view your documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in high contrast mode:

On ChromeOS, with high contrast mode

On Windows in Chrome, Firefox, or Edge browsers, with any of the Windows contrast themes

Use Google Docs with a screen magnifier

You can use a screen magnifier to zoom in as you move on a screen.

Important: Screen magnifiers are available in Chrome.
Mac:

1. In the Chrome browser, open Google Docs.

2. Under "Tools," select Accessibility settings Turn on screen magnifier support.

If the magnifier doesn't follow where you are onscreen, you might need to adjust your computer settings. To turn on the magnifier on your computer:

1. In "System preferences," select Accessibility Zoom Advanced.

2. Turn on Zoom follows the keyboard focus.

For more information, visit the Apple support article How to zoom in or out on Mac.

1. In the Chrome browser, open Google Docs.

2. Under "Tools," select Accessibility settings Turn on screen magnifier support.

To turn on the magnifier on your computer:

1. In "Settings," select Advanced Accessibility Manage accessibility features.

2. Turn on Enable fullscreen magnifier or Enable docked magnifier. Learn more about Chromebook magnification.

Windows: To find out how to use the screen magnifier, visit the Microsoft support article Setting up and using Magnifier.

Type with your voice

You can type with your voice in documents or in presentation speaker notes. (This feature is only available in Chrome browsers.)

Use keyboard shortcuts

Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides include keyboard shortcuts for navigation and editing.

To open a list of keyboard shortcuts while you're editing a file, press Ctrl + / (Windows, Chrome OS) or ⌘ + / (Mac).

More keyboard shortcuts:

Use touch input with a screen reader

With some computers and screen readers, you can touch the computer screen to move the cursor and enter text.

Touch input works in Docs, Sheets, and Slides using the following screen readers and browsers:

On Chromebooks, use the ChromeVox screen reader with Chrome 67 or later.

On Windows, use the JAWS screen reader with Firefox or the latest version of Chrome.

Touch input with ChromeVox

To use touch input with ChromeVox on a Chromebook:

1. Check your Chromebook accessibility features for the following settings:

Turn off Enable select-to-speak.

Turn on Enable on-screen keyboard.

2. Open a document, spreadsheet, or presentation.

3. In the Tools menu, select Accessibility settings.

4. Select Turn on braille support.

5. In the editing area, use the on-screen keyboard.

6. Outside the editing area, swipe and touch the screen as you would normally. Learn about using Chromebook touch screen accessibility.

Touch input with JAWS

To use touch input with JAWS on Windows with Firefox or the latest version of Chrome:

1. Open a document, spreadsheet, or presentation.

2. In the Tools menu, select Accessibility settings.

3. Select Turn on braille support.

4. In the editing area, use JAWS Text Reading mode.
To cycle through the touch modes to Text Reading mode, use a two-finger rotate gesture. Learn about JAWS touch support.

5. To move focus to the application menus, double-tap on the top of the screen. Use a three-finger swipe or touch exploration to navigate.

Related articles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Accessibility for Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, & Drawings

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings are designed to work with screen readers, braille devices, screen magnification, and more. If you already use screen reader software on your computer, such as ChromeVox, NVDA, JAWS, or VoiceOver, follow these steps to get started.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Facebook is committed to creating a great experience for all people. Learn about the features and technologies that help people with disabilities, such as vision loss and deafness, get the most out of Facebook.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Last Updated: July 01, 2022

Administrators and decision-makers can use this Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, or VPAT, to evaluate Mindomo's conformance with the accessibility standards under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and WCAG 2.1 AA.

To meet the various accessibility requirements of our users, Mindomo is committed to ensuring that its products are inclusive. Mindomo strives for WCAG 2.1 Level A/AA and Section 508 conformance. Regular testing (internal) is conducted to identify conformance issues, with processes in place for timely remediation of accessibility issues that are identified. Mindomo is a complex and broad system. The information below is current as of the date given.

Automated tools, assistive technology (such screen readers, keyboard testing, etc.), and coding best practices are frequently used during testing. Mechanisms are in place for logging and fixing accessibility defects.

Download Mindomo VPAT Statement

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Last Updated: July 01, 2022 Administrators and decision-makers can use this Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, or VPAT, to evaluate Mindomo's conformance with the accessibility standards under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and WCAG 2.1 AA. To meet the various accessibility requirements of our users, Mindomo is committed to ensuring that its products are inclusive.