Is Moodle accessible?
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This article briefly outlines a response that focuses on Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) but may be equally applicable to other VLEs. The starting point is to recognise that, whatever the specific accessibility pros and cons of a particular Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), anything that facilitates making content available to learners in digital formats is a potential accessibility gain because digital formats are generally more flexible than most traditional formats.
If you are looking for specific accessibility guidelines for Moodle then the University of Bath have developed the following guidelines to be found on the website.
The University has been very active in this area and this is partly due to their engagement with the JISC TechDis HEAT Scheme It is also worth visiting the Moodle Accessibility pages What influences accessibility?
The characteristics of the learning platform are only one aspect of the issue. The format and nature of the content is significant – digital content is generally more accessible - and indeed the very process of making content available to learners outside scheduled lessons aids accessibility.
The accessibility of any learning experience is also affected by the provision of support – either tutor to student or peer to peer. Good support can negate accessibility difficulties whilst poor support can add to them. Once a learner is logged in to the learning environment there are further layers of accessibility
1) the accessibility of the navigation
2) the accessibility of the content (both technical accessibility – “does this image have a description for a blind user?” and cognitive accessibility – “do contour map descriptions make sense to a blind user?).
Finally, the accessibility of learning experience itself is part of the mixture. If the learning experience is active and engaging, learners have an incentive to work around accessibility barriers. Dull learning experiences demotivate and create their own accessibility barriers.
Given that the accessibility of a VLE is part of a bigger and more complex picture it is now worth focusing on the more technical aspects of accessibility. Can a disabled user actually log in and get to the materials using whatever assistive technologies may be relevant for them? Even this simplified question depends on a number of factors.
- What version of Moodle is installed?
- Which additional features have been loaded?
- What is the user’s skill level with IT or with their own assistive technology?
A VLE that is accessible to an experienced screen-reader user may be wholly inaccessible to a novice. Equally important, the accessibility of the VLE may depend on whether support is available face to face, online or at all.
User comments on the technical accessibility of Moodle
Turning specifically to the functionality of Moodle it is possible from the discussion lists at Moodle.org to reflect on the experiences of different users in different contexts.
Example 1:
A user from the USA describes her experience testing Moodle with Bobby software to check accessibility compliance with Section 508 legislation in the USA (Their equivalent of the Disability Discrimination Act).
“If I understand the real situation, the main icons on the course listing are compliant but there are some spacer-gifs that are triggering the 508 warnings. I have run Bobby and Cynthia Says further "inside" Moodle, e.g. after a student logs in and enters a course, and so far get no 508 problems reported, although I have not run them on every screen in every module.”
Example 2:
A blind user finds difficulty using the Chat module in the quote below:
“when i try to type in the chat window, in forms mode on, [the cursor] jumps out and says cannot find the window, or cannot find the link , and keeps refreshing, thus confusing jaws.
and the same when i login, and see people on the main moodle site, and click on messages, the screen refreshes every 60 seconds, and jaws struggles to read the messages.”
Here the issue is with a specific functionality – the use of synchronous communication. The nature of this is that the chat pane needs to refresh and in the process the JAWS cursor loses focus.
Example 3:
This contributor examines the main structure of the Moodle layout and comments on potential difficulties for screen reader users.
“Having left hand and right hand menus may be difficult for screenreaders because they come both before and after the main content of the page. This requires further consideration as to how to make it useful for sighted and blind users alike.“
Example 4:
Here the contributor points out that the tutor awareness may be as big an issue as the technical compliance.
“My big question with regard to accessibility is about the HTML editor…. the kind of issues are (incomplete and off the top of my head):
it lets you set the font, from a specific list. If my phone or linux box doesn't have these fonts (or my eyesight isn't good enough to distinguish), and they are being used to convey information, e.g. text in this font is commentary not the core text, then information is being lost.
issues surround the choice of colour, with not everyone being aware of the impact of colour choices and contrast on the colour blind and other low vision users. You can set levels of heading, but you can also 'fake' the same by changing the boldness and text size.”
Clearly even the technical accessibility of the VLE will depend on a variety of factors including which modules are being installed.
Making the most of inbuilt accessibility.
Accessibility statements are essential good practice but there are two types with very different usefulness:
“Cover my back” type statements include things like
“This site is Bobby compliant and meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to priority 1.” Or “Click here for a text only version”..
But neither of these help the user, and their main purpose appears to be to signal that the “owner” is aware of accessibility responsibilities.
An alternative – and in our view better – “inform my users” philosophy might be as follows..
“We have designed this site to be as user friendly as possible. You may find the following tips useful…” or “The following materials contain animations which may be difficult to access if you are relying on screen readers Please contact …. who will work with you on more suitable alternatives”
The latter example illustrates the importance of creating explicit communication routeways between disabled users and those responsible for either the site or the resident learning materials. Ideally such routeways could be both negative or positive for example “If you experience difficulties with accessing these materials…” or “If you would like to form part of a user group advising on the accessibility of the VLE…”
Bringing staff onboard
Staff training is essential, especially for those in the front line teaching positions – the people who are likely to populate the VLE. There are three key areas where staff accessibility training is desperately needed. For the purpose of memorability these have been designated GIGO, QUIGO and NOGO as exemplified below:
- Gigo – Garbage In Garbage Out – examples include poor (if enthusiastic) practice such as “I’ve discovered fonts and have 15 different styles in my handout!” or “Death by PowerPoint special effects” which can serve to obscure content and meaning by distracting eye-candy. Staff need training in basic good practices – training materials are available on the JISC TechDis website and in the JISC TechDis staff packs
- QuiGo – Quality In Garbage Out – is where high quality materials with inbuilt accessibility options are delivered inappropriately (e.g. photocopies of interactive slides or class presentation of personaliseable materials)
- NoGo – disallowed resources - resources that add value to many are banned by overenthusiastic IT teams or learning support teams because they are not accessible to particular disabilities. This approach can be very damaging, discouraging staff from creating e-learning materials (which are inherently MORE accessible). It is also an approach that lacks integrity since talking books for the blind are not accessible to deaf people but it would not be considered appropriate to ban them from a library. Likewise accessibility is about adding value to as many learners as possible by as many means as possible, not denying resources from one group because they don’t add value equally to all others.
Conclusion – is Moodle accessible?
A quote one of the key Moodle developers makes the point
“I don't think there is an 'accessible version' as such. Moodle is already accessible for a wide range of users and continues to focus on improving its accessibility, as well as it's usability, security and pedagogic flexibility. None of these aims have obvious finish lines though each release is (hopefully) an improvement and so the next release should be more accessible/secure etc. I would be suspicious of anyone who claimed they were "accessible enough" and had no further room for improvement.”
The active developer forums pose benefits and challenges – the benefit being that with an open source product it is possible to tweak and improve particular problems (if you have the skills). The challenge is that whilst some institutions may have achieved extremely high levels of accessibility with the product, you may not know about it and not have it installed as part of your configuration.
Like all software installs, it is worth making sure that you are working with the latest release. It is always advisable to check the Moodle website for the latest version.
Finally, remember that the VLE is no better than the content. There are freely available staff training resources for accessible teaching and learning at the JISC TechDis website.
