The Bluffer’s Guide to Blackboard Theme Accessibility�(Live Version)
Matthew Deeprose, VLE Manager, University of Southampton
Thursday 21 May 2020
About me
Questions the full presentation answers.
Questions the full presentation answers.
Think of this as the trailer.
Imagine I am using my “trailer voice”.
Poll Question
With the current move to online delivery of education, accessibility has:
Ensuring equitable access to our learning environment has never been more important.
Ensuring equitable access to our learning environment has never been more important.
https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/153358/Deque-COVID-19-Report.pdf
62 percent say it has increased awareness of the impact of accessibility on digital channels.
More than one-third of respondents have heard reports that users with disabilities are having increased difficulty accessing services during this time of crisis.
Building upon last year’s presentation
What’s in scope?
In Scope:
Out of Scope:
Much of the information in the talk will be of interest and relevance regardless.
If you saw my talk at the MoCo session at this year’s Durham conference
.mainButton a:focus,
.secondaryButton a:focus,
div#puller a:focus,
.item a:focus,
.student-preview-control a:focus,
.attachments a:focus,
.breadcrumbs a:focus {
outline: 3px solid #00131D !important;
outline-offset: 3px !important;
transition: outline-offset .2s linear !important; }
In Europe, ______________ describes the standards to which public sector websites, such as our VLE should comply.
Helping you to understand the regulations and legislation
Statutory Instrument 2018 No. 952
The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) No. 2 Accessibility Regulations 2018
Directive (EU) 2016/2102
On the Accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies
Real Decreto 1112/2018, de 7 de septiembre, sobre accesibilidad de los sitios web y aplicaciones para dispositivos móviles del sector público.
Gesetz zur Umsetzung der Richtlinie (EU) 2016/2102 des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates vom 26. Oktober 2016 über den barrierefreien Zugang zu den Websites und mobilen Anwendungen öffentlicher Stellen
Besluit van 3 mei 2018, houdende tijdelijke regels betreffende de toegankelijkheid van de websites en mobiele applicaties van overheidsinstanties (Tijdelijk besluit digitale toegankelijkheid overheid)
Loi du 19 juillet 2018 relative à l'accessibilité des sites internet et des applications mobiles des organismes du secteur public
List of national transposition measures:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/NIM/?uri=CELEX:32016L2102
+23 more
How the various rules and regulations are related.
Statutory Instrument 2018 No. 952
The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) No. 2 Accessibility Regulations 2018
Directive (EU) 2016/2102
On the Accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Applies to all UK
The “failure to make a reasonable adjustment” definition in the 2018 SI refers to the detail already determined in the above two acts.
Equality Act 2010
Does not apply in Northern Ireland
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) 2006
COM(2010)636
European Disability Strategy 2010-2020:
A Renewed Commitment to a Barrier-Free Europe
COM(2010)245
A Digital Agenda for Europe
Standard - EN 301 549
Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe
Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council
WCAG 2.X Level AA
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design in September 2010
ISO/IEC
40500:2012
Making the Blackboard responsive theme on brand and accessible
When we introduced the 2016 responsive theme in 2019 we wanted the interface to be both:
✔ “On brand” (using the institutional colour palette).
✔ Compliant with the new web accessibility regulations.
Poll Question
Have you customised, or do you wish to customise your Blackboard theme,
and/or do you allow instructors to customise the colour scheme of their course menu?
You need to customise to be accessible!
When customising the Bb responsive theme it becomes almost inevitable to have to consider accessibility.
The default purple colours often used in Blackboard for “hover” and “focus” will not necessarily work well with your institutional colour scheme.
Ratio: 1.72:1
1.4.1 Non-text Contrast in Blackboard theme
https://go.soton.ac.uk/bb
Ratio: 7.33:1 ✔
/* Change primary menu button colour - (+ Icon) */
.mainButton > a {
background: #005c84;
}
/* Change secondary menu button colours (Reorder, Refresh, Course Files buttons) */
.secondaryButton > a,
.mainButton h2 > a,
.secondaryButton h2 > a {
background: #005c84;
}
Visual presentation of text and images of text…
Ratio: 14.44:1 ✔
.actionBar .mainButton h2 > a {
color: #FFFFFF !important;
background: none scroll 0 0 #002E3B !important;
text-shadow: none !important;
text-decoration: none; box-shadow: none !important;
border: none;
border-radius: 8px !important;
}
Further complexity
https://go.soton.ac.uk/bb
.button-4
More questions answered by the full presentation
How can I get around the “subheader” issue in the 2016 theme?
How can I adapt my theme to be more considerate of users who have motion-triggered vestibular spectrum disorder?
Can we enforce colour schemes for certain subject areas, without resorting to course templates?
Can customising my Blackboard theme improve usability?
More questions answered by the full presentation
How can I get around the “subheader” issue in the 2016 theme?
How can I adapt my theme to be more considerate of users who have motion-triggered vestibular spectrum disorder?
Can we enforce colour schemes for certain subject areas, without resorting to course templates?
Can customising my Blackboard theme improve usability?
And much more!
Supporting website
Watch the full version
Supporting website
In our next episode…
Live version:
Thursday 28 May
In our next episode…
“I will demonstrate a new approach for the Original Blackboard Learn Experience to provide proactive assistance to staff and students at the right time and in the right place.
At the University of Southampton, this method resulted in significantly higher engagement with institutional support resources and has the potential to reduce support calls and encourage better Blackboard usage.
I will show you how you can recreate this approach using free and open-source software.”
In our next episode…
“I will demonstrate a new approach for the Original Blackboard Learn Experience to provide proactive assistance to staff and students at the right time and in the right place.
At the University of Southampton, this method resulted in significantly higher engagement with institutional support resources and has the potential to reduce support calls and encourage better Blackboard usage.
I will show you how you can recreate this approach using free and open-source software.”
1952% increase between week 0 and week 4!