508 Compliance, Quiz Radio Button and JAWS Reader

[coachbkh]

Hello All, I'm using Captivate 5.5. The 508 compliance issue I'm having is that the Captivate-generated quiz radio buttons are not being properly read by JAWS.  The 508 finding states, "When the user selects a radio button anywhere in the course, the state of the radio buttons are not made correctly for JAWS to read.  Selected radio buttons are read as "unchecked radio button".  Has anyone experienced and overcome this issue?  How did you overcome?

[Justenuf2bdangerous]

You've encountered the major accessibility show stopper in using the pre-made question slides. Captivate does not allow you to set the name, role, or state for the buttons on the quiz slides, and unlabeled buttons are a deal killer for any 508 compliance test I have ever worked on. See if your testing group will allow you to include a text equivalent test that a visually impaired user can access and take either proctored on do an alternative submission. If the quiz needs to be scored for completion, there's no way to currently pass a 508 accessibility test with the standard question slides otherwise. If its just a knowledge check that will not be scored, you may be able to create a description of the question and answers and put it in the slide notes area of your slide, JAWS will read that first. you would also need to have a way for the user to get past the slide without navigating it. Details follow:

JAWS 14 reads a four answer multiple choice question slide as follows (using either tabbing or arrow keys):

1. Slide Title

2. Question Title

3. Question Text

4. radio button (unchecked) - fails 508 testing

5. text for answer A

6. radio button (unchecked) - fails 508 testing

7. text for answer B

8. radio button (unchecked) - fails 508 testing

9. text for answer C

10. radio button (unchecked) - fails 508 testing

11. text for answer D

12. radio button (unchecked) - fails 508 testing

13. Submit button

14. Question # of #

This means that a visually impaired user has to:

1. figure out that the button before each answer is related to the following answer

2. navigate through the entire slide to the submit button to be sure they have hear any and all choices

3. navigate back to through the question and answers

4. select the button that matches up with the answer; then navigate back to the submit button

5. select the submit button and (at least in Captivate 7.01.237) listen to the feedback box that opens after activating the submit button

6. navigate to the next button or playbar

In short - if you are working off an LMS that has an accessible testing area built in, build your tests there and provide a link from the last frame of your Captivate lesson. Score the test seperately from completion of your Captivate lesson.

Justenuf

[Eaglecreez]

I know this is over a year old, but I wanted to share just in case. The only way that I was able to overcome the 508 issues with quizzes in captivate is to create the quiz from scratch--not use any of the built-in quiz slides. This was done through a ton of advanced actions, text buttons (not radio), and visibility rules. I'm happy to share if you still need assistance, but given the date of this post, it might not be relevant anymore.

[PrintzBYDesign]

Hi Eaglecreez,

Would you be willing to share your custom quiz slide or show me an example of how you created it with all the advanced options n such...?

Thanks

[Steve_Jackson]

I would like a copy of that too if it's OK?!!

[Justenuf2bdangerous]

Steve:

Not sure if Eaglecreez got back to you - the approach I used was fairly straightforward:

1. Create a slide with a multiple choice question - format it however you want.:

2. Create feedback groups for each answer choice - I using a red X for incorrect and Adobe Red text boxes for incorrect and a Green Check and Adobe Green for correct (the feedback boxes are stacked on top of each other -you can only see the one for "D" in this image. NOTE: Clear the accessibility boxes for each of the images - that makes them invisible for screen readers since the feedback tells the user if s/he is right or not.. Hide all four groups.

3. Create a single text button. You can make it transparent and set it on top of a smart shape box to make it "pretty" as shown below (I've hidden the groups on the timeline in order to declutter the workspace).

4. Create a shared action and assign it to the button:

By creating the action and assigning it to the button, you can now copy the button and simply re-assign values based on the answer the button copy is placed over.

5. Open the accessibility menu and place text in the button to reflect what choice you're making:

6. Copy and paste three more buttons and place them on the answer boxes, editing the accessibility text and resetting the shared action values appropriately. your slide will look something like this:

and your timeline for the slide like this:

7. Check your tab order and make sure the buttons will tab in the correct order. The screen reader user will now hear the question and any instructions on selecting the correct answer on entry. When the user tabs to each answer the screen reader will read the the accessibililty text found in each button. Choosing the answer will w show the text box and the reader will then read it.

The best part is - you now have a fully functional multiple choice slide - all you have to do is duplicate the slide the buttons will maintain the shared action and will immediately assign it to the duplicated groups. All you have to do is repopulate your question and the accessibility text for each button.

[obsidiangel]

Hello All, I am hoping that this manually created quiz is still the most viable option in Cap 2019 and will be using this as a recommendation. Thank you so very much for this post!

[paulab35701757]

Hi I can use the help.  I am trying to create an accessible interactive knowledge check and I am having some issues.  users can not tab to the radio buttons to select the answer or answers.  Do you have any suggestions.  I am not technical and am new to Captivate and have never used advanced actions.

Thank you!

[Steve_Jackson]

Make sure accessibility is turned on.

The buttons need named (they should be named automatically) and they need to be included in the tab order when published.

Also, IE is the only browser that will work for 508 AND Jaws.

Selecting the Enable Accessibility option makes certain elements in Adobe Captivate projects accessible or open to accessibility technology. For example, if you select the Enable Accessibility and you have filled in the project name and project description text boxes in Project preferences, a screen reader will read the name and description when the Adobe Captivate SWF file is played.

The following Adobe Captivate elements are accessible when the Enable Accessibility option is selected:

· Project name (derived from Project Properties)

· Project description (derived from Project Properties)

· Slide accessibility text

· Slide label (derived from Slide Properties)

· Buttons

· Playback controls (The function of each button is read by screen readers)

· Password protection (If an Adobe Captivate SWF file is password protected, the prompt for a password is read by screen readers)

· Question slides (Title, question, answers, button text, and scoring report are read by screen readers)

The following interactions are also accessible:

• Accordion

• Process TABS

• Process Circle

• Pyramid Stack

• Pyramid Matrix

• Timeline

• Circle Matrix

• Glossary

• Certificate

• TextArea

• Radio Button

• Check box

• Listbox

• Dropdown

Output generated with the Enable Accessibility option is displayed by all supported browsers. However, your output may not be Section 508-compliant unless it is viewed with Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer is the only browser with support for MSAA (Microsoft Active Accessibility).

To access Flash files using a screen reader, users must have Flash Player 9 or later installed.

The Access Board is an independent federal agency committed to accessibility for people with disabilities. For more information about making your output compliant, see the Access Board website (www.access-board.gov/508.htm<http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm>).

Adobe Captivate accessibility web page

For the latest information on creating and viewing accessible Adobe Captivate content, visit the Adobe Captivate Accessibility Overview page<http://www.adobe.com/in/accessibility/products/captivate/best-practices.html> on the Adobe website.

[dismissme]

Would it be possible to get your sample? I am having a hard time coming up with a solution!

Thank you,

Carol Gonzalez

gonzalcm@nv.doe.gov