Accessible Storyline 360 Course

While Storyline improves its user interface for accessibility with all assistive technology, there may be technical issues. Provide an alternative format for the course and place it in the Resources tab. Microsoft Word is recommended. Adobe PDF documents require more work to be accessible. And some elements of PowerPoint presentations are not currently accessible without workarounds (e.g. tables).

If you use images or animations, you need to check that the appropriate objects have alternative text.

Turn off the alternative text for objects that do not need to be seen by screen readers. This often occurs when a group of elements create an object or image, but each piece does not need to be described to the student. This also assists with defining the reading or focus order of objects.

You can provide audio in a slide/form or a layer of the slide/form. When you do, ensure they have closed captions (see Closed captions below).

Audio is helpful to many learners, so you are encouraged to add audio to your courses. If you do not have the technology or resources, you can use the text-to-speech option. Make sure you:

• mark the Generate Closed Captions box to use the script automatically in the closed captions
• select the appropriate Language the Voice will be pronouncing the word in

Avoid using auto play on any multimedia where possible. This includes allowing the user to control actual slide duration or timing.

Make sure all links in the course go where they are expected to go. Ensure that links do not require logging into a system unless the audience for the course has the same access to the content (e.g. Microsoft Teams, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Docs). Ensure that links do not go to the author’s computer (e.g. a link to someone’s C: drive). Make sure all links in the Resources tab open or download correctly.

If you use audio in your course, import closed captions  or create closed captions from scratch with Storyline's built-in editor.

Ensure that colors properly contrast with one another, so the foreground text is readable against whatever the background is. Make sure chart data is equally recognizable as separate categories. Make sure anything identified by color has an additional identifier (e.g. text, symbol, pattern).

Ensure that if a user is selecting a button object, the state of the button is obviously different from the other state(s). This can include different colors, outlines, icons, and text. You can test readability by setting your computer color filter to grayscale to see if it is still obvious or legible.

For example, the blue buttons on the built-in states page are not obviously different because the text is white and the button changes to a similar blue color. The only obviously different button is the disabled button where the white on light gray is hard to read, so you would need to darken the gray.

Your users may not know how to use the course player. Provide instructions on how users advance through the slides, access accessibility features, find additional resources in the Resources tab, and so on.

Inform users if audio is available and where the captions or transcriptions will be located.

Inform users how long the course might take to complete on average.

Inform users if there is an alternative format to the course in the Resources tab. The alternative format should also include an alternative for the quiz questions and who to submit answers to for grading.

Is your content boring? Be wary of solutions to "boring" that include changing up colors, fonts, and layout too much. Some consistency helps your audience keep focus. Consider means of interaction and engagement to reduce the "boring".

Reduce the noise. It takes longer to read a lot of content on a single slide than some content on several slides. The text size is typically too small and the lines of text are too close to each other for easy reading. Keep slides simple, even if you are still on the same topic for several slides. One concept at a time.

See 5 Graphic Design Mistakes Newbies Make and How to Avoid Them from E-Learning Heroes, an Articulate Community site.

Try to keep text clean and semantic by using and customizing Text Styles. Keep color choice in mind. If color needs to convey meaning, additional identifiers should be used. Underline should only be on hyperlinks.

Course language is typically set to “English (United States)”. If you need to change the course language, you may also need to ensure the text labels are customized to that language.

Like with PowerPoint presentations, all slides in a course should be based on a slide layout in the Slide Masters. Feedback Masters can also be customized to improve presentation of feedback messages.

Test your course for keyboard-friendliness. All functions should be accessible by keyboard only. You should be able to Tab and Shift+Tab forward and backward to different buttons. You should be able to select or execute commands with Spacebar or Enter, depending on the interaction you created. You should be able to review your options through the arrow keys. You should be able to type out answers into text fields.

A drag-and-drop alternative might be to use a matching question or slider interaction.

Any information that is available via a mouse hover should also be available by tabbing to the object and executing the command to review the object.

Make sure scenes and slides are appropriately visible and in the correct order in the menu navigation. For example, hide the ones that should not be seen (e.g. mastery quiz questions). Also make sure the title of each slide and scene is unique, so a user can navigate around to the correct slide.

If you use audio in your course, use the Notes panel to provide a transcript of what is said.

If you use images or animations in your course, and screen reader users are unable to navigate through the slide objects, place the image descriptions and text in the Notes panel in the order they should have been viewable in.

Alternatively, include an accessible alternative format of the course in the Resources tab with this same information.

If you are using the Modern player style, many of your target audience will be confused by the player's navigation. It is icons by default. You will want to change the Button Styles to Icon and text. If the button text needs to be clearer, or done in a second language, you can Customize the Text Labels.

Ensure the objects on the slide can be accessed in the correct reading or focus order. This also assists with defining the alternative text of objects.

Adjust slide timeline duration to allow a user to review content and move on to the next slide.

Additionally, avoid auto advancing without requiring the user to select the next button.

If you are using animation, try to ensure that the user has control to move around on the timeline to understand concepts at their own pace. For example, have buttons connected to cue points across the timeline. Or give them the Play/Pause controls on the Player.

Make sure tables are defined with alternative text and set with meaningful table focus order.

Where possible, do not put timers on quizzes or tests. If you must put a timer, calculate the amount of time you would have given the student and multiple it by 1.5 (or time and a half). That is the amount of time to place on the quiz timer.