Our latest thoughts from the world of technology in education & the workplace

Texthelp Blog - Our latest thoughts from the world of technology in education & the workplace

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So what is WCAG? WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and are part of a series of web accessibility guidelines published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The guidelines aim to make your content accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, learning disabilities, cognitive limitations, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity and combinations of these. It’s quite a long list but it represents about 1 billion people across the world.

The guidelines inform the international standard for web accessibility, and legislation such as the EU Directive for Web Accessibility, outlines that organizations must comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards.

Following the guidelines will not only make your web content more usable to ALL USERS, but will also ensure you're in compliance with legal requirements.

Make sure all images that are visible to screen readers have descriptive ALT text. For example, an image of a pie chart might have ALT text reading: “Pie chart illustrating that “40% Voted Yes and 60% Voted No.”

Format links to contrast from the body text, such as using underlines or icons next to the text. Use descriptive TITLE text, and descriptive link text such as “click here to download policies PDF.”

Add a border to input fields, populate the LABEL tags for each field, and add helper text that provides an example input for each field. Make sure form elements are not hidden or inaccessible by using the tab key.

Set the contrast ratio between text and the text’s background to be at least 4.5 to 1. If your font is at least 18px bold, the minimum drops to 3 to 1. Use a color contrast tool to analyze your site for AA and AAA standards.

Apply H1, H2, H3, and H4 tags for your headings and apply landmarks such as main, form, and navigation to the structure of the page.

Use aria-hidden=”true” on elements such as pull-quotes, dividers, and icons to hide them when the site is accessed by screen readers.

Select an easy-to-read font, and limit the number of fonts used on the site. Use relative units for font sizes so they can be increased with screen magnification. Avoid very small text.

How do I improve web accessibility for users of assistive technology?

Many users with disabilities use assistive technologies to access digital content. Assistive technologies include screen magnifiers, screen readers, alternative keyboards and pointing devices, and site, or browser based assistive tools.

Understanding how assistive technologies work and applying the principles of accessible design allows you to successfully deliver web content for every user.  The practices of accessibility affect all areas of a website, including: 

Your code needs to be optimized for screen readers, including appropriate HTML markup structure. Users should be able to navigate the entirety of the site, including any forms, using only a keyboard. Accessible coding is generally the responsibility of a web developer.

Think about users with vision impairments and make sure that the use of colors, contrast, and font sizes is optimized for visibility. Colors should not be the only element used to indicate important information. 

Ensure that screen readers and other devices can translate visual content into speech or text by providing text alternatives for graphic elements and links.

To help you delve deeper into web accessibility and create digital content that's inclusive, we've pulled together several free resources for you to explore:

Webinar and WCAG checklists for designers and marketers


Discover more the WCAG guidelines and what they mean.

What is WCAG 2.1 and how do I make sense of the guidelines?

Have you ever avoided delving into WCAG compliance due to its complexity? Never fear, we’re here to help. This blog will highlight the main components of web accessibility, without all the technical jargon. 

Whether you're an employee, or an employer looking for ways to support your remote teams, here's 11 ways that might help those struggling to get used to working from home...

Here's 11 ways that might help employees struggling to get used to working from home.

11 ways to help you get used to working from home

We know how unsettling change can be, especially when it swoops in swiftly and is accompanied by the unknown and uncertain. If you’ve recently moved to remote working, you might be struggling to get used to a new daily routine, or are finding it challenging to communicate with your colleagues online. ​We want to help support you in getting used to your new way of working, so we’ve put together some tips and tricks for you to try.

Maintaining a positive company culture can be difficult at the best of times. It’s something that comes naturally from your people. So as a leader, it is your responsibility to positively influence and nurture what’s going on around you. That’s incredibly important in times like these when your employees can’t as easily build company culture amongst themselves.

Right now, showing support to your remote teams is the most valuable thing you can do - and when I reflect on how we’re retaining positivity with my team at MVMNT, I can point to five key areas…

Guest Vlog: How to maintain a positive company culture while working remote

Hear from our friend Miles Skelton, Co-founder and Director at MVMNT, for advice on retaining company culture among your remote teams.

How to maintain a positive company culture while working remote

Video: How to maintain a positive company culture while working remote

In this guest blog, our friend Miles Skelton, Co-founder and Director at MVMNT, shares some advice on how to retain a positive company culture while working remote...

Younger students often use manipulatives in their classrooms to explore math concepts. Therefore, we have incorporated virtual manipulatives into this latest update of EquatIO mathspace! Now, teachers and students can mimic what can be achieved in the physical classroom on a digital platform, which offers additional opportunities for comparisons, discovery, collaboration, and personalization.

When you log in to EquatIO mathspace, you will now see dynamic fraction bars and circles with shading options included in the Smart Shapes tab to help with ratio fluency and comparative quantities. Embedding these dynamic manipulatives into a Google Workspace for Education App with the EquatIO mathspace integration is a great way to enhance a lesson and make the material more than just ‘digital paper’.

Additionally, in the Shapes tab we have a variety of standard elementary manipulatives including:

Now users can create math & stem thumbnails easily right from their mobile tablet. They then can be shared easily with students and easily submitted back to the teacher to receive feedback. There is no app to download in order for users to access EquatIO mathspace. Simply visit equatio.texthelp.com from their iPad browser and they will be asked to sign in using their credentials for EquatIO. Once inside you will see the same EquatIO dashboard you are accustomed to seeing on your computer.

We are really excited about all of the new ways EquatIO can help younger students communicate their thought processes and explore math concepts. We would love to hear what other items you would like to see us build to help make your students’ math digital. Leave your suggestions in the comments below!

While a lot of our initial EquatIO releases and updates focused on supports for Middle and High School students, we wanted to spend some time creating features that would support Elementary School students as well. Keep reading to see what we’ve come up with!

EquatIO mathspace: it’s elementary my dear

The overall goal of EquatIO is to make it delightful, intuitive, and fun for students to communicate their thought processes. While a lot of our initial EquatIO releases and updates focused on supports for Middle and High School students, we wanted to spend some time creating features that would support Elementary School students as well. Great news: Introducing EquatIO Mathspace for iPad!

Users who have a Unlimited Domain License for EquatIO can add this LTI tool to the learning management system so teachers and students can create digital STEM content directly within their Learning Management Systems.  

The EquatIO input methods that you have grown to love inside the Google Workspace for Education Apps & Microsoft Word can now be accessed inside your LMS, including the Equation Editor, LaTex Editor, Graph Editor (powered by Desmos), Handwriting Recognition, and Speech Input.  Bringing these Universal Design for learning benefits to Brightspace D2L and Schoology will allow students to show their understanding of math concepts in a meaningful way.  

Teachers will also benefit greatly from this integration as assignments and assessments can now be auto-graded in both of these LMS systems (as long as teachers create items where students can respond in the ‘HTML editor’ for Brightspace D2L and the ‘Rich Text Editor’ for Schoology).  

Users who are new to the buttons within EquatIO for LMS can find our updated Quick Reference Guide here or visit our website for more information on how EquatIO works in an LMS.  

As you explore, we would love to hear your feedback on these latest updates, as well as any future development you would like to see. If you have suggestions, please feel free to add them in the comments below.  Nothing makes us happier than hearing from our customers!

And if you are interested in getting EquatIO for LMS for your school or district, please contact us and one of our Texthelp representatives will be happy to chat!

For the past two years, EquatIO for LMS has been available within Canvas LMS. And now we’re excited to share that it’s available with Brightspace D2L & Schoology, as well!

EquatIO for LMS now works in Brightspace D2L and Schoology

Have you been looking for a more creative and intuitive math editor for your LMS?  Look no further than EquatIO! For the past two years, EquatIO for LMS has been available within Canvas LMS. And now we’re excited to share that it’s available with Brightspace D2L & Schoology, as well!

What is the Accessible Canada Act, and what does it mean for you?

Creating an accessible Canada

Around the globe, many countries are proactively seeking a digital arena that's accessible for all. They're putting legislation in place to inform businesses of web accessibility standards and enthuse compliance - and that includes the Accessible Canada Act. But what is it and what does it mean for you?

Blog

What is WCAG 2.1 and how do I make sense of the guidelines?

11 ways to help you get used to working from home

Video: How to maintain a positive company culture while working remote

EquatIO mathspace: it’s elementary my dear

EquatIO for LMS now works in Brightspace D2L and Schoology

Creating an accessible Canada

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