Accessibility information

This page is provided for persons using adaptive technology.

On this page:

• Known accessibility issues
• General tips and tricks for navigation using adaptive technology
  • Accesskeys
  • Miscellaneous navigation tips for non-mouse users
  • Additional navigation tips for screen-reader users
• Settings for recommended screen readers
  • Recommended screen readers
  • How to configure JAWS and Window-Eyes settings
    • JAWS
    • Window-Eyes
  • Recommended screen reader settings by page element
    • Headings
    • Screen refresh
    • Graphics announced by title attributes
    • Links announced by title attributes
  • Summary of recommended JAWS settings
  • Summary of recommended Window-Eyes settings
• Accessibility compliance

Note: The  -  (hyphen) used in the instructions below signifies that keys should be pressed simultaneously.

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Known accessibility issues

Sakai contains some accessibility issues yet to be resolved, for some of which there are workarounds:

• JavaScript must be enabled for Sakai to work properly.
  
  
• Tool headings are often redundant due to separate page title and content frames. This can be confusing to users of adaptive technology, especially users of screen readers.
  
  
• When using Internet Explorer, pressing the up or down keys in some unopened drop-down menus will automatically select the next item and reload the page. To prevent this, first press the Alt-up arrow or Alt-down arrow key to open the menu, and then use the arrow keys to explore the choices.
  
  
• The WYSIWYG editor used to edit rich text within Sakai has many accessibility issues. In many cases, workarounds are available. For instance, instructors can allow students to submit assignments as attachments.
  
  
• Sakai does not work well with the built-in Microsoft Windows High Contrast display mode. We recommend using the page zoom features in the browser or a third-party screen magnifier (like AiSquared's ZoomText or Freedom Scientific's MAGic screen magnifiers).
  
  

Notify the Sakai Accessibility Team Lead at  [email protected]  if you find other problems. Use the subject line "Sakai Accessibility Issues".

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General tips and tricks for navigation

Here are some tips for navigating:

Accesskeys

Accesskeys follow the UK e-commerce standards wherever possible, and are mnemonic otherwise. If an Accesskey is available for a given link or button, the accesskey will be announced by a screen reader when that link or button receives focus. To invoke Accesskeys:

• In Internet Explorer, use Alt plus the indicated letter or number.
• In Firefox for Windows, use Alt-Shift plus the indicated letter or number.
• In Safari or Firefox for Mac OS X, use Ctrl plus the indicated letter or number.

• Global accesskeys

  Accesskeys available throughout the application include:

  • Help tool: Accesskey-6
  • Skip to content: Accesskey-c
  • Skip to tools list: Accesskey-l
  • Skip to worksites: Accesskey-w
  
  
• Tool-specific accesskeys

  Accesskeys are available for most form-based tools.

  • Delete, remove, or cancel: Accesskey-x
  • Edit or revise: Accesskey-e
  • Refresh: Accesskey-u
  • Save: Accesskey-s
  • View or preview: Accesskey-v

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Miscellaneous navigation tips for non-mouse users

• You can avoid having to tab through all the navigation and move the focus to tool content with Accesskey-c.
  
  
• If you get lost, press Accesskey-c to return the focus to the top of the selected tool.
  
  
• If you get stuck in the WYSIWYG editor, and need to get past it, use Accesskey-w to return focus to the worksites list, and then press Shift-Tab repeatedly till focus wraps around to the bottom of the page. Continue pressing Shift-Tab as needed to reach the desired control.
  
  
• Browsers differ in how they handle keyboard access. If a certain feature doesn't work in a given browser, try another browser.

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Additional navigation tips for screen-reader users

• Use headings to navigate. The major sections of each page, such as the worksites list, the tools list, and content within tools, are marked with headings and well structured hierarchically using heading levels (level 1, level 2, level 3, etc.). Pressing  h  moves to the next heading. Pressing Shift-h moves to the previous heading.
  
  
• To get a list of all the headings on a page:
  
  
  • In JAWS, press Insert-F6 for a list, and then scroll using the up and down arrows.
  • In Window-Eyes, press Insert-Tab, Alt-h, Alt-s, and then scroll using the up and down arrows.
  
  
• To go to the bottom buttons (e.g., Cancel) on a page:
  
  
  • In JAWS, press Insert-F5 to open the forms list dialog. Then, press Ctrl-End .
  • In Window-Eyes, press Insert-Tab to open the page navigation dialog, Alt-c to list controls, Alt-s to go to the list, and then press End .
  
  
• To have the page contents read again:
  
  
  • In JAWS, press Insert-down arrow.
  • In Window-Eyes, press Ctrl-Home , and then press Ctrl-Shift-r .

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Settings for recommended screen readers

Recommended screen readers

The following versions are highly recommended:

• JAWS version 10.0 or later
• Window-Eyes version 7.0 or later

Download the latest JAWS version at:

http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads/jaws/jaws-downloads.asp

Check for Window-Eyes upgrades at:

http://www.gwmicro.com/Window-Eyes/Upgrades/

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How to configure JAWS and Window-Eyes settings

• JAWS

  You can make temporary changes for most of the recommended settings while in the browser by pressing Insert-v to bring up the Adjust JAWS Options dialog. The dialog will present a tree view of options that can be changed. Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate the list. You can press the letters used as Navigation Quick Keys to jump to relevant settings (such as  f  for forms,  h for headings,  l  for links, and  t  for text), and then using the up arrow or down arrow.

  To make permanent changes to the HTML settings, use the JAWS Configuration Manager within JAWS itself (for example, to change default settings for JAWS):

  1. Switch to JAWS.
     
     
  2. Go to Utilities by pressing Alt-u .
     
     
  3. Select JAWS Configuration Manager by pressing  c .
     
     
  4. Select Set Options by pressing Alt-s .
     
     
  5. Choose HTML Options by pressing  h .
     
     
  6. Press Ctrl-Tab to move between pages in the HTML Options dialog.
     
     
  7. Make changes as desired.
     
     
  8. Press Enter to save the changes.
  
  
• Window-Eyes

  To access HTML settings within Window-Eyes:

  1. Choose Control panel by pressing Ctrl-backslash .
     
     
  2. Select the Global Menu by pressing Alt-l .
     
     
  3. Choose the Verbosity Menu by pressing  v .
     
     
  4. Select MSAA by pressing  m .

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Recommended screen reader settings by page element

• Headings

  It is recommended to have headings announced with the heading's level. You can navigate easily using headings. The major sections of each page such as the worksites list, the tools list, and the content within tools are marked with headings and well structured hierarchically using heading levels (level 1, level 2, level 3, etc.).

  JAWS and Window-Eyes announce headings with level as the default.

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• Screen refresh

  Users control page refreshes. To refresh page content, press F5.

  To set JAWS to turn off page refresh:

  1. While in the web browser, press Insert-v to go to the Adjust JAWS Options dialog.
     
     
  2. Type  p  for "page refresh", adjust the setting by pressing the Spacebar as needed to reach "off", and then press Alt-e to execute.

  To turn off page refresh in Window-Eyes, press Alt-Shift-m until you hear "suspend all".

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• Graphics announced by title attributes

  Title attributes can aid in comprehension of buttons and links by providing additional information.

  To set JAWS to announce title attributes on graphics:

  1. While in the web browser, press Insert-v to go to the Adjust JAWS Options dialog.
     
     
  2. Type g g g g for "graphics recognize by", adjust the setting by pressing the Spacebar as needed to reach "title", and then press Alt-e to execute.

  Window-Eyes enables announcement of title attributes for graphics by default.

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• Links announced by title attributes

  Title attributes on links can aid in comprehension of buttons and links by providing additional information.

  To set JAWS to announce title attributes on links:

  1. While in the web browser, press Insert-v to go to the Adjust JAWS Options dialog.
     
     
  2. Type t t for "text links show using", adjust the setting by pressing the Spacebar as needed to reach "title", and then press Alt-e to execute.

  Window-Eyes enables announcement of title attributes for graphics by default.

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Summary of recommended JAWS settings

The first column of the table below contains page elements, the second column provides suggested screen reader settings, and the third column contains shortcut keys used while in Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox to configure the settings.

JAWS settings by element

Element	Suggested screen reader setting	Shortcut keys while in Internet Explorer or Firefox
Headings	Headings announce - Heading and level	Press Insert-v . Press h h for "Headings announce", and then press the Spacebar as needed to reach "Heading and level". Press Alt-e to execute.
Links	Text links show using - Title	Press Insert-v . Press t t for "Text links show using", and then press the Spacebar as needed to reach "Title". Press Alt-e to execute.
Graphics	Read title attribute	Press Insert-v . Press g g g g for "Graphics recognize by", and then press the Spacebar as needed to reach "Title". Press Alt-e to execute.
Frames	Frames show start and end - Off	Press Insert-v . Press f f f f f f f (7 times) for "Frames show start and end", and then press the Spacebar as needed to reach "Off". Press Alt-e to execute.
Tables	Layout tables - Off	Press Insert-v . Press l l l l l l l (7 times) for "Layout tables", and then press the Spacebar as needed to reach "Off". Press Alt-e to execute.
Refresh	Page refresh - Off	Press Insert-v . Press  p  for "Page refresh", and then press the Spacebar as needed to reach "Off". Press Alt-e to execute.

Summary of recommended Window-Eyes settings

The first column of the table below contains page elements, the second column provides suggested screen reader settings, and the third column contains shortcut keys used in Internet Explorer or Firefox to configure the settings.

Window-Eyes settings by element

Element	Suggested screen reader setting	Shortcut keys in Internet Explorer and Firefox
Headings	Indicate heading level - Checked	Press Insert-v . Press  h  for "Headings", and then press Tab for the Indicate Heading Level checkbox. Press the Spacebar as needed to check the box, and then press Enter to execute.
Frames	Insert beginning/end message (forms) - Unchecked	Press Insert-v . Press  f  for "Forms", and then press Tab for the Insert Beginning/End Message (Forms) checkbox. Press the Spacebar as needed to uncheck the box. Press Enter to execute.
Tables	Recognize data tables only	Press Insert-v . Press  t  for "Tables", and then press Tab for the currently selected "Insert Beginning/End Message" radio button. Use the up arrow or down arrow as to select the Insert Beginning/End Message (Smart) radio button. Press Enter to execute.
Refresh	Suppress refreshes	Press Alt-Shift-m until you hear "suspend all".

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Accessibility compliance

The continuing objective of developers is to make the application compliant with Section 508 and WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA Success Criteria, and as usable as possible for persons using adaptive technology. Most tools follow W3C accessibility guidelines for headings, forms, tables, links, and images, but do not include non-script alternatives to JavaScript, or user messages for pop-ups or completed actions. Tools following most guidelines include:

• Announcements
• Assignments
• Chat Room
• Gradebook
• Home
• My Workspace--Membership
• My Workspace--Preferences
• News
• Permissions
• Resources
• Site Info
• Syllabus
• Tests & Quizzes
• Web Content
• Worksite Setup

Some tools are being worked on to improve their accessibility. These include the following:

• Administrative Tools (Users, Aliases, Sites, Realms, M, On-Line, Memory, Site Archive)
• Drop Box
• Forums
• My Workspace--Profile
• Podcasts
• Roster
• Schedule
• Section Info
• Wiki

Sakai has been tested with current versions of JAWS using both Internet Explorer and Firefox. Compliance has also been evaluated using manual code inspection, the Firefox Accessibility Extension add-on, the WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation tool, and W3C Validator in order to continually improve accessibility.

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