a11y lesson suggestions

[vegetabill]

Updated needs:

the a11y lesson has been improved, but we're sure it could be better. We don't need tons more practice on any of these things, but more of an awareness - maybe linking a video or a short article on the following. Check it off if you notice it is already done.

• [x] Short discussion (or at least intro) of ARIA

  article suggestions: https://www.a11yproject.com/posts/2014-05-15-getting-started-aria/,

• [ ] What is WCAG and its rating system. Maybe even use the Wave browser extension for 5 minutes.

  article suggestions: https://sparkbox.com/foundry/getting_comfortable_with_wcag, http://web-accessibility.carnegiemuseums.org/, https://wave.webaim.org/

• [x] Voiceover, NVDA, JAWS. What are they, what are the differences.
• [ ] A quick reference of zoom (screen magnification) tech and what websites do to make it work or not work.
• [ ] a quick reference of contrast

  article suggestions: https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/

Existing lesson: https://github.com/Techtonica/curriculum/blob/master/web/accessibility.md

---

Original description:

This came from feedback from a volunteer:

Your material on accessibility isn't terrible. But it needs a few things

• Short discussion (or at least intro) of ARIA
• Summary of accessible open source design system (there are 7 that I know of)
• More of a focus on how people with disabilities use assistive technology - braille note takers, screen readers, switches, etc.
• More discussion of manual testing. Lots of good automated resources listed, but that only covers 30 % of the WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines

I would also add a couple of movies in there - the Sady Apple video is the best 2 minutes of your life you will ever spend

Useful resources: sheribyrnehaber.com

For FAQs on how to contribute, see: https://github.com/Techtonica/curriculum/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md

[alodahl]

"Summary of accessible open source design system (there are 7 that I know of)"

What were you thinking of including? I'm confused as to why this is basic knowledge for apprentices. But I agree with the rest of this issue!

[vegetabill]

@alodahl Sorry I didn't note at the top that this came from a volunteer. I was hoping that giving them this issue URL would tempt them into working on it but I guess it didn't work.

I have no idea for the value or priority to this, as I was actually arguing to cut this material from the curriculum entirely. 😕 -- at every place I've worked a11y has been deprioritized always and so it seems like teaching someone about how the world should work or something.

[alodahl]

NOOOO don't cut a11y from the curriculum! This is a big deal! 🙅🏻‍♀️

I think having someone with a11y knowledge revise what we have to make it more about understanding the needs of assistive technology users and some good references for later would be really valuable, rather than lots of a11y solutions to remember.

I could even do it (eventually), I've been learning a lot.

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[hnarasaki]

I am not able to work on this issue at this time, but I would like to add a suggestion: It might be helpful for apprentices to try to a11y test their apps manually on their own before shipping/releasing. While a11y automation can help, it does miss a lot of things people may be able to uncover manually.

• One suggestion I have is to use an extension like Chrome Vox. It will read aloud text. If you are able to, check if it makes sense.
• Another suggestion I have is to navigate using a keyboard instead of a mouse. (Ex: Use tab to change focus on buttons, hit enter to mimic clicking on a button, use arrow keys to navigate in lists, etc.)
• Many companies are looking at WCAG compliance. I would also suggest adding something about WCAG compliance so apprentices aren't caught off guard if they join a company that has WCAG initiatives.

[swidjaja]

Hello all, I'm Sugi and I recently joined Technotica as volunteer. I'm currently a Front-end Web dev and I've worked quite a bit on Web a11y at my work for the past three years. It is in fact my passion :) I'd definitely love to help w/ this in any way I could :)

[alodahl]

Hooray, thanks @swidjaja ! Shall I assign you?

[swidjaja]

@alodahl Sure thing 👍 By the way, could we set some time (maybe zoom?). I want to learn more of the expectation of this ticket?

[alodahl]

@alodahl Sure thing 👍 By the way, could we set some time (maybe zoom?). I want to learn more of the expectation of this ticket?

Please just follow the first “updated needs” section before the dividing line, and let us know if you have specific questions.

[swidjaja]

@alodahl Sure thing 👍 By the way, could we set some time (maybe zoom?). I want to learn more of the expectation of this ticket?

Please just follow the first “updated needs” section before the dividing line, and let us know if you have specific questions.

Got it 👍 I will give it a shoot.

[swidjaja]

@alodahl Opened a PR. Could you take a look? Thanks