Oncourse 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
- Settings for recommended screen readers
- Accessibility compliance
Note: The - (hyphen)
used in the instructions below signifies that keys should be pressed
simultaneously.
Known accessibility issues
Oncourse contains some accessibility issues yet to be resolved, for some of which there are workarounds:
- When using Internet Explorer or Opera, pressing the up or down
keys in some unopened drop-down menus (announced as "combo box" by
JAWS) will automatically select the next item and reload the page. To
prevent this, first press the
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 Oncourse has many
accessibility issues. In many cases, workarounds are available.
For instance, instructors can allow students to submit
assignments as attachments.
- Oncourse 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 the contrast tools found in
third-party screen magnifiers (like AiSquared's ZoomText or Freedom
Scientific's MAGic screen magnifiers).
- Class-related materials posted to
Oncourse may be in inaccessible formats. If you find material
that is inaccessible to you, the Adaptive Technology and
Accessibility Centers can convert it to an accessible format for
you. Email
iuadapts@indiana.eduor call 812-856-4112 (IUB) or 317-274-6482 (all other campuses) for more information.
Visit the KB Comments link at the bottom of any
Knowledge Base document to report any additional accessibility
problems.
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
Altplus the indicated letter or number. - In Firefox for Windows, use
Alt-Shiftplus the indicated letter or number. - In Safari or Firefox for Mac OS X, use
Ctrlplus 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
-
Help tool:
-
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
-
Delete, remove, or cancel:
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-cto 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-wto return focus to the worksites list, and then pressShift-Tabrepeatedly till focus wraps around to the bottom of the page. Continue pressingShift-Tabas 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.
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
hmoves to the next heading. PressingShift-hmoves to the previous heading.
- To get a list of all the headings on a page:
- In JAWS, press
Insert-F6for 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.
- In JAWS, press
- To go to the bottom buttons (e.g.,
Cancel) on a page:
- In JAWS, press
Insert-F5to open the forms list dialog. Then, pressCtrl-End. - In Window-Eyes, press
Insert-Tabto open the page navigation dialog,Alt-cto list controls,Alt-sto go to the list, and then pressEnd.
Note: JAWS and WindowEyes users can use first letter navigation while in the list of forms or headings to easily navigate to the desired element. For example, to easily locate the cancel button in the list of forms, press
c. - In JAWS, press
- To have the page contents read again:
- In JAWS, press
Insert-down arrow. - In Window-Eyes, press
Ctrl-Home, and then pressCtrl-Shift-r.
- In JAWS, press
Settings for recommended screen readers
Recommended screen readers
The following versions are highly recommended:
- JAWS versions 12.0, 11.0, or 10.0
- Window-Eyes version 7.0 or later
Download the latest JAWS version at:
http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads/jaws/jaws-downloads.aspCheck for Window-Eyes upgrades at:
http://www.gwmicro.com/Window-Eyes/Upgrades/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-vto bring up theAdjust JAWS Optionsdialog. The dialog will present a tree view of options that can be changed. Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate the list. Press the letters used as Navigation Quick Keys to jump to relevant settings (such asffor forms,hfor headings,lfor links, andtfor text).To make permanent changes to the HTML settings, use the JAWS Configuration Manager in JAWS versions 10 and 11. JAWS 12 users should use the Settings Center within the Run JAWS Manager.
-
To change default HTML settings for JAWS 12:
Note: Whichever browser you use, the settings that are changed will apply to that browser unless a specific program is selected from the
Applicationcombo box. TheApplicationcombo box can be found by tabbing past theOKandCancelbuttons. Then, use the down arrow key to choose whether the settings should be applied to one or all of the programs.- Open the JAWS Manager by pressing
Insert-F2.
- Press
sto navigate to the Settings Center and pressEnter.
- Press down arrow to the
Web/HTML/PDFsoption, and then press right arrow to open the tree view.
- Press down arrow to scroll through the different options, such as
headings and frames.
- Press right arrow to open the tree view, and then down arrow to the
different options.
- Tab to the
OKbutton, and then pressEnter.
You can make changes for one specific page or web site domain by adjusting settings in the
Personalized Settingsmenu, which is accessed by pressingInsert-Shift-v. - Open the JAWS Manager by pressing
-
To change default HTML settings for JAWS 10 and 11:
- Switch to the JAWS window by pressing
Alt-Tab.
- Go to
Utilitiesby pressingAlt-u.
- Select
JAWS Configuration Managerby pressingc.
- Select
Set Optionsby pressingAlt-s.
- Choose
HTML Optionsby pressingh.
- Press
Ctrl-Tabto move between pages in theHTML Optionsdialog.
- Make changes as desired.
- Press
Enterto save the changes.
- Switch to the JAWS window by pressing
-
To change default HTML settings for JAWS 12:
-
Window-Eyes
To access HTML settings within Window-Eyes:
- Choose
Control panelby pressingCtrl-backslash.
- Select the
Global Menuby pressingAlt-l.
- Choose the
Verbosity Menuby pressingv.
- Select
MSAAby pressingm.
To save page-specific settings in Window-Eyes, go to the
General Document Settingsoption in the control panel. - Choose
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.
-
Screen refresh
Users control page refreshes. To refresh page content, press
F5.To set JAWS to turn off page refresh:
-
For JAWS 12:
- Press
Insert-F2to open the Run JAWS Manager.
- Press
suntil you hear "Settings Center", and then pressEnter.
- Type
Refreshin the search box. Tab to the one search result listed.
- Open the
Page Refreshoption from theHTML/Web/PDFsmenu, and pressEnter.
- Press the Spacebar to toggle the page refresh option to
off.
- Press
-
For JAWS 10 and 11:
- While in the web browser, press
Insert-vto go to theAdjust JAWS Optionsdialog.
- Type
pfor "page refresh", adjust the setting by pressing the Spacebar as needed to reachoff, and then pressAlt-eto execute.
- While in the web browser, press
To turn off page refresh in Window-Eyes, press
Alt-Shift-muntil you hear "suspend all". -
For JAWS 12:
-
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:
-
For JAWS 12:
- Press
Insert-F2, and thensuntil you hear JAWS say "Settings Center". PressEnter.
- Type the word
graphicin the search box. Then pressTabto go to the search results.
- Press
Enterto open theWeb/HTML/PDFsmenu.
- Press down arrow to the
Images/Graphicsoptions, and then press right arrow to open it.
- Press down arrow or
funtil you hear JAWS say "for an image", and then press right arrow to open it.
- Down arrow to the five options that indicate how HTML graphics are
announced, and press Spacebar until you hear JAWS say "title".
- Tab to the
OKbutton and pressEnter.
- Press
-
For JAWS 10 and 11:
- While in the web browser, press
Insert-vto go to theAdjust JAWS Optionsdialog.
- Type
g g g gfor "graphics recognize by", adjust the setting by pressing the Spacebar as needed to reach "title", and then pressAlt-eto execute.
- While in the web browser, press
Window-Eyes enables announcement of title attributes for graphics by default.
-
For JAWS 12:
-
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:
-
For JAWS 12:
- Type
text linkin the search box, and then pressTabto go to the search results.
- Open the
HTML/Web/PDFsoption with the right arrow key.
- Press down arrow or
funtil you hear JAWS say "For a link text", and then press the right arrow key to open the menu.
- Press the down arrow key once, and press Spacebar to toggle
between the three options, one of which is "title".
- Tab to the
OKbutton, and pressEnter.
- Type
-
For JAWS 10 and 11:
- While in the web browser, press
Insert-vto go to theAdjust JAWS Optionsdialog.
- Type
t tfor "text links show using", adjust the setting by pressing the Spacebar as needed to reach "title", and then pressAlt-eto execute.
- While in the web browser, press
Window-Eyes enables announcement of title attributes for graphics by default.
-
For JAWS 12:
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.
| 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.
| 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".
|
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
- Original Test and Survey
- Permissions
- Resources
- Site Setup
- Syllabus
- 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)
- Assignments 2
- Calendar
- Drop Box
- Forums
- My Workspace--Profile
- Roster
- Wiki
Oncourse 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.
Last modified on July 07, 2011.







