[Draft] Module 4: Data Visualizations in Content Author Modules, Curricula on Web Accessibility

• Foundation Prerequisites
• Prior Content Author Modules
• Basic knowledge of:
  • Content creation
  • Content editing

• Applied expertise in teaching:
  • WCAG 2 Success Criterion 1.1.1 Non-Text Content
  • WCAG 2 Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
  • @@@

Complex images are charts, diagrams, maps, and infographics. They require short descriptions that identify the complex images, and long description that provide the same information as the image provides.

Learning Outcomes for Topic

Students should be able to:

• write short, succinct, and clear descriptions that:
  • identify the described complex image
  • include reference to the alternative long description for the image
• provide textual information that helps understand and process the image contents through:
  • additional blocks of content in the same page
  • separate pages containing the long descriptions
• collaborate with designers and developers to ensure:
  • appropriate contrast ratios for complex images and descriptions
  • reliable identification of short and long descriptions for complex images

Teaching Ideas for Topic

Optional ideas to teach the learning outcomes:

[TBD]

Ideas to Assess Knowledge for Topic

Optional ideas to assess knowledge:

[TBD]

[Intro paragraph TBD].

Learning Outcomes for Topic

Students should be able to:

• explain how people with disabilities rely on appropriate markup and definition for table cells, summaries,and descriptions to understand information presented in data tables
• describe table headers as those which provide information about the type of data in a row or column
• describe data cells as those which contain information of a specific type of data
• provide short, descriptive column and row headers for tables
• provide table summaries that help identify the tables purpose
• write table descriptions that:
  • provide navigational hints for complex tables
  • describe how the table is organized
  • provide information about the type of data in each column and row
• employ accessible tools that:
  • produce appropriate markup for table header cells and data cells, including the cells scope
  • support the inclusion of table summaries and descriptions
  • produce accessible markup for table summaries and descriptions

Teaching Ideas for Topic

Optional ideas to teach the learning outcomes:

• Demonstrate use of assistive technologies to navigate data tables. Emphasize how table headers are announced before or after the data cells they are associated to.
• Show examples of table header and data cells. Explain that table headers contain succinct and clear information about the data the column or row holds. Explain that data cells contain information of a specific type of data. Emphasize that it is good practice to keep tables as simple as possible, providing one specific type of data in one column or row. Explain that merged cells are problematic for some people that have difficulty to understand the cells scope.
• Show examples of how assistive technologies announce table summaries as users move through different tables on the same page. Explain that they provide information on what the table is about. Emphasize that it is good practice to display these summaries on screen, as they are essential for some users and benefit all.
• Explain situations where people need additional information to understand the table purpose and how it is organized. This includes complex tables, tables that are difficult to navigate, and tables containing information that is difficult to process, among others. Explain that table descriptions use to hold this additional information.
• Introduce accessible tools that produce appropriate markup for header and data cells. Explain how to designate a given cell as header and how to define the header scope using the tool’s user interface.
• Introduce accessible authoring tools that produce appropriate markup for table summaries and descriptions. Explain that some tools may refer to table summaries as titles or names, and may refer to table descriptions as descriptions or captions.

Ideas to Assess Knowledge for Topic

Optional ideas to assess knowledge:

• Short Answer Questions — Ask students to explain the differences between a header cell and a data cell, and to explain what type of information each should contain. Assess how students understand the differences between header cells and data cells.
• Short Answer Questions — Ask students about the differences between table summaries and descriptions and about what type of information the table summary and the table description should contain. Assess how students explain what type of information the table summary and description should contain.
• Practical — Give students a table without designated header and data cells and ask them to designate the header and data cells as well as their scope. Assess how students understand the purpose and scope of table header and data cells.
• Practical — Have students designate the table header and data cells as well as their scope using an accessible tool of their choice. Assess how students use accessible authoring tools to designate the table header and data cells as well as their scope.
• Practical — Have students include the table summary and description using an accessible authoring tool of their choice. Assess how students rely on the tool’s built-in functionality to include the table summary and description.