[Draft] Module 3: Text Alternatives in Content Author Modules, Curricula on Web Accessibility

• Foundation Prerequisites
• Basic knowledge of:
  • Content creation
  • Content editing

• Applied expertise in teaching:
  • WCAG Success Criterion 1.1.1 Non-Text Content
  • WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.1 Use of Color
  • WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)
  • WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.5 Images of Text
  • WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced)
  • WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.9 Images of Text (No Exception)
  • WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.11 Non-Text Contrast

Functional images are those which convey functionality. For example, magnifying glasses for search functionality. @@@

Learning Outcomes for Topic

Students should be able to:

• write unique and equivalent text alternatives to help people who don’t see the image understand its function
• provide information about the image function in the text alternative
• employ accessible authoring tools that:
  • support the inclusion of text alternatives for images
  • produce appropriate markup for functional images

Teaching Ideas for Topic

Optional ideas to teach the learning outcomes:

• Discuss examples of functional images, for example graphical buttons and links. Explain that these images must contain a text alternative that describes the functionality of the component. For example “Search”, “print”, or “save”.
• Introduce accessible authoring tools that support the inclusion of text alternatives for images and that produce appropriate markup for those images. Explain that tools may refer to alternative texts as image descriptions.

Ideas to Assess Knowledge for Topic

Optional ideas to assess knowledge:

• Short Answer Questions — Ask students about the type of information that functional images should convey. Assess how students understand the type of information that functional images should convey.
• Practical — Give students examples of functional images and ask them to provide their text alternative. Assess how students include information about the image function in the text alternative.

[Intro paragraph TBD].

Learning Outcomes for Topic

Students should be able to:

• provide clear and descriptive text alternatives for images that convey information using:
  • clear and succinct text alternatives associated to the images
  • adjacent text that conveys the same information as the image
• write textual information as text instead of including text content in an image file
• ensure availability of different modalities of CAPTCHA, including visual, auditory, and biometrics
• employ accessible authoring tools that:
  • support the inclusion of alternative text for informative images
  • produce appropriate markup for informative images
  • support different modalities of CAPTCHA, including visual, auditory, and biometrics

Teaching Ideas for Topic

Optional ideas to teach the learning outcomes:

• Discuss examples of informative images, including icons, pictures, and illustrations. Relate these images to their adjacent text. Explain that these images are considered informative when they present information that is not otherwise available in the adjacent text.
• Explain the differences between providing textual information as text and providing it in an image file. Explain that some assistive technologies may be able to recognize some text in an image, but may still miss the semantics in the text.
• Reflect with students on available authentication systems to identify humans, including visual, auditory, and logical CAPTCHA, as well as biometrics. Describe challenges associated to relying on one particular modality of CAPTCHA for people with disabilities. Emphasize that authors must ensure people can authenticate through several modalities of CAPTCHA. This includes ensuring the tool provides such modalities itself or using plugins that include that functionality.

Ideas to Assess Knowledge for Topic

Optional ideas to assess knowledge:

• Short Answer Questions — Ask students about the type of information that alternative text for informative images should contain. Assess how students explain the type of information that alternative text for informative images should contain.
• Practical — Give students several informative images with adjacent text. Ask them to determine if the adjacent text provides enough information to understand the image and what type of alternative text they would include. Assess how students provide alternative text for informative images based on the information contained in the image and in its adjacent text.