Accessibility in Open LMS

Accessibility Compliance

Open LMS is fully committed to ensuring all products and services we deliver are both usable and accessible to all users regardless of age, ability, or situation. In keeping with our strong tradition of leadership around accessibility, our products are designed and developed in accordance with the internationally recognized Web Content Accessibility (WCAG) Guidelines 2.1 Level AA as well as the Section 508 standards in the United States. A third party conducts regular audits of our software to ensure quality expectations are being met and maintained.

Open LMS includes the following:

1. Full support of assistive technologies such as screen readers, text magnifiers, and speech-to-text solutions.
2. All functionality is designed to be keyboard accessible. Global keyboard shortcuts for common actions.
3. Compliance with ADA, XHTML and JavaScript standards is also important for accessibility and Web browser compatibility. Moodle has standard accessibility tests available on every page. These checks run the W3C’s Validator application to check for strict XHTML compliance, as well as the common “”Cynthia Says”” validation from Hi Software for both Section 508 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) compliance.
4. As an open-source project, more than 60 million users worldwide are continuously using and testing Moodle, and all issues identified are openly reported, discussed, and fixed. Likewise, a worldwide project, which has had major investments from the UK, Italy, New Zealand, etc., works to make Moodle the most accessible LMS in the world.

Related reading:

• VPAT for Open LMS (available in English only)

About keyboard navigation

Industry-standard keyboard interactions are used throughout Open LMS. Keyboard navigation patterns differ between browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome), but the interactions within any particular browser are common and consistent.

If you are using a Mac with Firefox or Safari and are having difficulty navigating using your keyboard, review and update your operating system and browser settings. This ensures they are properly configured for keyboard navigation. To learn more, see the following information:

• Firefox setup
• Firefox keyboard navigation tips
• Mac general setup

Global keyboard shortcuts have been established for common actions within Open LMS.

Accessible chat interface

The Chat activity has a more accessible interface that gives a simpler chat room without frames and javascript.

Blackboard Ally integration available

Institutions can make their digital content more accessible with Blackboard Ally.

Blackboard Ally is a paid-for integration and must be purchased to be enabled.

1. Automatically checks course materials against WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards
2. Provides students with accessible alternative formats such as audio and electronic braille
3. Delivers guidance to instructors to improve accessibility of their course content