content author modules outline

Content Author Modules Outline

The below are ideas for the content author modules outline.

Module 1: Clear Writing

• explain how people with disabilities rely on clear, easy-to-understand, and easy-to-read language to process text content
• write text using plain language
• provide the extended form for abbreviations and acronyms
• use iconography to help understand text content
• use text alternatives to help understand content from images and other graphics
• collaborate with designers and developers to:
  • use grouping and spacing to communicate content sections
  • use font types that are easy to read
  • ensure appropriate contrast ratio for content
• provide clear and concise instructions for overall content and specific input requirements

Topic: Plain Language

• clear language
• simple language
• short sentences
• active voice

Topic: Terminology

Could cover:

• use words that are easy to understand
• provide the extended form of:
  • abbreviations
  • acronyms
• provide explanations for complex terms and jargon

Topic: Appearance

Could cover:

• fonts
• contrast ratio
• spacing
• grouping

Module 2: Content Structure

• explain how people with disabilities rely on titles, headings, paragraphs, lists, and other structures to understand and process text content
• write titles that describe the purpose of the page
• provide headings to help users identify the different content sections
• write clear and meaningful text to communicate the link purpose
• collaborate with designers and developers to communicate content meaning through appropriate structures, including titles, headings, paragraphs, lists, quotes, and others
• employ tools that support the creation of accessible content structures, including titles, headings, lists, paragraphs, and others
• identify related requirements for designers and developers to make content structures perceivable visually and non-visually

Topic: Titles

Could cover:

• write unique, descriptive, and meaningful page titles
• provide information about the current step in the page title when the page is part of a multi-step process
• provide relevant and unique information first in page titles
• employ tools that produce appropriate markup for accessible page titles

Topic: Headings

Could cover:

• write descriptive headings
• provide headings and their corresponding rank levels to help users identify the different content sections and sub sections
• employ tools that produce appropriate markup for headings and their corresponding rank levels

Topic: Links

Could cover:

• write unique, descriptive, and meaningful link text
• provide relevant information about the link destination in the link text where possible, including:
  • the target resource title
  • if the link will open a new window
  • the file type and format (when linking to a file)
• employ tools that:
  • allow the inclusion of link text and link descriptions where appropriate
  • produce appropriate markup for links

Module 3: Images

• explain how people with disabilities rely on images (including diagrams, charts, maps, and infographics) and their corresponding text alternatives to understand information
• provide icons and symbols that help people better understand text content
• write clear and succinct text alternatives for images that convey functionality
• write equivalent and understandable text alternatives for images conveying information
• collaborate with other team members and subject-matter experts to create alternatives for charts, diagrams, maps, and other complex graphics included in the authoring phase
• employ tools that
  • support the inclusion of text alternatives for images
  • support marking an image as decorative when it has an ornamental purpose
  • produce appropriate markup for text alternatives
• identify related requirements for designers and developers to make images perceivable, understandable, and operable visually and non-visually

Note: Relation to alt decision tree [TBD]

Topic: Informative Images

Could cover:

• write unique and equivalent text alternatives that help people who don't see the image understand its content
• employ tools that support the inclusion of text alternatives for images
• @@@

Topic: Complex Images

Could cover:

• collaborate with designers and developers to include alternatives for complex images, including tables, additional blocks of content, and separate pages
• collaborate with other subject-matter experts to include alternatives for complex images

Module 4: Data Tables

• explain how people with disabilities rely on appropriate table markup and relations between table header cells and data cells to understand information presented in 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
• designate header cells and data cells and communicate those relationships
• provide regular data tables as alternatives to graphical representations of tabular data
• provide table captions to help users understand the purpose of complex tables
• employ tools that produce accessible markup for data tables
• collaborate with designers and developers to achieve the desired visual presentation of multi-column content using styles instead of layout tables

Topic: Data Tables

[TBD]

Topic: Table Headers

[TBD]

Topic: Table Captions

[TBD]

Module 5: Multimedia

Learning Outcomes for Module

Students should be able to:

• explain how people with disabilities rely on alternatives to multimedia content (including description of visual information, captions, transcripts, and sign language) to understand information contained in multimedia content
• provide transcripts for audio content to help people who cannot hear the audio
• create audio and video content with:
  • clear and easy to understand speech
  • minimized background audio and overall distractions where possible
  • visuals that help understand the audio where possible
  • audio that helps understand the visuals where possible
  • captions to help users who cannot hear the audio get the information
  • transcripts for people who cannot hear the audio or see the visuals get the information
• include descriptions of visual information for people who cannot see the videos by:
  • integrating descriptions into the main audio where possible
  • providing a separate description track or text file
• employ tools that support including and controlling alternatives to audio and video content
• identify related requirements for designers and developers to make the following perceivable and operable both visually and non-visually:
  • alternatives to multimedia content
  • media players
  • media player controls

Module 6: Labels and Instructions

Learning Outcomes for Module

Students should be able to:

• explain how people with disabilities rely on clear and meaningful instructions to understand and interact with content
• provide textual and visual instructions that describe the overall purpose and intent of the content
• create content with textual instructions that help understand the visual content, for example using text alternatives to communicate the information contained in an image
• create content with visual instructions that help understand the textual content, for example using diagrams to explain multi-step processes communicated through text
• provide instructions about the current step and about the total number of steps in a multi-step process
• provide clear instructions when collecting user input, including:
  • expected input types and formats
  • error messages and suggestions for correction when possible
• identify related requirements for designers and developers to make instructions perceivable both visually and non-visually