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content author modules outline

daniel-montalvo edited this page Aug 29, 2022 · 3 revisions

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