Moodle buzz

NC State University currently uses Moodle 1.9.13 for course delivery and is assessing Moodle 2.1.1 to determine the best upgrade path. Part of this assessment is an accessibility evaluation. In the past NC State has made modifications to Moodle that were not part of the core code in order to make the environment more accessible. Moodle 2.0 and later versions introduce many changes that impact accessibility, some positively, some negatively. Some of the accessibility problems NC State had to address previously have now been resolved. These include the following.

• The course Topic outline now forces each topic label to be a heading, allowing for easier navigation.
• Quiz questions are now each listed as a new heading, allowing for easier navigation.

The major problems in 2.1.1 include the following.

• The File Picker window is functionally inaccessible to screen reader users and keyboard-only users.
• The Forum activity lacks any type of semantic structure to define message threads, making it very difficult for screen reader users to accurately read message threads.
• The Choice activity is inaccessible to screen reader users.
• The Navigation block does not provide enough information to screen reader users.
• The Folder resource does not allow keyboard-only users to download files. 

While there are many other problems outlined later in this report, these five problems represent some of the most critical issues that must be addressed before Moodle can be deployed to campus. Appendix B details and rates the importance of all of the accessibility problems in Moodle 2.1.1. The “High” priority items must be addressed before deploying Moodle and there must be a commitment to addressing all of the “Medium” and “Low” priority items as well.