Hello,
I am a beta tester for JAWS. If you are a JAWS user or if you have JAWS users on your site, I would like to know if there issues of concern.
We have noticed some issues for instructors creating activities in Moodle. Everything that we have found has been from the student access side, not the instructor role.
Here are some of the issues we have found
JAWS is having trouble recognizing some elements on the page such as the Add files link on the Adding a file resource page. JAWS gets lost in the tinymce editor and then skips the text entry section. If a description is required, the resource cannot be saved, because there is no description.
If you have the activity chooser turned off - when javascript is disabled (so JAWS will work better) you are unable to use the "add activity or resource" link and are unable to see the activity chooser on/off option on the settings block. If the activity chooser is turned on when javascript if disabled the page functions as expected.
When java script is disabled an image saying "Add. . . no files available" shows up on many edit pages at the bottom of the description field. this image is out of place and seems to not belong where it is displaying.
Previously, a user could turn off Ajax in their profile, but that is no longer an option.
We wondered about the possibility of using themes to create a more accessible interface - especially for instructors. The user could then select the most appropriate them with the best interface attributes.
Thank you for posting about this Lisa. It will be good to get a discussion going about these issues and hopeful find some solutions.
To add to what Lisa posted - I work with an instructor who uses JAWS. It is updated to the most recent version and he typically uses firefox when accessing Moodle (yes the browser is updated). When we were using version 1.9, he was able to access Moodle just fine by turing off his AJAX. Now in version 2.3 (since the AJAX option is no longer available) he has to turn off his javascript in order to use Moodle - specifically he turns it off so that he can move things on the main page (he can't drag and drop). Unfortunately his system is still not working as expected, so he has been emailing files to students rather than using his Moodle course.
Most of his problems seem to occur when editing is turned on. He sometimes has trouble accessing the drop down menus and often JAWS doesn't "see/find" links on the page - such as the Add a file link on the Adding a File resource page. The interesting thing is that if he uses Internet Explorer to try to add a file he is able to choose the Add a file link but JAWS isn't able to find the description field so he is unable to save the page. Also, when he does something that causes the page to refresh, JAWS goes back to the top left of the page - he tells me that in 1.9 it used to remember the previous position on the page. Having to start at the top each time is very time consuming.
Just a note that the two javascript issues Lisa mentioned - the activity chooser and the extra image - are issues even for people not using JAWS. As far as we have been able to test, they are problems for all users.
It would be wonderful if we could get back the ability to turn AJAX on/off. I have several faculty - who do not use screen readers - but have trouble moving items on the main pages of their courses. Many of them have asked to have the "move to here" boxes back rather than using the drag and drop option.
Can you edit the users profile and turn AJAX off there and see if that makes a difference?
The user profile in 2.3 does not have the option to turn off AJAX.
Hi there,
I just tested Moodle 2.2.4 with JAWS. I was trying to create activities and it simply does not work. In the testing, once I am on the upload a file page, the screen reader cannot read the file browser part of the page. All I can hear is "tab".
This year we have a visually impaired professor teaching and she will not be able to upload files for her students. I hope this gets fixed soon.
Nyree
Make sure you are using the latest version of JAWS, 14. Some of the controls in Moodle may work better with Firefox rather than IE.
Hello there,
I am new to JAWS but have used Moodle for a good number of years. I tried JAWS out on a Moodle out of the box (2.2.4) and noticed that the 'skip to main content' link was not working. If I selected the link the focus point moved into the header area.
Does work need to be done in the theme to get these these 'skip to' links working?
ThanksManda
I am an intervention specialist working with a seventh grader who is learning both JAWS and needs to access Moodle for several of her classes. Is there anything that teachers should know in order to make her access easier?
She is attending public school, and is fully included in the regular curriculum. Is it realistic to think that she will be able to particpate in classes on Moodle independently?