Enhancing eLearning Inclusion: The Importance of Animation Accessibility Awareness in Storyline
As digital devices and services become increasingly intertwined with our professional and personal lives, so does the importance of engaging, accessible and scaleable ways of learning.
With the rise of virtual classrooms, eLearning has become integral to educational systems and professional training programs. However, while the focus should undoubtedly be on creating engaging content, it's essential to prioritise not only the learning experience but also the accessibility of that experience for all users.
Amongst other considerations such as focus order, Alt Text, and correctly labelling headings, it’s important to be conscious of how you use animation and its impact on accessibility. In Articulate Storyline - the widely used tool for eLearning development - animations can bring an eLearning course to life but may also unintentionally create barriers for users with learning challenges. So, how can you strike the right balance?
The Accessibility Challenge of Animation in eLearning
Animations can add depth and the potential for greater engagement to eLearning content. However, without an accessible approach, they can also create complications for some learners - particularly those who use screen readers or have specific conditions where animations can distract or obstruct their learning experience.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) specify the need for mechanisms to turn off animation to meet AAA accessibility requirements. But is this the only criteria to have in mind when using animation? Absolutely not, Without considered use of animation, you could be failing the A requirements of Meaningful Sequence and Focus Order.
Knowing how animations impact all learners is essential, even if you’re not aiming for AAA compliance. Animations can cause challenges for Reading Orders and Sequence Order of buttons which could confuse learners using screen readers and reduce the effectiveness of your content. Being aware of the accessibility challenges animations can create is vital if your content is to be as inclusive as possible.
A Simple Solution: The Animation Off Switch!
A simple approach to balance accessibility with animation's engagement benefits is creating an Animation Toggle Button. This easy-to-build button will allow your learners to choose whether they want to see the animations or not. Giving the user the option of seeing animations is ideal since you don’t have to sacrifice the visual appeal of your content. It is also more engaging since it offers learners choices about their learning approach.
To create an Animation Off Switch, all you need are four simple Storyline techniques:
A True/False Variable to determine if Animations should be On or Off
An action on each slide jumping to a cue point if animations are turned off
A cue point on each slide ahead of all the page animations
A button that toggles the animation variable to True/False so a learner can choose if they want to skip or see animations
Conclusion
In an increasingly digital world, digital learning has become crucial for organisations and is seeing greater adoption in education. However, as you strive to create engaging, dynamic experiences, you should avoid excluding users by creating inaccessible content.
Through animation accessibility awareness, an Animation Toggle Button, and cue points, you can ensure that our eLearning content is engaging and accessible to all. Remember, an engaging learning experience that is inaccessible to some is not genuinely engaging at all.
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