Accessibility Improvements in eLearning

Client Goals:

The Maryland Virtual Learning Opportunities (MVLO) program, an educational service managed by MSDE, expands the access of challenging online learning courses to students throughout Maryland. MSDE’s objective was to fix various non-compliant components in these high-quality, rigorous, and credit bearing courses found by an accessibility expert. There were many units and components in each course that needed to be fixed and re-tested for accessibility compliancy under an aggressive two months deadline before the beginning of the fall session.
 

Our Contributions:

In this contract, DynamixMC was responsible for ensuring that all identified non-compliant aspects of the student course are revised to meet the required accessibility guidelines – WCAG 2.0 Level AA compliance.  The courses were created in the Blackboard Learn virtual learning environment which is based on Java programming language. We applied the relevant programming changes in Java, HTML and JavaScript codes to ensure the courses meet compliance in addition to content changes in PowerPoint, Captivate, text, video, audio, animation, and other applications.
 

Success Factors:

• Prioritized critical components to meet compliance for fall registration
• Fast agile testing method to achieve results in a broader course content spectrum
• Highly expandable coding for future updates and modifications