Digication provides users with extensive customization options when adding content to an ePortfolio. Although the ability to customize is useful, it can also present the potential for oversights in accessibility. As a faculty member, creating a template or sample ePortfolio that is accessible benefits students by providing an example of how to add content and take the required steps to ensure accessible design when students build their own ePortfolios. Additionally, encouraging students to add content in an accessible way allows for collaborative assignments or peer reviews to occur without the need for additional accommodations and encourages engagement and interaction from a wider audience once the student’s ePortfolio is published and shared.
For more information about Digication accessibility features, view their Dec 2023 VPAT here.
Click through the accordions below to learn some tips for designing an accessible ePortfolio within Digication:
Alt text is a text description that exists behind images, graphics, and even
screenshots or pictures of words that provides a description of what is present in the image. This allows screen reading tools to articulate these visuals to users, allowing them to navigate through any visual elements on the ePortfolio page.
- For detailed instructions on how to add alt text, check out “Adding Alt Text to ePortfolio Images” from Digication’s Student Guide.
- For more information about alt text, check out the OTL’s Knowledge Base article “What is Alternate Format Text, Actually?”
When adding text using the Rich Text Editor in Digication, there is the option to
choose Header Text or Paragraph Text. Be sure to designate any headings as Header Text and anything else as Paragraph Text. After selecting the heading structure, text can still be customized for size, font, and color. Using the appropriate heading structures allows anyone using screen reading technologies to better navigate the text on the ePortfolio page.
When customizing content in Digication, users can change font colors, use color for headings and backgrounds, and add images behind text. While this adds some unique character to the design of the ePortfolio, it is important to be mindful of color contrast. In digital accessibility, color contrast is the idea that all viewers should be able to easily read your content and color should not be used for meaning alone.
Have you ever experienced color contrast (like red font on a black background) that was difficult to read? That is because of poor color contrast. In order to avoid difficult to read color contrasts, use a color contrast checker like the Colour Contrast Analyzer or the Accessible Web Color Contrast Checker. In general, consider using a light background (such as white) with a dark font (such as black or dark blue). Avoid pale-colored font on pale-colored backgrounds or dark font on dark backgrounds. Avoid neon colors in general.
Note: Pay attention to the color contrast code in the color section of the toolbar (shown in the image to the right). You can use these codes to test the color contrast in the tools suggested above.
Can’t seem to find the caption generator in Digication? That’s because it doesn’t have that function—yet. Providing captions on videos or along with audio recordings is a crucial part of creating accessible content. Digication currently has the ability to create Chapter Markers, Subtitles or Closed Captioning, or Audio Descriptions to Uploaded Videos, and can play captions for already recorded video in synchronized media (like Youtube). However, it can’t generate captions for you when you record new audio or video within Digication and requires already created VTT files to be uploaded for media without captions.
In order to provide captions for your e-Portfolio audience, you are going to have to use your DU Kaltura Media Space account. Once you have your video captioned, you can then embed it into your e-Portfolio by going to the plus sign on the bottom left and selecting “embed.” From Kaltura, go to Share, and then select the first embed option, and copy the link to Digication. For more information about how to create captions in Kaltura, check out the Kaltura—Editing Closed Captions article in the OTL Knowledge Base.
