Accessibility Enhancements

The Moodle platform strives to support and maintain accessibility guidelines, however, instructors should also consider the importance of accessibility when adding course content to a Moodle site. 

Why is Accessibility Important?

Accessibility is critical to ensure that all people have equal access to information. 

Text Editor Accessibility Tools  

There are two accessibility tools built into Moodle's default text editor, Atto. Using these two tools will ensure that added content in the description or topic summery remains compliant.

Accessibility Checker

You can use the Accessibility Checker button (marked with a circular accessibility symbol) to check for common errors in the text, such as: 

• Images with missing or empty alt text
• Contrast of font color and background color meets WCAG AA guidelines
• Long blocks of text not sufficiently broken up with headings
• Tables missing captions and header rows

Screen Reader Helper

The screen header helper button (marked with a braille pattern) displays a tool for screen-reader users. You can find a summary of the text styles, images, and links used in the text box.

Accessibility Guidelines

Moodle is designed with accessibility in mind! This design ensures that all people have equal access to the platform's functionality and any presented  information, and that no barriers exist among its users. For more information on Moodle's accessibility guidelines and recommendations visit the Moodle Accessibility page. 

Moodle 3.9 Accessibility Enhancements

Accessibility Audit and Improvements

The following is is list of Moddle 3.9 accessibility audit improvements. You may visit the links for additional information on each item.

• MDL-68542 - Change the bold plugin to use strong tags instead of b for accessibility
• MDL-68541 - Limit the image description length and improve the alt text string
• MDL-68548 - Change the italics plugin to use em tags instead of i for accessibility
• MDL-68378 - Create an accessible change event
• MDL-68551 - Change the strikethrough plugin to use del tags instead of strike for accessibility
• MDL-67874 - Improve the contrast of browser focus outline
• MDL-68299 - Improve UI accessibility on small view ports

Go To Top

One of Moodle's newest accessibility features is the Go To Top button. This feature allows you to easily navigate back to the top of the page without having to scroll back up the page. 

Image Properties

All non text information presented in Moodle should have an alt text or text alternative for compliance and to support screen readers. 

Additional Accessibility Enhancements

• Improved forum accessibility.
• Forms jump users to incomplete required fields.
• Focus outlines on radio and check box responses in quizzes.

Content adapted from Moodle.org