Welcome to the April issue of the Learning Dispatch newsletter. You’ll notice a change. We’re focusing on our key trend essay and a relevant case study.
Today, we’ll discuss:
- Accessible eLearning and the Delay in U.S. Department of Justice Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Requirements (our key trend for this month)
- A case study on Educating Diverse Audiences on Immunization Through Scalable Online Learning
Accessible eLearning and the Delay in U.S. Department of Justice Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Requirements
As you may have heard, the U.S. Department of Justice has delayed the deadline for the new Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Title II regulations by a year. Many organizations are well along in their compliance efforts, some have finished, and some are yet in early stages.
This delay brings with it some consternation—while institutions may breathe a sigh of relief with a year’s extension, allowing more time to bring their web content and mobile applications (including online training) into compliance, advocates point out that the delay means yet one more year where those who need accommodations to use web-based information can’t fully access it.
More Time to Ensure Accessible Online Training
Bringing online training into compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA criteria (as required by ADA Title II) isn’t a small thing, but it’s not unreasonable or undoable, either. Many local, state, and federal government agencies, corporate enterprises, and institutions of higher education have been making their training accessible for years.
Still, there are questions. Some are program-level. How do you bring, say, 300 online courses into compliance, when departments are struggling just to keep up with the demand for new training? (Well, bringing in training partners can help).
There are also course-level questions, such as how do you make sure that training currently being developed meets WCAG criteria.
For this month, I’d like to spend a little bit of time sharing our experience with the second question, ensuring the compliance of new courses.
Let’s Talk New Training
We recently created a course to help Texas state employees become familiar with artificial intelligence, including how to use it in their roles and how to use it responsibly.
As with much of the online training we develop, we used a rapid development tool (in this case, Articulate’s Rise 360), to create it. From the beginning, we knew we needed to ensure that the training was available to all learners and in compliance with the Title-II-required WCAG criteria. We also wanted to have compliance with accessibility standards documented in a formal accessibility conformance report (ACR).
Let’s Talk Process
We’ve created a significant amount of accessible training over the years and have been able to leverage existing processes to help with the new course. At the same time, the formal ACR was somewhat novel.
Key to our overall approach with accessible training is that the instructional design team has familiarity with WCAG 2.1 Level AA criteria. It doesn’t have to be with criterion-by-criterion precision, but an understanding of overall principles: an awareness of color contrast issues, how to perform basic keyboard-only testing, and what to look for with screen reader testing. Knowledge at this level can be picked up in sundry places, from general accessibility training to internet searches, and we fold it into development from the start.
After development was complete, for the ACR we worked through the following steps:
- Completion of a formal accessibility audit
- Remediation of the course based on the audit findings
- Confirmation that remediation fixed the audit findings
- Formal approval of the course and issuance of the ACR
All-in-all, it was relatively straightforward and fairly painless. As a plus, the course was self-identified as accessible and certified by the Texas Department of Information Resources.
What did we take away from this process?
Start with Accessibility in Mind
Starting with accessibility in mind was key—the instructional design team may not have been accessibility experts, but had enough familiarity to check for simple items like color contrast, to ensure that the course was able to be navigated using only a keyboard, and to confirm that everything to be readable by a screen reader (we used NVDA). This base knowledge allowed the audit to focus on the finer details instead of getting stuck on showstopper errors.
The Choice of Tool Was Essential
The choice of tool was essential. Articulate’s Rise 360 has a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template and puts effort into ensuring that courses developed in the tool can be made accessible. It’s not perfect, but because Articulate pays attention to the structure, it’s possible to take the course the rest of the way.
No Tool Is Perfect
Even with its attention to accessibility, Rise was not perfect. Rise’s tabbed interaction failed color contrast (there was not enough distinction between the selected and unselected tabs). The outline of the radio button used in multiple choice questions also failed color contrast. Screen readers read the front of the flipcard interaction twice.
But, with flexibility, these were fixable. We changed the tabbed interaction to an accordion interaction, which kept the general intent, but didn’t have the contrast issue. And it turned out that we were able, in the tool, to disable the setting that was causing the flipcard to read twice.
The only issue that could not be addressed in the tool was the outline color of the radio buttons, but we were able to change that post-publish (a hassle, as it needs to be done each time the course is published, but all told, not too much of a hassle).
The Tool Is Important, but the Process Is Essential
It’s not so much the specific tool that I’d like to emphasize, but the overall process. For example: Ensure that the instructional design team starts with a basic understanding of WCAG. Bring in an accessibility expert where needed, if at all possible. Integrate the accessibility testing and remediation process with the existing approach to course development.
Key to all of this is time. When things are rushed, mistakes are made. Making sure to schedule in time for a formal review (whether it’s done within the department or outside of it) and allowing time for remediation and confirmation are essential in ensuring that courses meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA criteria. And that’s true for newly developed courses and remediating courses that are currently live.
With the Department of Justice’s revised deadline for ADA Title II regulations, there’s an extra year to ensure compliance—integrating accessibility in your development process is one way to put it to good use.
Let’s Talk About Your Training Challenges
Do you need to incorporate accessibility into your development process? Would you like more information about our approach? We’d welcome the conversation.
For more than 35 years, Microassist has operated at the intersection of strategy, procurement, and learning development execution, helping organizations turn training plans into measurable results. Across government, corporate enterprise, and higher education, we’ve seen one constant: technical skill is expected. Real success comes from a partner who understands your environment and can adapt as it evolves.
Need help? Contact Nivarni at [email protected] today to start the discussion.
Case Study: Educating Diverse Audiences on Immunization Through Scalable Online Learning
For this month’s case study, let’s take a close look at a project Microassist developed for the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Immunization Branch, a statewide online education program delivering targeted, accessible vaccine training to diverse audiences, strengthening immunization awareness and public health outcomes across Texas.
Like the AI course (and all courses we develop for the state of Texas), the courses in this program needed to meet accessibility standards.
Client: Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) – Immunization Branch
The Texas Department of State Health Services Immunization Branch is responsible for promoting immunization awareness and improving vaccine coverage across the state. With millions of residents and diverse stakeholder groups, DSHS relies on effective education strategies to support public health goals.
Opportunity
Texas is home to more than 31 million residents, including over 7 million children under the age of 18. Maintaining high immunization coverage requires ongoing education across diverse audiences including parents, healthcare providers, educators, childcare professionals, and public health workers.
DSHS needed a way to:
- Reach large, geographically dispersed audiences
- Deliver role-specific, accurate immunization information
- Scale education efforts cost-effectively
- Provide flexible access for learners with varying schedules
- Ensure accessibility for all participants
Solution
DSHS partnered with Microassist to design and deliver Texas Vaccine Education Online, a comprehensive online education program focused on immunization awareness and best practices.
The program consists of more than 36 self-paced online courses; each designed for a specific audience and topic area. Courses include text, graphics, interactive knowledge checks, video, and animation. Most courses can be completed in approximately 15 minutes and conclude with a short assessment and certificate of completion.
Course topics include:
- Texas Vaccines for Children (TVFC)
- ImmTrac immunization registry
- Vaccine-preventable diseases
- Vaccine administration and storage
- School, childcare, adolescent, and adult immunization requirements
- Strategies to improve statewide vaccination coverage
Microassist worked with DSHS’s subject-matter experts to develop the instructional content, and translate it into effective, self-paced eLearning modules. Microassist also supplied the learning management system to support the technical delivery of the program’s courses.
Success Drivers
Successful delivery required alignment across key learning drivers:
- Multiple learner audiences with distinct knowledge needs
- Consistent, accurate information delivered at scale
- Ongoing updates as regulations and guidance evolve
- Access across devices, locations, and schedules
- Fully accessible, usable learning experiences for individuals with disabilities
Microassist addressed these drivers through modular course design, audience-specific learning pathways, and accessible eLearning practices.
Results
Texas Vaccine Education Online became a key public-health education resource:
- Delivered targeted vaccine education to multiple stakeholder groups statewide
- Enabled learners to access training anytime, anywhere
- Supported consistent, up-to-date immunization messaging
- Provided accessible eLearning usable by all participants, including those with disabilities
- Offered free, scalable education supporting statewide immunization efforts
By leveraging online learning as an outreach tool, DSHS expanded its ability to educate and inform audiences critical to improving vaccine coverage.
Does Your Organization Encounter Similar Issues?
Public health and government organizations often need to educate large, diverse audiences while maintaining accuracy, accessibility, and scalability. If your organization is looking to expand outreach through effective online education, Microassist can help.
Contact Microassist today to learn how scalable, accessible eLearning solutions can support public health initiatives and community impact.
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Until next time,
Kevin
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