Impact Accessibility Update!

[ViktoriaLa]

At Instructure, we are committed to making our products accessible and inclusive to all. Over the past few quarters, the Impact engineering team has been working tirelessly to enhance the accessibility of the Impact dashboard and Inline Editor to comply with WCAG 2.1 AA standards. 

We are excited to share the latest updates and improvements we've made, which include:

1. Keyboard-only Accessibility: Impact is able to be used with only a keyboard now, without requiring a mouse or touchpad.
   
   
2. Screen Reader Compatibility: Impact now works seamlessly with screen reading software like JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver. Each Impact release is tested with the following screen reader and browser combinations: 
   
   
   • JAWS (latest version for Chrome/Firefox on Windows)
   • NVDA (latest version for Chrome/Firefox on Windows)
   • VoiceOver (latest version for Safari/Chrome on Macintosh)
     
     
3. Semantic HTML: We've taken a significant step in enhancing Impact's structure and meaning. Impact now employs proper HTML elements like headings, lists, and tables to structure content, ensuring meaningful and efficient experiences using assistive technologies.
   
   
4. Color Contrast Improvements: Impact has fine-tuned the color contrast of text and interactive elements to ensure readability for individuals with low vision and/or color blindness.
   
   
5. Form Accessibility: Clear and concise labeling of form fields and error messages have been added to make the user experience more inclusive.
   
   
6. Responsive Design: Impact is responsive and adaptable to different screen sizes, screen resolutions, and device orientations, making it usable on all devices, including mobile phones and tablets.
   
   
7. Proper Focus Management: We've improved the focus management within Impact, ensuring that users can navigate through interactive elements in a logical and predictable order. This enhancement fosters a more intuitive and accessible interaction with our product.
   
   

We're not stopping here! Accessibility is an ongoing commitment, and we will continue to ensure that every aspect of our product moving forward meets all of the needs of diverse users and is compliant with the WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

As part of this commitment, we are undergoing a comprehensive, third-party accessibility audit over the next few months, which will culminate in an updated Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) in 2024.

You can explore the accessibility updates to the Impact Dashboard and Inline Editor areas listed below:

Feature	Release Notes
Dashboard	(2023-05-16), (2023-05-31), (2023-06-07), (2023-06-14), (2023-06-20), (2023-06-27), (2023-07-05), (2023-07-12), (2023-07-25), (2023-08-08), (2023-08-17), (2023-09-26), (2023-10-03)
Messages	(2023-06-07), (2023-06-14), (2023-06-20), (2023-06-27), (2023-07-05), (2023-07-12), (2023-09-20)
Support	(2023-06-07), (2023-06-14), (2023-07-12), (2023-08-08), (2023-08-24), (2023-09-06), (2023-09-20)
Settings	(2023-06-14), (2023-06-07), (2023-06-20), (2023-07-12), (2023-08-17), (2023-08-24), (2023-09-26), (2023-10-03)
Campaigns	(2023-07-25), (2023-08-08), (2023-09-20)
Insights	(2023-07-25), (2023-08-08), (2023-08-24), (2023-09-20)
Walkthroughs	(2023-06-14), (2023-07-18), (2023-08-17), (2023-08-24), (2023-08-30), (2023-09-20)
Inline Editor	(2023-08-17), (2023-08-30), (2023-09-06), (2023-09-20), (2023-09-26), (2023-10-03)
Support Button	(2023-06-14)
Walkthrough Inline Editor	(2023-08-30), (2023-09-06)
Support Center	(2023-09-20)

To see all the accessibility updates, check out the full release notes.