What Accessibility Means for Educational Content

Accessible products ensure that individuals of all abilities have equal access to information, learning tools, and functionality. But understanding how accessibility applies to educational content and keeping track of the requirements can be overwhelming to non-experts.

Many of our customers have told us they don’t consider themselves very savvy in this area, but they do understand the importance of accessibility requirements. They also have peace of mind knowing that Wiley products comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1).

Wiley products are ADA compliant in many ways:

1. Alternative Text (Alt Text):

Alt text provides contextual meaning to images and illustrations to enhance the reading experience. Non-visual browsers and screen readers express alt text to readers when images are not accessible.

2. Audiobooks

Our resources also provide a read-aloud feature for users who prefer to listen to an audiobook. Over 1,500 Wiley titles are available to purchase in audio format, and you can search our full catalogue on Audible.

3. Screen Readers

Essential Wiley learning content is compatible with screen reader technology to assist visually impaired learners through text-to-speech, sound icons, or a Braille display.

4. Videos

Closed-captioning and transcripts have been available for all videos since 2013.

5. Bookshare

Wiley titles are also available through Bookshare. Bookshare provides high-quality, text-to-speech voices, Daisy, Braille, and large print options for those readers with visual impairment, physical disability, or severe learning disabilities.

6. The new WileyPLUS

Key aspects of the new WileyPLUS courses — content, assessments, and platform—are all designed to meet the latest accessibility standards. It also includes an accessibility checker so instructors can be sure their custom content meets the needs of all students.

What Is WCAG 2.1?
WCAG 2.1 is a set of international technical standards for web content accessibility. Most recently updated in June 2018, the guidelines are intended to ensure web content is directly accessible to as many people as possible and able to be represented in different formats to match various sensory, physical, and cognitive abilities. Guidelines are developed through the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and can apply to web pages, text, images, sound, and more.

There are 13 guidelines organized under four principles that require content to be (1) perceivable, (2) operable, (3) understandable, and (4) robust. In order to conform with a guideline, specific success criteria must be met and assessed at one of three levels of conformance: A, AA, and AAA.