How McGraw-Hill Is Formulating a Unified Approach to Digital Accessibility
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McGraw-Hill is focusing on enhancing digital accessibility by placing the student experience at the forefront of its educational offerings. The organization aims to develop accessible solutions for diverse learners, utilizing feedback from users and collaborative partnerships across teams. Moving forward, McGraw-Hill plans to implement new tools and guidelines while continuing to evaluate and refine its accessibility practices.
How McGraw-Hill Is Formulating a Unified Approach to Digital Accessibility
- 1. How McGraw-Hill is Formulating a Unified Approach to Digital Accessibility Lin Mahoney Accessibility Lead McGraw-Hill www.3playmedia.co m Twitter: @3playmedia • Type questions in the window during the presentation • This webinar is being recorded & will be available for replay Scott Virkler Senior Vice President, Chief Product Officer McGraw-Hill
- 2. February 1, 2017 Partnering Across Teams McGraw-Hill Education The Road to Accessibility
- 3. | Because learning changes everythingTM 1 The Accessibility Journey 1. The McGraw-Hill Transition Putting the student experience at the center 2. Accessibility and Implementation Defining Accessibility and where to being 3. Case Study in Accessibility Partnering across an organization 4. The Future Scaling based on experience 3
- 5. | Because learning changes everythingTM 1 Our Vision “Unlock the full potential of each learner” 5
- 6. | Because learning changes everythingTM 1 A 129-Year Journey: From Publishing to Learning Science This rich tradition continues today… OUR FUTURE to meet the needs of diverse student populations. providing educators with flexible solutions… K-12, Higher Ed & Professional businesses ~4,800 employees A 129 year global reputation for… OUR HISTORY as we harness the power of technology and data… to serve educators and students in ways never before possible. 6
- 8. | Because learning changes everythingTM 2 Internally for MHE teams • What is accessibility? • How do we define success? • Where do we begin? 8
- 9. | Because learning changes everythingTM 2 The MHE Accessibility Council Our Mission: Deliver solutions to benefit each learner is at the core of what we do. Accessible offerings need to meet the needs of variety of disabilities and challenges, including but not limited to: • Visual • Auditory • Physical • Cognitive & Neurological Our target: WCAG 2.0 AA 9
- 10. | Because learning changes everythingTM 2 The MHE Accessibility Philosophy • Equally usable/useful and WCAG 2.0 AA compliant. • End-to-end user experience - registration through login and task completion. • All platforms, learning tools and product content were to be reviewed • But we cannot fix all at once McGraw-Hill Higher Education landscape: • 6 Platforms • 1,500 Authors • 4,500 SMEs • +500,000 ISBNs 10
- 11. | Because learning changes everythingTM 2 MHE Accessibility Cycle Phase 1: Build the Foundation Phase 2: Develop research- backed solutions Phase 3: Build, Test, and Deploy Phase 4: Evaluate & Iterate 11
- 12. | Because learning changes everythingTM 2 Phase 1: Results External Partnerships Internal Efforts 12
- 13. | Because learning changes everythingTM 2 Phase 2: Engaging with our users “I have no idea if it did anything. It’s not obvious to me.” “I don’t know what all that noise is at the top of the screen. ” and where we still need to improve. “I notice these are all linked to expanded definitions which is pretty cool.” “I’m pleasantly surprised to hear everything is labeled correctly!” What we do well… User testing tells us: 13
- 14. | Because learning changes everythingTM 214 External Testing: Make it usable + Internal Testing: Make it work Going beyond WCAG compliance Phase 2: Maximizing User Value
- 15. | Because learning changes everythingTM 215 • Provide tools for sales and product development • Campus visits including faculty, DSS, and administration • Partnership! Voice of customer • Rubrics for digital solutions • Marketing across the organization Phase 2: Communication and Outreach
- 16. 3 Case Study in Accessibility
- 17. | Because learning changes everything TM 317 1. Learn the standards Translate them into tangible requirements 2. Learn user behaviors Focus on biggest challenge – how do people use screen readers 3. Apply those findings to our products and systems Recognize that doing homework is a different user experience than passive reading 4. Prioritize highest impact areas of improvement Figure out how we can improve everyone’s experience 5. Test, Test, Test Prove that what we’re building is not only accessible, but usable Connect’s Accessibility Update
- 18. | Because learning changes everything TM 3 Lessons Learned: Focus on Agility 18 Accessibility updates led to an updated UI that benefits all users.
- 19. | Because learning changes everything TM 319 Accessibility matters at every stage from authoring, to development, to delivery to support. Update all our systems and practices to support accessibility: • Design: Color Contrast, Line Art requirements • Authoring: Alt-Text and Long Descriptions, Captions, Transcripts • Delivery: Metadata, Registration • Support: accessibility@mheducation.com Lessons Learned: Partner Across Teams
- 20. | Because learning changes everything TM 3 Not perfect, but we are making progress 20 Connect Accessibility: ~73% reduction in y/o/y errors, with continued improvements still to come Total Errors Audit Errors in 2016 vs. 2017 2016 2017 2017: 96 errors 2016: 315 errors
- 21. | Because learning changes everything TM 3 Lessons Learned: We’re Still Learning… 2018 means even bigger accessibility goals for MHE • New Tools: integrated automated testing for granular testing • Training: New guidelines for internal and external content developers • Partners: Expand our consultation circle. • Budgeting: Accessibility can be time and resource intensive – and must account for that in planning 21
- 22. 4 Our Future
- 23. | Because learning changes everything TM 423 Flexible FormatsInstructor SettingsStudent profiles Focus on the needs of learners and educators. Decrease Need for Accessibility Support
- 24. | Because learning changes everything TM 424 Usability feedback: • Engagement with students who use McGraw-Hill Education solutions • Engagement with educators to provide feedback and help guide solutions DirectionalGuidance: • Provide insights into your student needs • Share emerging best practices • Guidance on creation of accessible materials • Consult with Board of Advisors McGraw-Hill Education welcomes the opportunity to collaborate: Extend Collaborations
- 25. | Because learning changes everythingTM 1 The Accessibility Journey 1. The McGraw-Hill Transition Putting the student experience at the center 2. Accessibility and Implementation Defining Accessibility and where to being 3. Case Study in Accessibility Partnering across an organization 4. The Future Scaling based on experience 25 4
- 26. Thank you!