Learning Global Accessibility

Ensure educational content meets accessibility standards and supports assistive technologies across international contexts.

When to Use

• Global learning platforms

• International accessibility compliance

• Multi-region course deployment

• Supporting diverse assistive technologies

• Meeting regional accessibility laws

International Standards

Core Standards

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines):

• Level A (minimum)

• Level AA (legally required in many regions)

• Level AAA (enhanced)

• Version: WCAG 2.1 (current), WCAG 2.2 (recent), WCAG 3.0 (future)

EN 301 549 (European Standard):

• Based on WCAG 2.1

• Covers software, documents, hardware

• Required for EU public sector

• Referenced in Web Accessibility Directive

Section 508 (United States):

• US federal accessibility standard

• Now harmonized with WCAG 2.0 AA

• Applies to federal agencies and contractors

Regional Standards

UK: Equality Act 2010, Public Sector Bodies Regulations Canada: AODA (Ontario), Accessible Canada Act Australia: DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) Japan: JIS X 8341 India: GIGW (Guidelines for Indian Government Websites)

Regional Requirements

European Union

Web Accessibility Directive (2016/2102):

• WCAG 2.1 AA required

• Public sector websites and apps

• Accessibility statement mandatory

• Monitoring and enforcement

European Accessibility Act (EAA):

• Products and services

• E-commerce, e-books, banking

• Implementation by 2025

United States

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act):

• Applies to places of public accommodation

• Website accessibility increasingly required

• Title II (state/local government)

• Title III (private businesses)

IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act):

• K-12 education

• Accessible educational materials

• Assistive technology requirements

Other Regions

Canada:

• AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act)

• Accessible Canada Act (federal)

Australia:

• DDA standards

• Education standards

Assistive Technology Support

Screen Readers

Major Screen Readers:

• JAWS (Windows)

• NVDA (Windows, open source)

• VoiceOver (macOS, iOS)

• TalkBack (Android)

• ORCA (Linux)

Requirements:

• Semantic HTML

• ARIA labels and roles

• Logical heading structure

• Alt text for images

• Keyboard navigation

Other Assistive Technologies

Magnification:

• ZoomText

• OS magnifiers

• Responsive text sizing

Voice Control:

• Dragon NaturallySpeaking

• OS voice control

Switch Access:

• Single-switch, multi-switch devices

• Keyboard-only navigation

Global Considerations

Language and Script

RTL Languages:

• Right-to-left navigation

• Screen reader support for Arabic, Hebrew

• Bidirectional text handling

Complex Scripts:

• Screen reader support varies

• Font and rendering requirements

Cultural Context

Disability Models:

• Medical model vs. social model

• Cultural attitudes toward disability

• Access to assistive technology

• Economic factors

Multimedia

Captions and Subtitles:

• SDH (Subtitles for Deaf and Hard of Hearing)

• Language translations

• Cultural caption differences

Audio Descriptions:

• Extended vs. standard descriptions

• Language and cultural context

Testing Protocols

Automated Testing

Tools:

• axe DevTools

• WAVE

• Lighthouse

• Pa11y

Limitations: Catches ~30-40% of issues

Manual Testing

Required Tests:

• Keyboard navigation

• Screen reader testing (multiple readers)

• Color contrast

• Magnification/zoom

• Focus management

User Testing

With People with Disabilities:

• Diverse disability types

• Varied assistive technologies

• Different experience levels

• Cultural contexts

CLI Interface

Global accessibility validation

/learning.global-accessibility --content "course/" --standards "WCAG-2.1-AA,EN-301-549,Section-508"

Regional compliance check

/learning.global-accessibility --platform "lms/" --regions "EU,US,Canada,Australia"

Assistive technology testing

/learning.global-accessibility --content "module/" --test-with "JAWS,NVDA,VoiceOver,TalkBack"

Multi-language accessibility

/learning.global-accessibility --content "course/" --languages "en,ar,zh,es" --rtl-support

Output

• Global accessibility compliance report

• Regional requirements checklist

• Assistive technology compatibility matrix

• Remediation recommendations

• Testing protocols

• Accessibility statement template

Composition

Input from: /curriculum.review-accessibility , /learning.multi-script-design

Works with: /learning.regional-compliance , /learning.multilingual-assessment

Output to: Globally accessible learning materials

Exit Codes

• 0: Global accessibility validated

• 1: Critical accessibility violations

• 2: Regional standard not met

• 3: Assistive technology incompatibility