Screen Reader Recommendations
EdReady has been designed for compatibility with most screen readers.
We formerly recommended and provided documentation for ChromeVox by Google, but that extension is now in maintenance mode as Chromebooks have their own screen reader and Google has opted to defer to the bigger names in screen reader technology.
JAWS, while widely used, is also the least standardized screen-reader, so you may encounter situations that need special handling with JAWS compared to a more standardized reader like NVDA.
If you choose to try ChromeVox (now known simply as Screen Reader in the Chrome web store), this configuration is what we use as our testing standard for EdReady. Once installed, the following ChromeVox configuration works best (note that selecting the “Google US English” voice is critical):
- Enable verbose descriptions: checked
- Place cursor between characters when editing text: checked
- Use the mouse to change focus: unchecked
- Enhance specific sites: checked
- Display an item's context before other information: unchecked
- Voices: select "Google US English"
- Keyboard shortcuts: select "Flat keymap"
Below is a screenshot of those options.
You can then customize the keyboard shortcuts to meet your needs. Refer to Google Chromevox documentation if you have questions.
EdReady Account Setting Recommendations For Screen Readers
The first action you should take is to navigate to your login name, expand the button, and then select “My Account.” Once on the My Account page, navigate down the page until you reach “Show Additional Options” and expand those options.
You can select any of the four additional options using your spacebar key:
- Use EdReady with a Screen reader (required in most cases) will highlight focus indicators on each page, making it easier to navigate the site. Once this setting is enabled, the student experience will focus only on the questions (in all test activities: diagnostic, unit tests, and topic tests) and learning materials that are fully accessible with a screen reader. This functionality will work seamlessly in the background.
- Enable keyboard focus wherever possible enables you to navigate through the interactive elements on the page and provides a sighted user with a visual indicator of the current element.
- Enable contrast controls will present you with contrast options for the display of EdReady. These options help people with low contrast sensitivity and color blindness set the optimal display for readability.
- Enable table of contents for all pages will give you an overview of the screen’s contents and organization at the top of the screen. It will also allow you to more quickly navigate to a specific section of the screen.
Select “Save changes” before navigating away.
Next, you must log out and log back in to ensure that EdReady will only load accessible resources.
Getting Help
We want to work closely with you to ensure your success with EdReady. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions or find something is not working as you expect it to. You can submit a support ticket with details at https://nrocnetwork.org/ticket
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