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