1. USABILITY & ACCESSIBILITY IN WEB CONFERENCING TOOLS: A SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON Accessing Higher Ground, 2009

2. Presenters  Hadi Rangin Web Design & Accessibility Specialist University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign  Marc Thompson Instructional Designer University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign

3. Web Conferencing Tools Compared  Adobe Connect  Elluminate Live  Saba Centra  Talking Communities

4. Basic Interface Design  Chat area  Participants list  Main display area  Whiteboard  Application sharing  Web tours  Audio control area  Talk button  Volume controls for microphone & speakers

5. Adobe Connect Pro 701 r. 18

6. Elluminate Live 9

7. Saba Centra 7.6.2.403

8. Talking Communities 8.13

9. Testing Protocol  Setup & Configuration  Navigation  Styling  Operation (Audio Controls, Chat, Participant’s List, Application Sharing, Co-Browsing)

10. Setup and Configuration Considerations  Can the application be installed independently?  Can audio settings be configured independently?

11. Setup and Configuration: Adobe Connect  Connection/speed test result  Random numerical artifacts mixed with numbered results list items  Required Add-in button is not accessible (interactive Flash object)  Results page does not linearize properly  Confirm Install prompt not accessible  Audio Setup Wizard  Not keyboard accessible  Keyboard/screen reader user can’t operate it  Buttons in the wizard can’t gain focus with the keyboard

12. Setup and Configuration: Elluminate Live  Straightforward installation instructions  Provides clear instructions on how to install Java Access Bridge  Session Participant Agreement is not keyboard accessible

13. Setup and Configuration: Saba Centra  System check, configuration and installation process are keyboard accessible but not screen reader accessible.  Setup and install process fails while the screen reader program is running.

14. Setup and Configuration: Talking Communities  Small plugins and straightforward installation.  Installs as a Windows application.

15. Navigation Considerations  Is the application menu fully keyboard accessible?  Can you perform all available functions via menu system?  Can you move the focus from one major application component to another?  Can all elements in the interface associated with a function be reached with the keyboard?  Are there shortcut keys to frequently used functions?  Is the tabbing order logical?  Do the graphical elements in the interface associated with functions have proper text and do the alt tag for the toggle elements change accordingly?

16. Navigation: Adobe Connect  Many useful shortcut keys are available, but some major functions are still missing (e.g., for chat text entry box)  Menu is keyboard accessible, but not to screen reader users.  No menu items for accessing the microphone or chat text entry box.  No graphics, form controls, or buttons are accessible to screen reader users.  Tabbing order is logical and reasonable  No keyboard support for pod-to-pod navigation

17. Navigation: Elluminate Live  Menu system itself is accessible to keyboard and screen reader users.  No navigation mechanism for moving easily between main modules.  No access to functions via menu items (e.g., talk key).  Most graphics & buttons have labels but some could be more effectively labeled.

18. Navigation: Saba Centra  Many elements in the interface, including the text chat window, do not get keyboard focus.  Some elements on the interface are read by the screen reader when they gain focus, but many are not.  No mechanism for moving easily between major application components, such as Audio Control, Participant List, Agenda, or the Main Window display area.

19. Navigation: Talking Communities  Fully accessible menu system.  Shortcut keys for moving between major application components.  All application functions are available via the menu system.

20. Styling Considerations  Can the contrast be changed by user to fit individual preferences?  Can the application font-size and color be changed to fit user's preferences?  Can the application be resized without losing content or styling?  Are items that receive keyboard focus clearly visible?  Does styling for toggle items (i.e., talk and mute buttons) change perceptibly when they are toggled?

21. Styling: Adobe Connect  Default color focus settings are not very visible.  Pods are not resizable but can be made visible/hidden via menu.  Only administrator can change color Focus Settings  Windows High Contrast and Font Size settings can’t be applied.

22. Styling: Elluminate Live  Focused items need better visual indicators.  Windows can be resized using the keyboard.  Windows High contrast settings can be applied.  No font size increase for text in the Participants List, Chat Area, or Audio Area

23. Styling: Saba Centra  Focusable elements have poor visibility.  Windows High contrast settings apply unevenly to application components—participants list is not affected, for example, but chat box is.  No font size increase for text in the Participants List, Chat Area, or Audio Area.

24. Styling: Talking Communities  All standard Windows styling are available (font resizing, zooming, high contrast).  Items are clearly visible when they receive keyboard focus.  Styling for toggle items (e.g., talk and mute buttons) changes perceptibly when they are toggled.

25. Operation Considerations  Audio control  Can user easily and with certainty operate the microphone?  Chat  Can user easily and with certainty reach the chat entry box and edit the text before submitting it?  Can user access the posted messages, read and copy desired messages?  Participant/Attendee List  Can user easily and quickly find out who are the current participants?  Can user be notified if someone leaves/enters the room?  Can user easily identify status information associated with each user?  Can user easily raise/lower hand?

26. Operation Considerations, 2  Application, Desktop, and File Sharing:  Is user notified if application, desktop, and file sharing is being activated/deactivated?  Can user still interact with the web conferencing tool while one of the functions above is active?  Co-Browsing:  Does user receive audible notification if the content of the co-browsing window changes?  Can user easily and quickly switch to the co-browsing window from other session components?

27. Operation: Adobe Connect  Audio Control Microphone control is keyboard accessible but there is no audible notification.  Chat  No audible notification that new chat messages have been posted.  No shortcut key to enter the chat text entry box.  Chat posting area is not accessible.  Attendees List  Keyboard shortcut for raising and lowering your hand and other select operations.  Not accessible to screen reader users.  Application sharing  Graphic mode not accessible  Web Links  Not accessible to screen reader users.

28. Operation: Elluminate Live  Chat  Chat entry box is keyboard accessible.  No audible notification that new chat messages have been posted.  No screen reader access to posted chat area.  Participant List  Layout table with no keyboard access to user status info.  Not all status icons have proper labels.  Controls for Participants List are not usable.

29. Application Sharing: Elluminate Live  No audible notification that application sharing has been activated  Graphic mode not accessible  Once it is active, users cannot leave the application sharing area  Web Tour is not accessible (form control with autofocus issue—e.g., Google.com search page).

30. Operation: Saba Centra  Audio Controls  Shortcut key for Talk button, but no audible indicator.  Chat  No audible notification that new chat messages have been posted.  Chat entry box is not keyboard accessible.  Posted chat text area is not accessible to screen reader users.

31. Application Sharing and Co-Browsing: Saba Centra  Co-Browser operates as another instance of application sharing (uses graphical mode that is not accessible).  Graphic mode not accessible  No audible notification that application sharing has been activated

32. Operation: Talking Communities  Audio Control  Visible and configurable talk button with audible indicator.  Volume control and microphone are keyboard accessible.  Chat  Built-in audible chat.  Accessible chat text entry box.  Accessible chat text posting area with selectable copy options.  Participants List  Fully accessible participants list  Text announcement and audible notification when participants join, leave, or talk.

33. App Sharing & Co-browsing: Talking Communities  Graphic mode not accessible for application sharing  Built-in IE browser  Provides browsing experience identical to IE browser

34. Summary: Adobe Connect  Adobe Connect supports a fair degree of keyboard accessibility but is still not sufficient for effective interaction by keyboard users.  Not accessible to screen reader users.

35. Summary – Elluminate Live  Has potential to become accessible  Company is interested in working with us

36. Summary: Saba Centra  Major accessibility issues for keyboard users.  Not accessible to screen reader users.  We have not yet contacted the company about possible collaboration.

37. Summary: Talking Communities  Very usable and accessible web conferencing system.  Vendor is proactively involved with accessibility collaboration community.

38. Questions?