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Topics Map > Sakai > Sakai 21 Help > Accessibility

Sakai 21 - Accessibility: Accessibility Information

 

Accessibility Information

Sakai is a Learning Management System created to assist faculty and students by providing online tools for communication, assessment, content delivery, etc.

Sakai is composed of sites, and each site has a number of tools selected by the site creator. There is also a special site, My Workspace (private to you), where you can access personal information and change your settings.

This document is assistive technology agnostic and will briefly describe the different areas of the interface, point out how they are implemented for accessibility, and go into more depth where extra assistance may be needed.

If you need specific help with accessibility or with your assistive technology, please contact Disability Support Services and/or Information & Technology Services Help Desk.

For additional information visit the Accessibility Working Group on the Confluence Wiki.

Note: The content depicted in images on this page may differ from what you experience, due to your institution's customization of Sakai.

This article describes the following:

If you need specific help with your assistive technology, please refer to your local institution's website to find contact information for groups that can assist you with accessibility accommodations. 

Desktop versus Mobile View

Sakai has a responsive design to adapt to different screen sizes, so certain elements only display when an internet browser window is larger than 770 pixels in width. In the descriptions that follow, Desktop View will be used to refer to the display when an internet browser window is larger than 770 pixels in width. Mobile View will refer to the display on smaller windows.

Organization of Sakai

Always present in Sakai are the following:

  • Quick access Skip to... links
  • One of the following two items, depending on whether or not you are logged into Sakai:
    1. Before logging in: Login links
    2. After logging in: the View All Sites menu and your profile picture and name (a menu you access to Log Out)
  • List of favorite sites (on Desktop View)
  • Tool Menu for the current site
  • Expand/Collapse Tool Navigation feature (for sighted users on Desktop View)
  • Content area
  • Footer

Important Access Keys for Main Navigation

The major elements of a Sakai site can be accessed via Access keys (see note for more information on how to use Access keys):

Content - This access key takes you to the area that contains the site where you are working.

  • Landmark: main ("Jump to Content")
  • Access key:  [C]

Tools - Every Sakai site has a Tool Menu with a list of links to the current site's tools.

  • Landmark: navigation ("Tools")  
  • Access key:  [L]

View All Sites menu - After you log in, you can use this menu to access your active sites.

  • Landmark: navigation ("My Sites")
  • Access key:  [W]

Note: The exact keyboard commands to trigger an Access key depend on your computer operating system and internet browser.  Commonly used browsers tend to use the following commands:

  • Most Windows browsers: Shift + Alt + [the Access key]
  • Most Mac browsers: Ctrl + Option + [the Access key]

The information on Access keys in this note provided by WebAIM.org (opens new window). You can learn more about Access keys on their website, Keyboard Accessibility © WebAIM (opens new window).

Sites

When logged in on Desktop View, the Sites menu follows the Academic alerts icon.

On Mobile View, the Sites menu appears below your profile icon (described next).

You can expand the Sites menu to access your active sites.

Your Profile Picture and Name (Use This Menu to Log Out)

When logged in on Desktop View, your profile picture (which displays as your initials) follows the View All Sites menu.

On Mobile View, your profile picture and is at the top right of the screen.

Selecting your profile picture opens a menu with the following options:

  1. Your profile picture and a Profile link that you can select to edit your picture or profile  
  2. A Calendar link that will take you to your aggregated calendar for all enrolled sites
  3. A Preferences link that will take you to a page where you can edit your Sakai notifications, time zone, language, and active sites
  4. A Tutorial link to start the Sakai introductory tutorial (this tutorial also appears the first time you log into Sakai)
  5. A Log Out link to log you out and take you to back to the Gateway page of Sakai

Favorite Sites List (on Desktop View)

  • Location: On Desktop View only, the favorite sites list appears after the Tool Menu.
  • Landmark: Navigation ("Sites list begins here")  
  • Heading: Level 1 ("Sites list begins here")
  • Access key: [W]

This list contains the links to sites you most commonly use. You can select which sites appear in the list by selecting them as Favorites from the View All Sites menu. Each favorite site's tab will either take you to the site, or if you Tab to the menu and press the Down arrow key, it will supply you with a submenu of that site's tools so that you can go straight to that tool on the selected site.

Using the Up and Down arrow keys, you can navigate the submenu to the site specific tool links. These links can be activated using the Enter key.

If you have a large number of favorite sites in this list, some sites will not be displayed due to space limitations. Any sites not displayed are contained in a submenu accessed via the Sites link.  

The rest of the sites you may be a member of can also be found in the Home > Membership or Home > Worksite Setup area.

Tool Menu for the Current Site

  • Location: On Desktop View, the Tool Menu appears to the left of the screen. On Mobile View, it can be accessed by selecting Tools near the top of the screen.
  • Landmark: Navigation ("Tools list begins here")
  • Heading: Level 1 ("Tools list begins here")
  • Access key: [L]

Pictured above is the Tool Menu of a Home site, in both Desktop View and Mobile View.

Note: The Help tool will always be present as the last item in the Tool Menu no matter what site you are on. (More specifically, on the Mobile site, it will be the last option in the Tools drop-down menu. On the Desktop site, it is the last option in the Expand/collapse tool navigation menu to the left of the page.) This enables quick access to the Sakai help documentation.

Expand/Collapse Tool Navigation (for Sighted Users, on Desktop View)

Location: On Desktop View only, at the bottom of the screen underneath the Tool Menu is a button to collapse or expand the menu. When collapsed, the Tool Menu displays with icons only, no text.

The Expand/Collapse Tool Navigation button display switches between << (to collapse the Tool Menu) and >> (to expand the Tool Menu), depending on the state of the menu.

Note: Using the Expand/Collapse Tool Navigation button will have no effect on page navigation for users of screen reading software as all tools will still be available and announced.

Content Area

The content comes after the Tool Menu.  

  • Location: On Desktop View, the content displays to the right of the Tool Menu. On Mobile View, the content appears underneath the Tools link.
  • Landmark: Main
  • Heading: Level 1 "Content begins here"
  • Access key: [C]

At the top of the content area for most tools, you will find:

  1. The title of the tool you are currently viewing. This is also a Refresh Tool link that returns you to the main page of the tool when clicked.  Pictured above is an example of an Assignments (Refresh Tool) link.
  2. The title will be followed by a Help button, which opens a new tab or window (depending on your internet browser preferences) with help documentation for the current tool.

Access Keys to Navigate the Content Area

Most content views use some or all of these Access keys:

  • Delete, remove, or cancel - Access key: [X]
  • Edit or revise -  Access key: [E]
  • Help -   Access key: [0]
  • Refresh -   Access key: [U]
  • Save -  Access key: [S]
  • View or preview -  Access key: [V]

Note: The exact keyboard commands to trigger an Access key depend on your computer operating system and internet browser. Commonly used browsers tend to use the following commands:

  • Most Windows browsers: Shift + Alt + [the Access key]
  • Most Mac browsers: Ctrl + Option + [the Access key]

The information on Access keys in this note provided by WebAIM.org (opens new window). You can learn more about Access keys on their website, Keyboard Accessibility © WebAIM (opens new window).

Rich-Text Editor Accessibility

In most areas of Sakai where text can be entered, you can use the Rich-Text Editor to edit and format your text, and to add links, images, or media.

Steps to access the Rich-Text Editor's toolbar with a keyboard are included in What are some keyboard shortcuts for the Rich Text Editor?

To operate the rich text editor:

Basic Navigation

  • Alt+0 – opens Accessibility Instructions within the editor.
  • Tab or arrow down into the editor edit field to edit content. When you are done you can tab or arrow down out of the editor.
  • Alt+F10 – enters the toolbar or the tab list of the currently open dialog window.
  • Shift+F10 – opens the context menu of an element inside the editing area.
  • Alt+F11 – enters the elements path.
  • Alt+- (minus) – collapses and restores the toolbar.
  • Tab and Shift+Tab – move focus forward and backward among the toolbar button groups.
  • Left Arrow and Right Arrow – move focus forward and backward among the toolbar buttons within a group, respectively.
  • Enter and Space – activates a selected toolbar feature.
  • Escape – puts the focus back to the editing area without executing any commands.
  • Tab and Shift+Tab
    • when dialog window tabs are not in focus, these keyboard shortcuts move focus among input element of the dialog window.
    • when a dialog window tab is in focus, Tab and Shift+Tab cycle through dialog window tabs.
  • Left Arrow and Right Arrow – when a dialog window tab is in focus, the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys can be used to cycle between tabs just like Tab and Shift+Tab.
  • Enter
    • while inside the dialog window, when a single-line text input is in focus, is equivalent to pressing the OK button.
    • while inside the dialog window, when a dialog window tab is in focus, puts the focus back to the first input element inside that tab.
  • Escape – while inside the dialog window is equivalent to clicking the Cancel or Close buttons.
  • Tab, Shift+Tab – cycle through menu items forward or Shift+Tab to cycle backwards.
  • Down Arrow and Up Arrow – can be used to cycle between menu items just like Tab and Shift+Tab, respectively.
  • Right Arrow and Left Arrow
    • when the context menu item contains a submenu, the Right Arrow lets you enter the submenu.
    • to return to the parent context menu, use the Left Arrow.
  • Enter and Space – activate a menu item or open a submenu.
  • Escape  
    • Closes a context menu without executing any command.
    • When inside a submenu, closes the submenu and returns focus to the parent context menu. Press Esc again to close it.
  • Down Arrow, Enter, and Space – enter the drop-down list once it is selected on the toolbar.
  • Tab, Shift+Tab – cycle through list items forward or Shift+Tab to cycle backwards.
  • Down Arrow and Up Arrow – can be used to cycle between list items just like Tab and Shift+Tab, respectively.
  • Enter and Space – activate a feature selected from the drop-down list and put the focus back to the editing area.
  • Escape  – closes a drop-down list without introducing any changes.

Editor Hotkeys

  • When focus is in the editor you can use these shortcut keys:
    • Bold - Control/Command b
    • Italics - Control/Command i
    • Underline - Control/Command u
  • To add a link
    • highlight the link text (shift + arrow keys)
    • then press Control/Command + l
    • fill in the link information  

Note: For a complete list of all keyboard commands, please see the CKEditor Accessibility Guide.

Instructions for Enlarging Screen Elements, Modifying Colors/Contrast

You can use the browser's zooming function to increase text size. Sakai will work well up to 200% zoom.

If you need a higher level of magnification, or if you need to have the cursor/pointer augmented, you may be more comfortable using a third-party magnifier such as MAGic (opens new window) or ZoomText (opens new window).

To change color and contrast settings, use the operating system settings, browser settings, or your preferred browser plug-ins.  

Getting More Help

If you need specific help with accessibility or with your assistive technology, please contact Disability Support Services and/or Information & Technology Services Help Desk.

Sakai logo
Need support? Contact sakai@plu.edu or call 253-535-7525.



Keywords:    Doc ID:115667
Owner:Sean H.Group:Pacific Lutheran University
Created:2022-01-12 16:38 PDTUpdated:2022-09-21 08:28 PDT
Sites:Pacific Lutheran University
Feedback:  0   0    
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