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WebAIM-Forum Digest, Vol 181, Issue 13

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From: Laurie Kamrowski
Date: Apr 15, 2020 1:09PM

Creating an external document is an absolutely brilliant idea. I love every
minute of it.

When it comes to the accessibility of the table, I really prefer the
ability in acrobat and word to really stitch the table together, and docs
really lacks that robust control. Also in docs, there is no way to attach a
table summary, or use captions in the first place, which is really
frustrating.

I think generating the instructions in a separate file is the way to go,
since it won't impede the Professor's layout and gets everything
accomplished. I really appreciate everything!

Laurie Kamrowski
She/Her/Hers
Accessibility Specialist
Mid Michigan College



On Wed, Apr 15, 2020 at 2:03 PM < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
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> 1. Re: Table Directions in educational format (Jim Allan)
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Jim Allan < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> To: WebAIM Discussion List < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2020 10:52:08 -0500
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Table Directions in educational format
> since you have a group of google docs anyway. What if you created a
> separate doc on how to use the tables (table description), then put a link
> (Description of Table layout) in all of the other documents?
>
> Jim
>
> On Tue, Apr 14, 2020 at 12:39 PM glen walker < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> wrote:
>
> > If I go back several decades into the last millennium, I remember the
> type
> > of table you're talking about in my Spanish class. Note that if you
> posted
> > an example of what the table looks like, it did not format correctly.
> The
> > table was serialized similar to if I use the down arrow with a screen
> > reader to walk the DOM but the way you described it made sense.
> >
> > I'm not as familiar with tables in Google Docs but I know in Word Docs I
> > can mark column headers but cannot mark row headers. If you can provide
> > your tables in html, that has the best accessibility. You can have both
> > column and row headers (and header groupings). You weren't asking about
> > the accessibility of the tables themselves but rather if you had to
> > describe the format of the table every time, but the accessibility of the
> > table is also important.
> >
> > In html, you can describe the table with the <caption> element. See
> > example 5 in the <caption> spec,
> > https://www.w3.org/TR/html53/tabular-data.html#example-5a2a7373
> >
> > Whether you have to describe the layout of the table every time is
> > debatable. I would think the first couple or so times that the table is
> > introduced you might want to reinforce how the table is laid out but in
> > subsequent lessons it might not be needed. But you can always have a
> > separate document that explains the table layout and the student can
> refer
> > back to that document when needed. Having a link to that document in all
> > subsequent documents might be helpful.
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Apr 14, 2020 at 8:09 AM Laurie Kamrowski < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Hi everyone!
> > >
> > > My school is creating our own text for our Spanish 101 class, and
> > > distributing it for free for the students via Google Docs. We are
> > creating
> > > 15 separate files for each of the 15 weeks of class, and one of the
> > things
> > > that we are covering is the conjugation of the stem-changing verbs.
> There
> > > is a table of sorts that has long been established in teaching Spanish
> > > called the boot table or the boot verbs.
> > >
> > > My concern is over the cognitive accessibility. I am worried that every
> > > week, if we are using the 'boot table', do I need to include the
> > > explanation of the table every time that we use it? This is what I am
> > > referring to:
> > >
> > > //begin excerpt. This is the actual explanation text that I have
> created:
> > > Stem-Changing Table Explanation
> > >
> > > To properly explain these tables, imagine a table, two columns wide and
> > > three rows deep and it consists of the six variants of each verb. The
> > first
> > > column, from top to bottom, consists of the ‘I' form, the ‘you' form
> and
> > > the ‘active' form. The second column, from top to bottom, consists of
> the
> > > ‘we' form, the ‘formal you' form, and the ‘they' form. The table would
> > look
> > > like this:
> > >
> > > Column 1
> > >
> > > Column 2
> > >
> > > I
> > >
> > > We
> > >
> > > You
> > >
> > > You (Formal)
> > >
> > > Active
> > >
> > > They
> > >
> > > If we were to only select the forms that will change, which is the
> entire
> > > first column, and the only the bottom cell of the second column, the
> > > resulting shape looks like a boot. To clarify, the only forms that
> change
> > > stems are ‘I', ‘You', ‘Active', and ‘They'. The stem undergoes the
> change
> > > only when stressed.
> > >
> > > Column 1
> > >
> > > Column 2
> > >
> > > I
> > >
> > > We
> > >
> > > You
> > >
> > > You (Formal)
> > >
> > > Active
> > >
> > > They
> > >
> > > //End excerpt
> > >
> > > I'm inserting that whole explanation into any file that has the 'boot
> > > table' in it. It takes an entire page to place it, and I am worried
> that
> > it
> > > may just get in the way and cause cognitive overload all by itself if
> it
> > > appears in every file.
> > >
> > > My possible solutions:
> > >
> > > 1. Leave it in every week, regardless.
> > > 2. Only include it in one week, trusting that the faculty will present
> > it.
> > > This makes me nervous because while we have an amazingly dedicated
> > Spanish
> > > professor who is developing this, we have also had adjunct faculty who
> > > literally presented a blank moodle shell in an online only course (no
> > > longer works for us, but it still lessened the quality of the education
> > > that the students enrolled in that class received).
> > > 3. Compile the entire text into one single file, placing a link to the
> > > explanation text every time it is called. I would have to have approval
> > > from the professor to compile it.
> > >
> > > Any ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.
> > >
> > > Thank you for your time,
> > >
> > > Laurie Kamrowski
> > > She/Her/Hers
> > > Accessibility Specialist
> > > Mid Michigan College
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > >
>
>
> --
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>
> Jim Allan, Accessibility Coordinator
> Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
> 1100 W. 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756
> voice 512.206.9315 fax: 512.206.9452 http://www.tsbvi.edu/
> "We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." McLuhan, 1964
>
> > > > >