E-mail List Archives
Thread: Glossary Links
Number of posts in this thread: 2 (In chronological order)
From: David Ashleydale
Date: Mon, Mar 26 2012 3:20PM
Subject: Glossary Links
No previous message | Next message →
Have any of you seen good, accessible examples of glossary term
functionality on web pages? What I have in mind is the type of
functionality where there are complex vocabulary words on a web page and
the user can interact with the words to find their definitions or other
helpful information.
Example: A user is reading a web page about mathematics. Sprinkled
throughout the article are vocabulary words that a non-mathematician might
not understand. There is a sentence that says, "If a PDE has coefficients
that are not constant, it is possible that it will not belong to any of
these categories but rather be of mixed type." Some of these words and
phrases, like "PDE" and "mixed type" are links. When a user clicks on the
"PDE" link, a new layer appears on top of the web page with a one sentence
definition of what a PDE is. This layer has a "Close" link in it that makes
the layer go away. Users can also just hover over the link using a mouse to
make the layer appear -- it disappears when they move the cursor away from
the link.
There are obviously many accessibility concerns with this type of
functionality. Have any of you come across a really great, accessible
example of this? Does ARIA help with it?
Thanks!
David Ashleydale
From: Elle
Date: Mon, Mar 26 2012 3:46PM
Subject: Re: Glossary Links
← Previous message | No next message
David:
What you're describing sounds very much like help elements / tool tips (see
Smashing Magazine's article, halfway down the page:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/05/27/modal-windows-in-modern-web-desi=
gn/
)
If so, our team treats those very much like modal dialogs with regards to
accessibility (trapping focus, ESC key to close, explicit exit path for the
user, focus path to and from the link, etc.). The only difference is, I
don't think that users normally expect that behavior from a text link,
which may be a challenge from a usability perspective. In my experience,
an icon or a button usually pulls up that kind of lightbox interaction.
Most glossary pages I've encountered are very linear in nature, too, so
I'd be interested to see how the narrative approach works for retention of
information. It could really work for providing contextual learning; I've
just never seen it used that I can recall.
Cheers,
Elle
On Mon, Mar 26, 2012 at 5:20 PM, David Ashleydale < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >wro=
te:
> Have any of you seen good, accessible examples of glossary term
> functionality on web pages? What I have in mind is the type of
> functionality where there are complex vocabulary words on a web page and
> the user can interact with the words to find their definitions or other
> helpful information.
>
> Example: A user is reading a web page about mathematics. Sprinkled
> throughout the article are vocabulary words that a non-mathematician might
> not understand. There is a sentence that says, "If a PDE has coefficients
> that are not constant, it is possible that it will not belong to any of
> these categories but rather be of mixed type." Some of these words and
> phrases, like "PDE" and "mixed type" are links. When a user clicks on the
> "PDE" link, a new layer appears on top of the web page with a one sentence
> definition of what a PDE is. This layer has a "Close" link in it that mak=
es
> the layer go away. Users can also just hover over the link using a mouse =
to
> make the layer appear -- it disappears when they move the cursor away from
> the link.
>
> There are obviously many accessibility concerns with this type of
> functionality. Have any of you come across a really great, accessible
> example of this? Does ARIA help with it?
>
> Thanks!
> David Ashleydale
> > > >
-- =
If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the people to gather wood,
divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast
and endless sea.
- Antoine De Saint-Exup=E9ry, The Little Prince