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7 tips for writing effective alt text

1. If you’re including words that matter, make sure they’re text, not part of an image.
2. If images matter, make sure they have alt text.
3. Caption your videos (and describe key visuals that aren’t obvious from the dialogue).
4. Keep it short. Describe what’s essential—not every detail. What would someone need to know if they couldn’t see it?
5. Don’t say “image of.” Screen readers already know it’s an image.
6. If an image is decorative and adds no value? Leave the alt text empty. (Yes, that’s okay, not everything needs a description.)
7. Focus on purpose, not aesthetics. Alt text should sound natural, clear, and human.

Examples of bad vs. good alt text

Example: Diagram of a workflow

• Bad: “Image of a flowchart with boxes and arrows.”
• Good: “A workflow showing the three steps for submitting an expense report, including: 1. Upload receipts. 2. Submit spreadsheet with totals. 3. Update quarterly budget.”

Example: Photo of people collaborating

• Bad: “Group of four people sitting at a table smiling.”
• Good: “Team members collaborating during a project planning session.”

Example: A chart showing a sales increase

• Bad: “Bar chart with blue and green bars representing quarterly growth.”
• Good: “Our Q1 and Q2 sales comparative chart shows Q1 sales at $1,000,000 and Q2 sales at $1,200,000 for a sales increase of 20% from Q1 to Q2.”

Bottom line

If an image helps your learners understand something, be sure to describe what they need to know from that image clearly, simply, and with any specific detail needed to have a full understanding.

Don’t forget videos…

If anything is show in a video that isn’t read aloud, learners may be missing out on that information or context. Just as with alt tags, if you’re showing something important, be sure to describe it.

For a video, this means having the narrator or speaker read out any important information that’s on screen, which then ensures it’s in captions and transcripts for easy readability.

Follow these tips and other accessibility best practices to help every learner engage with your course content.

The post A guide for writing effective alt text for learning content appeared first on Say Yeah!.

We’re passionate about turning technological insights and tools into real learning impact. This year’s conference theme—Shake It Up!—is the perfect prompt to think about the untapped potential we can unlock when training programs responsibly leverage digital tools, AI, and data. When we move beyond traditional methods and embrace scenario-based, data-driven learning, we accellerate learning transfer, ultimately leading to improved workplace performance. And that’s why we’re pleased to be sponsoring this years conference.

Check out your conference tote bag for a handy Say Yeah notebook and capture all your favourite conference insights.

Topics covered in this year’s program include measuring training ROI, upskilling and reskilling, and the neuroscience of learning. We’re also excited to see two of our favourite topics on the agenda: adaptive learning technology and learner accessibility.

What you can expect at the I4PL 2024 Annual Conference

From hands-on workshops, to thought-provoking keynotes, to learning from peers, there’s a lot happening at this year’s conference. Here are a few sessions we’re particularly looking forward to:

• Keynote presentations by Dr. Helen Papagiannis and Dan Pontefract
• Behaviour Change: The Bridge to Measuring Impact with Chris Taylor
• Practitioner Created, Research Validated Design Principles for Online Learning with Dr. Elizabeth Childs
• How Might AI Affect Your Work as an Instructional Designer and L&D Professional? with Saul Carliner & Giuliana Cucinelli
• Powerful Prompt Engineering for Instructional Design with Garima Gupta
• Maximizing Impact: Creating Authentic Learning Experiences and Measurable Results at TD Wealth with Randy Sabourin & Courtney Appleby
• Shaking Up the Traditional Train-the-Trainer Model with Moe Poirier

View the full conference schedule

Ready to transform your training programs?

Let’s elevate your training programs with human-centered learning technology. Together, we’ll help you more effectively meet learners where they are and set personalized pathways for improved workplace performance.

Let’s talk

The post I4PL 2024 Annual Conference, November 21-22, 2024 appeared first on Say Yeah!.

The Articulate Rise web-based authoring tool has been a boon to course creators looking to build interactive, mobile-friendly online courses without deep technical skills.

Rise already does so many things well—from allowing for responsive design to incorporating interactive content blocks—but there are clear opportunities to improve accessibility, flexibility, and engagement. We’ve taken Rise to the next level by creating an add-on that lets users listen to the content immersively as they engage with media and interactive content, while allowing course managers to easily update content on an ongoing basis.

Trust us, it’s cool. Get a feel for Rise & Shine.

Let’s explore what Shine is and how it can provide a better user experience for your learners.

Shine makes every Rise course more engaging and accessible

No question, Rise is a great tool for course creators, but there are a number of out-of-the-box constraints for learners. The model of Rise courses is a slide-show style standard that’s augmented by an overreliance on animation that isn’t as immersive, flexible, or comfortable for every learner as it should be.

To address this, we created an immersive read-along narration that works with all standard Rise elements across a course. Easy to setup and seamless to update, courses become more immersive, flexible, and accessible for every learner.

Here’s how it works.

Automatic integration into existing content

Shine automatically syncs its narration—not only with text-based content, but with interactive Rise blocks too—as learners are guided through the course. This includes headings, quotes, images, lists, and more. The add-on requires no additional technical set-up—making enhancing existing courses quick and simple, and easy to update if you need to make any changes to course content.

Customization options

Learners have different preferences as to how they engage with course content. Shine empowers every learner to choose the path that best suits them. Each learner can control and adjust the speed of spoken content, while automatically scrolling through the text to create an immersive, hands-free learner experience.

You get to choose from multiple voices to match the tone of the course and adjust settings for more accessible text sizes, voice integration, and animations.

Enhanced interactivity

Shine makes spoken playback more engaging by automatically incorporating visual elements like tabs, accordions, and flash cards provided by standard Rise blocks.

Learners can also follow the narrated content while simultaneously interacting with multimedia elements, such as videos, quizzes, and clickable scenarios.

And audio prompts remind learners when their input is needed for assessments or other types of engagements, ensuring everyone gets to experience the full, expanded, and immersive learning experience of Rise & Shine.

Try out the latest demo at https://shine.sayyeah.courses

Compatibility

Shine is compatible across all devices and platforms. Whether learners access a course on a desktop, tablet, or mobile device, the narration will function smoothly, providing a consistent and seamless learning experience. Simply put: Shine works where Rise works, augmenting your Rise courses wherever they’re accessed.

Let’s highlight Shine’s benefits for learners

Improved accessibility

Shine makes Rise courses even more accessible by allowing learners with visual impairments, reading difficulties, or other specific learning needs more options for how they access and engage with the course content.

Increased engagement

Shine not only adds greater interactivity to courses, it also creates a multi-sensory experience that can help clarify complex ideas and reinforce key points.

A more flexible learning experience

Shine makes it easy for learners to access their online courses on any device, whether at home, work, class, or on a commute, while tailoring the learning experience to their preferences.

How does Rise & Shine work?

Unlocking these benefits couldn’t be easier.

You simply take your Rise course package, drop it into Shine, choose a voice, and let the magic happen. You then take your Shined Rise package, publish it as you usually do, and you’re done!

Need to make changes?

No trouble! Update your course content in Rise and drop the latest version back into Shine. Shine will automatically update all the audio based on the latest course content and you’ll get your latest Shined Rise package back.

Shine for Rise courses is available now!

Get in touch today to get started or for a personalized Shine demo.

Get in touch for a custom demo

See Shine in action

The post Introducing Rise & Shine, an automated and immersive voice add-on for Rise courses appeared first on Say Yeah!.

Join us at the annual (free!) Inclusive Design 24 Conference (#id24) where Say Yeah CEO Lee Dale will be hosting two exciting sessions.

• The Folly of Chasing Demographics, in which presenter Heydon Pickering will challenge the conventional approach to designing for people with disabilities and provide insights into creating more inclusive and respectful digital experiences. 3 p.m. EST (19:00 UTC)
• Inclusive Methods for Co-Design Between Blind and Sighted Designers, in which speakers Chancey Fleet and Lauren Race will show how Blind and sighted designers can work together to bypass inaccessible design tools and create meaningful, collaborative design practices that ultimately reduce ableism in the field. 4 p.m. EST (20:00 UTC)

At Say Yeah, we’ve long been a champion and leader in the field of inclusive design (check out Lee Dale’s 2021 #id24 presentation, “There is no average person.”) and are the cutting edge of using AI to personalize eLearning (check out our latest developments: automated multi-modal elearning and multi-lingual elearning). So we’re always excited to get together with experts, designers, and advocates from around the world at this unique 24-hour online event to share insights and innovations that make digital content accessible to everyone. We’re big believers that eLearning that is inclusive and engaging for all your employees is eLearning that maximizes ROI and grows the capacity and capability of your organization.

What else you can expect at this year’s Inclusive Design 24 (#id24)

In short, great content on accessibility, intersectionality, gamification, UX design, and more. For example:

• How Many Senses Do You Think You Have? with Kaye Moors and Lizzie Hamblin (16:00 UTC)
• Neuro-Diversifying Tech: A Toolkit for Designing with Autistic People with Simona Manni and Belen Barros Pena (17:00 UTC)
• Accessibility beyond WCAG: EAA & EN 301 549 with Wilco Fiers (18:00 UTC)

View the full conference schedule

Watch the conference

This event is free, with no registration required. Join the conversation live on the Inclusive 24 YouTube channel.

Are you delivering organizational eLearning that maximized accessibility and engagement of all employees?

We help you deliver more accessible eLearning that includes manageable multi-modal content and integrated multi-lingual content to effectively engage every employee. We’d love to show you.

Book a demo

The post Inclusive Design 24 Conference #id24, September 12, 2024 appeared first on Say Yeah!.

From AI to machine learning in the workplace, digital transformation has opened up exciting new possibilities to drive economic growth. But when you consider Canada’s declining economic growth, we risk missing out on the potential benefits of our ongoing digital transformation.

Now more than ever, Canada needs a workforce that can adapt to and operate within a rapidly changing technology environment. Building these competencies will require a culture of lifelong learning that spans academia and the workplace. As Canada looks to the future, eLearning is a pillar upon which to build the workforce to power a healthy, sustainable, and growing economy.

In a new op-ed published on TheFutureEconomy.ca, Say Yeah CEO Lee Dale delves into how embracing lifelong learning facilitated by eLearning at institutional and corporate levels can set us on a better path toward global economic prosperity.

Lee Dale with Say Yeah’s post on International Day of Education. See the post on LinkedIn.

Key highlights

Canadian workplaces need to become hubs for innovation and collective growth. How do we do this?

1. Take action on diversity: A large demographic of skilled Canadians remain chronically unhired. As a result, Canada is missing out on a rich diversity of thought and perspectives, which could open up diverse markets and power up innovation.
2. Get the ball rolling on eLearning: Effective eLearning is a critical part of supporting and scaling a productive learning ecosystem across organizations.

By embracing new opportunities and implementing best practices across technology, academia, business, and government, Canada can close its widening skills gap and position itself as a global leader, all while nurturing the next generation of innovators.

Read the full op-ed.

Ready to bring the competitive advantage of #eLearning to your organization?

We’d love to chat. We’re in the business of helping people learn and work smarter. We work with businesses and higher learning institutions to deliver high-impact online learning that drives organizational success.

Get in touch

The post The Power of eLearning: Prospering in a Digitally-Driven Economy appeared first on Say Yeah!.

Join us at the annual (free!) Inclusive Design 24 Conference (#id24) where Say Yeah CEO Lee Dale will give a talk on “A practical guide to inclusive design.” 

As champions of inclusive design in tech + education, we’re always eager to talk about how organizations and businesses can leverage inclusive practices to grow access and engagement in evolving and increasingly diverse markets. In 2021, Lee Dale spoke about why designing with intersectionality in mind is critical in his talk titled “There is no average person.” This year, he will dive deeper in exploring the business and organizational benefits of inclusive design and present a complementary model to better understand the people we serve.

Watch Say Yeah CEO Lee Dale’s 2021 talk “There is no average person.”

What you can expect at this year’s Inclusive Design 24 Conference (#id24)

Whether you’re on a product, service, or educational program team, you can look forward to insights on intersectionality, AI, user research, design, and more from accessibility and inclusive design leaders across the world. For example:

• Measuring Accessibility Maturity with Andrew Arch and Neil Jarvis
• Disability Bias in Artificial Intelligence with Christopher Land
• Inclusion Starts with Us with Lia McCabe

View the full conference schedule

Watch the conference

This event is free, with no registration required. Join the conversation live on the Inclusive 24 YouTube channel.

Interested in tech + education insights?

Subscribe to our email list now and be at the forefront of learning innovation!

Sign up for our newsletter

The post Inclusive Design 24 Conference #id24, September 21-22, 2023 appeared first on Say Yeah!.