Assessment Report

Assessment Information

eResource Title Vendor Overall Grade
Mindscape Commons Trojman Corporation B+

Assessment for Mindscape Commons by Centennial - Module 1: Interface Appearance | Status: Complete | Grade: B+

Images

Positioning of Images
Question Answer Notes Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find? Sometimes The logo is small, top left corner, a lot of text, and images to preview videos are prominent and easy to see.
Functional images embedded in the background
Question Answer Notes Images
Are there functional images embedded in the background? Always
Presence of Icons
Question Answer Notes Images
Are there icons where appropriate, such as icons to indicate PDF Full Text, Download, Folder, Citation, etc? Always Images are used to give a preview of the video along with a title, there are icons to show content type (commercial, open source, membership etc). When you click on the video there is a icon that indicates where to click or "visit" to view the content. Note there may be a little bit of clicking required to get to the actual video as they can be viewed on other websites. Membership only content can be directly viewed on the website, by clicking the play button.
Alt Text
Question Answer Notes Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Always
Do functional images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Always
Do images used as text contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Always Alt text is always the same words as the title of the video or heading.

Content Scaling

Question Answer Notes Images
When zoomed in at 200%, is text intact, readable, and not cut off? Always
Are images clear and unpixelated at 200%? Always
Is horizontal scrolling minimized at 200%? Always There is no horizontal scrolling required to read full text.

Colour and Contrast

Question Answer Notes Images
Do text and images have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1? Always Contrast Ratio: 8.59:1, but the text can be very small.

Colour

Question Answer Notes Images
Do colour coded graphs have text equivalents? Not Applicable Infographics are not colour coded either.
Are blocks of content separated from one another using visual separation (such as whitespace or borders)? Always A lot of white space (example needed?)
Are text alternatives provided where colour is used to indicate an action? Never When links are clicked, there is no indication that a link was previously clicked..

Text to speech

Question Answer Notes Images
Is there a choice embedded within the database that offers text to speech or read aloud options? Never The eresource is a database of videos.

Clustered Links

Question Answer Notes Images
Using your mouse, is the clickable area around links and buttons large enough for users to see and activate easily? Always The images are easily clickable, and are highlighted when you hover over them.
Using your mouse to test links, are links and buttons far enough apart for users to accurately activate? Always
Using any method to test links, are all links and buttons functional (i.e., not dead)? Sometimes When clicking on "Login/Sign up," "Submit an entry," in the hamburger button on the top right, the user receives a pop-up error message, "Callback URL mismatch. The provided redirect_uri is not in the list of allowed callback URLs. Please go to the Application Settings page and make sure you are sending a valid callback url from your application" The pop up message also includes email links to technical support.
Are links or buttons accessible via keyboard navigation? Always Menu can be scrolled through with the tab key.

Dynamic content

Question Answer Notes Images
Can users pause carousel movement? Never Users cannot pause carousel movement. The page will continuously scroll, with more results appear as the user scrolls down. Pictures load slowly,
Is all functionality, including navigating between carousel items, operable by keyboard? Always Yes, navigating is operable by keyboard.

Liquid layout

Question Answer Notes Images
Is the order of the text preserved at all screen resolutions, without overlap? Sometimes The text is preserved, however the "Log In/Sign up" link overlaps with the text at 400%+ zoom on 1920x 1080 resolution on some pages.
Do images avoid overlapping at all screen resolutions? Always Image overlap is similar to above with text. Log In/Sign up" link overlaps with the text at 400%+ zoom on 1920x 1080 resolution on some pages.
Is the overall reading experience preserved at all screen resolutions? Sometimes Log In/Sign up" link overlaps with the text at 400%+ zoom on 1920x 1080 resolution on some pages, rendering some of the text to be illegible.

Assessment for Mindscape Commons by Centennial - Module 2: Interface Navigation | Status: Complete | Grade: A-

Labels and Instructions for Interactive Elements

Question Answer Notes Images
Are user input fields accompanied by clear instructions on what the user needs to do to successfully complete the form? Always
Do user input fields contain labels in addition to overall instructions mentioned above? Sometimes User Input field says "Search for experiences..."
Are descriptions for fields and boxes easy to understand? Always
Are labels placed above the user input fields and clearly associated with each field? Not Applicable Placeholder text is in the search box, centred in a plain blue coloured box.
Are text cues for coloured form control labels available? Never
Are other visual indicators provided consistently, such as an asterisk for required form fields? Sometimes The Contact Us page has a form with no indicators for required fields. An error message with red font appears when the database sees that there are too many requests from the same email address. (Note that the assessor did not try to send a contact request to Mind Scape.)

Error Prevention

Question Answer Notes Images
Are user input fields either reversible, checked, or confirmed? One of the three is acceptable. Sometimes User input fields are reversible if mistake is made (can clear the the field and restart). Data is checked, and user will know if the data is input incorrectly (e.g, if a word was spelled incorrectly, there will be no results found). There is no mechanism to confirm before finalizing the search.

Error Reports

Question Answer Notes Images
Are alert messages clearly visible to the user, either at the top of the form field, inline, or through a dialog box? Always If there are no results produced by the search, an error message "No Results found".
Do alert messages clearly indicate the field in which the error has occurred and a description of the error and the fix? Never
Is the user able to easily access the user input field to correct the error? Not Applicable The user can click in the field to re-enter their search words.
Is the user able to resubmit the form and re-validate their submission? Sometimes If the search produces no results, the page will say "Results Not Found." Users can retype their search in the search box at the top.
Do error reports follow a logical reading and navigation order? Not Applicable A blank screen appears when there are no results, with a "no results found" message.

Search function spell-check

Question Answer Notes Images
When a user spells a word incorrectly, does the search function offer spelling suggestions or synonyms? Never A message appears "No Results Found." The results will not offer spelling suggestions or Synonyms.

Functionality of Interactive Elements

Question Answer Notes Images
Are icons such as to save, download, or print consistent across the site? Always
Is alternative text clear and consistent for each icon type? Always
Are actions consistently labelled across the site? For example, the “search” button is always labeled “search”. Always
Are icons that have adjacent links consistent? Always
Can the purpose of each link be determined from the link text alone? Sometimes The link for the video is the title of the clip, but the purpose is not always determinable or clear from the link text alone.

Consistent Navigation

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the eresource have a consistent layout and navigation across all pages? Always
Are search fields located in the same places throughout the website? Sometimes Search bar is in the middle on the main page, but the search bar moves to the top of the page on the results page.
Do other features occur in the same place throughout the website? Always
Are links, buttons, images, and other components that are used repeatedly throughout a website labeled consistently? Always

Pop-up windows/Interruptions

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the electronic resource avoid the use of pop-up windows which open automatically in a new tab if a user clicks on a button? Always
Does the database avoid launching pop-up windows automatically when the database is loaded? Always
Where pop-ups occur, are users able to postpone or suppress any pop-ups? Always Users can manually close the window if there is a pop up.
Does the database avoid launching pages in a new browser window with the usual browser controls missing? Always

Headers

Question Answer Notes Images
Is page content subdivided hierarchically into appropriate headings and tagged appropriately? Always
Are headings concise and clear, and accurately reflect the content under that heading? Always

Menus

Question Answer Notes Images
Do database page menus have a reasonable number of navigation items and drop-down options? Always Very minimal number of drop-down menus, very minimal amount of links.
Does the main navigation and drop-downs contain a reasonable number of menu items? Always
Can all menus and submenus be accessed with screen readers and via keyboard navigation? Always

Change of context

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the “results” page or item record view avoid opening in a new tab without a warning? Always Results page opens in the same tab/window.
Is there an "update now" button that requests a refresh of content rather than automatically updating the content? Never Results update automatically when filters are applied.
Does the database avoid automatic redirection? Always

Change of Context: Focus

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the form refrain from submitting automatically when a component receives focus? Always
Does the database avoid launching new windows when a component receives focus? Always
Does the database avoid change of focus when a component receives focus? Always
Are you able to tab through a page using keyboard navigation without the keyboard focus moving away from the control? Always

Assessment for Mindscape Commons by Centennial - Module 3: Interface Structure | Status: Complete | Grade: A+

Navigation Links

Question Answer Notes Images
Can the purpose of each link can be determined from the link text, or from the link text together with its surrounding context? Always

Keyboard Navigation

Question Answer Notes Images
Can keyboard focus be moved to all page elements? Always Can be navigated by using the Tab key. However, it requires the user to tab through all of the content filters to get to the next section, or to click on the video.8
If moving keyboard focus away from a component requires more than arrow or tab keys, is this clearly indicated on the page? Always There is a sign that appears to the user to indicate that they can "skip to the main content" when tabbed over the logo. The user can move through the page by using tabs and other keys (space to select, arrows to move),
Is default keyboard navigation order logical and intuitive, following the visual flow of the page as described above? Always
When using a keyboard to navigate the interface, is the keyboard focus indicator visible? Always The button is highlighted when selected to focus on the indicator.
Does all interactive functionality work via keyboard, and does it behave consistently and as expected? Always
Does focus order move sequentially across form fields? Always

Skip Links

Question Answer Notes Images
Are there skip links (either visible or invisible)? Always
Are skip links visible or invisible? Always
Are skip links (visible or invisible) positioned prominently near the beginning of the page? Always Skip links are positioned next to the logo on the left side.
Are skip links labelled properly? Always
Are skip links accessible via keyboard? Always
Do anchors (link destinations) appear at the beginning of the relevant content? Not Applicable
Do skip navigation controls appear in the same place on every page? Always

Tables

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the reader capture accurate information as it appears in the table and the columns and rows? Always

Frames

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the screen reader successfully navigate from one frame to another? Always
Does each frame have a meaningful title that tells the user the purpose of the frame? Always
When navigating the page using keyboard navigation, is the user able to navigate effectively from one frame to the next? Always

Assessment for Mindscape Commons by Centennial - Module 4: Content | Status: Complete | Grade: C

PDFs

Searchable PDFs
Question Answer Notes Images
Are the sampled PDFs image-only? Never PDFs that were used for the sample were all searchable.
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)? Not Applicable All documents are accessible.
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable? Always
Tagged PDFs
Question Answer Notes Images
Are alternative descriptions provided? Sometimes Most articles that were used as a sample failed the Alternate text portion, except for one article, which only one part ("Figures alternate text") failed.
Is primary language specified? Sometimes Some articles in the sample had Primary Language specified, while others did not.
Is reliable character encoding provided? Always
Are all page elements tagged? Sometimes Not all elements were tagged in the sample of articles. Note that some of the articles were text only, and these articles that failed that tagged elements part of the accessbility check.
Are list and table structure correct? Sometimes 3 out of 4 of the samples failed the list and table structure part of the accessibility check.

Structure: Reading Order

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the Read Out Loud function read the PDF in a logical way, preserving the order of the text and various sections? Always
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”? Always
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document? Always

Magnification

Question Answer Notes Images
When zooming in to 250%, does all text, images, tables, and other elements appear clear and easy to read? Always

Images

Positioning of Images
Question Answer Notes Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find? Always When images appear in PDFs, they are the whole page or placed in upper corners. (Not all PDFs that were checked have images, they're mostly text-transcripts)
Alternative Description
Question Answer Notes Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Never The PDFs that were tested in the sample were mostly transcripts of the video, so they did not have any images. The PDFs that did have images in the document did not have any alt text, and the Read out loud feature would say "blank."
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Never PDFs in the sample were mostly transcripts of the video. Others were PDFs of brochures that did not have Alt text.
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Never Alt text was not provided for any of the images, when they were applicable.

Tables

Question Answer Notes Images
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate? Not Applicable Tables were not present in the PDFs sampled.
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers? Never When a Accessibility Check was performed, the check did not detect any table headers (failed).

Additional Navigational Aids

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks? Never The Bookmarks Panel display were empty when taking a look at the sample PDFs.
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document? Not Applicable No bookmarks displayed.

Video Captions

Question Answer Notes Images
Are videos captioned? Sometimes Some of the videos were a VR 360 degrees experience, and did not have captions, but provided a transcript that viewers can follow next to the video. Other videos had closed captions, but can be turned off.
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive? Always There is a button on the video with the CC icon for closed captions. Users can hover over the icon for Captions settings, captions off, and English (for captions)
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)? Always
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video? Always
Are the captions in sync with spoken words? Always
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided? Always If the video is not available on the database, a link is provided to the Youtube video, where you can find the transcript. I did notice that users need to be logged in to Youtube to see transcripts.
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided? Always The videos that were viewed had captions provided, however I did notice that users need to be logged in to Youtube to see transcripts.

Described Video

Question Answer Notes Images
Do videos include described video, or if not, is there a text equivalent of the video provided on the same page or via a link? Never A link to described video or a text equivalent was found on the page.
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents? Not Applicable No link was found for described video or text equivalent.

Audio Accessibility

Question Answer Notes Images
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip? Sometimes The database is a resource that is interactive with VR experiences as well as some videos (interviews mostly), as well as games and apps for teaching and counseling, social work and other related programs. Links to transcripts for videos with interviews (videos that were created by the resource) were found next to the clip. Other videos were found on Youtube, some vidoes did not have transcripts (in my experience, users need to log in to view transcripts), and VR experiences did not have text transcripts.
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio? Always
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