Module 3: Forms  in Content Author Modules, Curricula on Web Accessibility

• Foundation Prerequisites
• Prior Content Author Modules
• Basic knowledge of:
  • Writing
  • Copy-editing
  • Proofreading
  • Content creation

• Applied expertise in teaching:
  • WCAG 2 Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
  • WCAG 2 Success Criterion 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose
  • WCAG 2 Success Criterion 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable
  • WCAG 2 Success Criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels
  • WCAG 2 Success Criterion 2.5.3 Label in Name
  • WCAG 2 Success Criterion 3.2.2 On Input
  • WCAG 2 Success Criterion 3.3.1 Error Identification
  • WCAG 2 Success Criterion 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions
  • WCAG 2 Success Criterion 3.3.3 Error Suggestion
  • WCAG 2 Success Criterion 3.3.4 Error Prevention
• In-depth knowledge of:
  • Foundation Prerequisites
  • Prior Content Author Modules
  • Accessible authoring tools

Unique, descriptive labels help people with disabilities identify the purpose of form fields and controls.

Authoring tools may not produce accessible labels. When this occurs, different team members, including content authors, designers, and developers, need to collaborate to make labels accessible.

Learning Outcomes for Topic

Students should be able to:

• explain how people with disabilities rely on clear labels to identify and understand the purpose of form fields and controls
• provide unique and descriptive labels for:
  • form fields
  • form controls
  • groups of related form fields and controls
• identify requirements for authoring tools to programmatically associate labels with their corresponding control
• collaborate with designers and developers to include icons, symbols, and other imagery to make text labels easier to understand
• identify related requirements for developers and designers to ensure accessible labels

Teaching Ideas for Topic

Optional ideas to teach the learning outcomes:

• Demonstrate the use of voice commands, keystrokes, and gestures for assistive technologies to get to the label associated with a form field or control. Explain that several groups of users require labels that are persistently visible on the page. Content authors should avoid the use of placeholder text that disappears when the user starts to enter text into the form field or control. Show how successful form interaction becomes difficult or impossible when labels are not accessible.
• Show examples of commonly used labels for form fields and controls. Examples include “name”, “family name”, “address”, “phone”, “email”, and others. Discuss with students which text they would use for each label. Explain that the label should be a unique, clear, and descriptive text that communicates the meaning, purpose, and intent of the form field or control. Emphasize that providing accessible labels requires collaboration between different team members, including designers, developers, and content authors.
• Explain how imagery, including icons and symbols, helps users who do not process text easily to understand these labels. Emphasize that when content authors collaborate with designers and developers to complement text labels with imagery they will help these users process form fields and controls more effectively.
• Introduce accessible authoring tools that programmatically associate labels with their corresponding form field and control. Explain that some tools may refer to labels as “names” or similar terminology. Emphasize that content authors should provide these labels and the tool should associate the label with the corresponding form field and control.

Ideas to Assess Knowledge for Topic

Optional ideas to assess knowledge:

• Short Answer Questions — Ask students about the type of information that labels should contain. Assess how students understand the type of information that labels should contain.
• Practical — Give students several form fields and controls without a label and ask them to provide one for each. Assess how students provide unique, clear, and descriptive labels for form fields and controls.
• Practical — Have students collaborate with designers and developers to select icons and symbols that complement text labels. Assess how students complement text labels with icons and symbols.
• Practical — Have students include labels for form fields and controls in an authoring tool that programmatically associates the labels with their corresponding control. Assess how students use an authoring tool to include labels for form fields and controls.

Clear instructions help people with disabilities interact with form fields and controls. These include overall instructions about the purpose of the form, specific instructions for each form field and control when required, and information about the current step and the total number of steps in a form.

Authoring tools may not produce accessible instructions. When this occurs, different team members, including content authors, designers, and developers, need to collaborate to make instructions accessible.

Learning Outcomes for Topic

Students should be able to:

• explain how people with disabilities rely on clear instructions to understand the purpose of form fields and controls as well as to provide the appropriate input
• provide clear instructions about the overall purpose of the form before the form
• write additional instructions that provide examples of expected input when possible
• provide information about the current step and the total number of steps in a multi-step process
• identify requirements for authoring tools to programmatically associate instructions with their corresponding form field and control
• identify related requirements for designers and developers to ensure accessible instructions

Teaching Ideas for Topic

Optional ideas to teach the learning outcomes:

• Demonstrate the use of voice commands, keystrokes, and gestures for assistive technologies to get to the instructions associated with form fields and controls. Explain that several groups of users require meaningful instructions to provide the appropriate input. Show how successful form interaction becomes difficult or impossible without such instructions. Emphasize that providing accessible instructions requires collaboration between different team members, including designers, developers, and content authors.
• Show examples of forms that require instructions to understand their purpose. Discuss with students what instructions they would provide to help users understand the form. These instructions could contain the type of data the form collects and general timing advice on how long it takes to complete the form.
• Show examples of form fields that collect data in a specific format, for example fields collecting dates or phone numbers. Content authors should include examples of how to provide the input, unless these examples compromise the security or purpose of the form.
• Demonstrate approaches for including information about the current step and the total number of steps in the page title or before the form starts.
• Introduce accessible authoring tools that programmatically associate instructions with the corresponding form field or control. Explain that some tools may refer to instructions as “descriptions”, “tooltips”, and others. Emphasize that content authors should provide these instructions and the tool should associate the instructions with the corresponding form field and control. Standard HTML elements may suffice, and WAI-ARIA properties may be required when building custom form fields and controls.

Ideas to Assess Knowledge for Topic

Optional ideas to assess knowledge:

• Short Answer Questions — Ask students what type of information instructions should contain. Assess how students understand the type of information that instructions should contain.
• Practical — Give students a multi-step process and ask them to provide the instructions for each of the steps. Assess how students provide the relevant instructions for each of the steps in a multi-step process.
• Practical — Give students a form field with specific input requirements. Ask them to provide instructions that communicate such requirements. Assess how students provide instructions that communicate specific input requirements.

Clear and descriptive error messages help people with disabilities understand the problem and, if possible, correct it. Demonstrate approaches for providing clear and descriptive error messages.

Authoring tools may not produce accessible error messages. When this occurs, different team members, including content authors, designers, and developers, need to collaborate to make error messages accessible.

Learning Outcomes for Topic

Students should be able to:

• explain how people with disabilities rely on error messages that communicate the problem and suggest fixes where possible
• write error messages that:
  • identify the field in error
  • specify the cause of the error
• include suggestions for fixing the errors when possible by providing:
  • examples of expected input
  • additional guidance for users to understand the required input
• identify related requirements for:
  • designers to define visual and non-visual appearance of error messages
  • developers to programmatically associate error messages with their corresponding form field or control

Teaching Ideas for Topic

Optional ideas to teach the learning outcomes:

• Demonstrate the use of voice commands, keystrokes, and gestures for assistive technologies to get to the error messages in a form. Explain that several groups of users require error messages that communicate the problem and suggest fixes where possible. Show how successful form interaction becomes difficult or impossible without such error messages. Emphasize that providing accessible error messages requires collaboration between different team members, including designers, developers, and content authors.
• Have students research approaches for communicating error messages. These include identifying the fields that caused the error and providing suggestions to correct the problem when these suggestions do not compromise the security or purpose of the form.

Ideas to Assess Knowledge for Topic

Optional ideas to assess knowledge:

• Short Answer Questions — Ask students what type of information error messages should contain. Assess how students understand the information that error messages should contain.
• Practical — Give students a form submission containing errors and ask them to include error messages that identify the field(s) in error and provide suggestions for correction when possible. Assess how students include error messages that identify the field(s) in error and provide suggestions for correction where possible.