<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<style>
<!--
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math"}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma}
@font-face
{font-family:Consolas}
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;
text-decoration:underline}
p.MsoPlainText, li.MsoPlainText, div.MsoPlainText
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:10.5pt;
font-family:Consolas}
p.MsoAcetate, li.MsoAcetate, div.MsoAcetate
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"}
span.PlainTextChar
{font-family:Consolas}
span.BalloonTextChar
{font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"}
.MsoChpDefault
{}
@page WordSection1
{margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt}
div.WordSection1
{}
ol
{margin-bottom:0cm}
ul
{margin-bottom:0cm}
-->
</style>
</head>
<body lang="EN-GB" link="blue" vlink="purple">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoPlainText">Interesting discussion here that relates to the whole discussion about tables and accessibility.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Forgive me if this looks like ‘teaching grannies to suck eggs’ (for our non-English colleagues that is one of the more weird English expressions) that is tables and accessibility raise some pedagogical questions as well as technical
questions.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">In one respect a table is an accessibility end solution for people (lots of us) who would find a textual description of the same information difficult to comprehend. Tables work because they plot information visually in two dimensions
allowing us to isolate different variables and trends from the mass of data. For people accessing the table without the benefit of sight the added value it provides depends on several factors. These include:</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:36.0pt; text-indent:-18.0pt"><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span style="">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span>The table layout. In Thomas's example screen reader user would find the layout ideal for getting specific data on a specific apple but they would find it much harder to answer the question "which Apple has a higher sugar content?". To answer
this question it would be better to swap the rows and columns so all the relevant data would be read in sequence.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><img width="269" height="178" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01CC9EC2.877222F0"></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:36.0pt; text-indent:-18.0pt"><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span style="">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span>The size of the table. The screen reader user could arguably navigate a small table like the example here with relative ease but once there are more than six or so columns you are taxing the limits of short-term memory in order to do it
by audio alone.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:36.0pt; text-indent:-18.0pt"><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span style="">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span>Accessibility is not just about blind users who can't see the table because plenty of dyscalculic and dyslexic people who
<b>can</b> see the table will also struggle to make sense of what it is try to tell them. Consequently JISC TechDis recommend that tables should have the main teaching and learning point is described in much the same way as an image would be. The description
could be in the body text or a caption or using appropriate HTML tags.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:36.0pt; text-indent:-18.0pt"><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span style="">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span>Making something technically accessible does not necessarily make it usable. If you use the text-to-speech mode to read the table above you spend a lot of time listening to “dash plus dash plus vertical bracket dash plus” etc in between
the relevant data announcements. </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Ultimately, an accessible Xerte table template that allow people to create a table with text-to-speech compatibility, appropriate reading order and column/row heading announcement would be a real benefit. In the meantime, any of the
workarounds kindly provided by Thomas and others could be made accessible in a pedagogical sense by ensuring the teaching objectives the table was designed to show are clearly stated in
</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">1) tool tips on images of tables or </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">2) in the body text descriptions.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Standards, guidelines and code have a vital contribution to make to accessibility but they don't guarantee a good user experience and good experiences for disabled users can sometimes be provided in nonstandard ways.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">A</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">-----Original Message-----<br>
From: xerte-bounces@lists.nottingham.ac.uk [mailto:xerte-bounces@lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Stenhouse Andy<br>
Sent: 09 November 2011 08:40<br>
To: thomas.rochford@cambridge-serendipity.com; Xerte discussion list<br>
Subject: [Xerte] Re: how do I create Tables in XERTE pages</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Thanks Thomas, I've already used a screen grab but that's not</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">accessible, but I didn't think of doing it old school - we're all too</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">sophisticated for our own good :-) I'll try that.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">I was planning on trying out building a table in a single cell flash</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">.swf and see how accessible that would be. If that goes well I'll see if</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">I can do a build with actionscript and buttons to create a table, but</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">that will not be in the near future.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Cheers</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Andy Stenhouse</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">-----Original Message-----</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">From: Thomas Rochford [mailto:thomas.rochford@cambridge-serendipity.com]</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Sent: 08 November 2011 22:32</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">To: 'Xerte discussion list'</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Subject: [Xerte] Re: how do I create Tables in XERTE pages</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">A couple of quick ideas</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">1) You can create the table in Excel and then use ALT-PrtSc to copy it</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">to an</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">image editor and extract the section you want. You can then embed it</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">into</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">the presentation as part of a media page.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">2) You can always do it the hard old way. Try copying the data below</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">into a</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">plain text page, it will look better when you preview it!</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Here is some Nutrition data for a range of popular apples</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><font face="courier new" size="-1"></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">'----------------.-------.-----.-----'</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">|<b>VARIETY</b> | <b>kCALS</b> |<b>FIBRE</b>|<b>SUGAR</b>|</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">|----------------+-------+-----+-----|</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">|Braeburn | 43.2 | 1.6 |10.2 |</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">|----------------+-------+-----+-----|</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">|Cox | 44.4 | 2.0 |10.4 |</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">|----------------+-------+-----+-----|</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">|Egremont Russet | 45.0 | 1.6 |10.6 |</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">|----------------+-------+-----+-----|</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">|Gala | 43.9 | 1.3 |10.3 |</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">|----------------+-------+-----+-----|</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">|Pink Lady | 44.5 | 1.6 |10.5 |</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">'----------------'-------'-----'-----'</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"></font> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">This shows one way in which you can use a fixed font such as courier to</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">create the appearance of a table. You need to use a text editor such as</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">notepad++ to create the basic table, otherwise you will take ages to</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">line up</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">the text</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">I guess you might be able to use print2flash as well. For some animated</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">examples you could capture some video using e.g. Captivate or make an</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">animated gif and convert that to flash (Animated gif images do not work</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">in</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Xerte - at least they didn't use to!)</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Kindest Regards,</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Thomas</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">----</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">--</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">From: xerte-bounces@lists.nottingham.ac.uk</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">[mailto:xerte-bounces@lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Stenhouse</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Andy</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Sent: 08 November 2011 08:56</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">To: Xerte discussion list</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Subject: [Xerte] Re: how do I create Tables in XERTE pages</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">That's not very accessible. Surely if Xerte can see html in a page it</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">can be</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">made to see the <table> tags?</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Cheers</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Andy Stenhouse</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">From: Julian Tenney [mailto:Julian.Tenney@nottingham.ac.uk]
</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Sent: 07 November 2011 16:06</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">To: Xerte discussion list</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Subject: [Xerte] Re: how do I create Tables in XERTE pages</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">It's probably best to create the tables in a different package and then</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">get</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">an image, or a screenshot from that,</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">J</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">From: xerte-bounces@lists.nottingham.ac.uk</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">[mailto:xerte-bounces@lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Stenhouse</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Andy</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Sent: 07 November 2011 09:38</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">To: xerte@lists.nottingham.ac.uk</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Subject: [Xerte] how do I create Tables in XERTE pages</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Hi,</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">I'm am fairly new to XERTE and am starting to use it in some modules, I</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">am</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">trying to encourage academics to use it instead of their PowerPoints;</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">for</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">its added functionality, and it's pretty easy to use, so I am finding</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">out</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">what is readily accessible to non-coders.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">I am trying to create a table in a text page (Block off text with a</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">table</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">underneath) and can't find a way to do it.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">I tried the drawing tool and besides being too long-winded I found the</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">text</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">was displaying vertically and spilling over the edges of the box. I next</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">tried the columns page but that looks awfull as a table (and you can't</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">colspan) and then I tried writing the HTML in a text page but that</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">didn't</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">work.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Could someone please tell me how this should be done please.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Regards</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Andy Stenhouse</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Learning Technologist</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">School of Health</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">University of Northampton</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Tel: 01604 893539</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Ranked number 1 in the UK for Value Added</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">The University of Northampton has achieved the top ranking among UK</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Universities for ?Value Added? in the Guardian Universities League table</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">for</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">2012. See more about this on our website.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Award winner - Outstanding Higher Education Institution Supporting</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Social</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Entrepreneurship 2011 (UnLtd/HEFCE) </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">This e-mail is private and may be confidential and is for the intended</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">recipient only. If you are not the intended recipient you are strictly</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">prohibited from using, printing, copying, distributing or disseminating</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">this</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">e-mail or any information contained in it. We virus scan all E-mails</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">leaving</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">The University of Northampton but no warranty is given that this E-mail</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">and</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">any attachments are virus free. You should undertake your own virus</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">checking. The right to monitor E-mail communications through our</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">networks is</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">reserved by us.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Ranked number 1 in the UK for Value Added</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">The University of Northampton has achieved the top ranking among UK</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Universities for 'Value Added' in the Guardian Universities League table</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">for</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">2012. See more about this on our website.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Award winner - Outstanding Higher Education Institution Supporting</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Social</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Entrepreneurship 2011 (UnLtd/HEFCE) </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">This e-mail is private and may be confidential and is for the intended</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">recipient only. If you are not the intended recipient you are strictly</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">prohibited from using, printing, copying, distributing or disseminating</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">this</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">e-mail or any information contained in it. We virus scan all E-mails</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">leaving</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">The University of Northampton but no warranty is given that this E-mail</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">and</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">any attachments are virus free. You should undertake your own virus</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">checking. The right to monitor E-mail communications through our</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">networks is</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">reserved by us.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">and</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">may contain confidential information. If you have received this message</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">in</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">not</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">any</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">do</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham.
</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">attachment</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">system:</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">the</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">legislation. Ranked number 1 in the UK for Value Added</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">The University of Northampton has achieved the top ranking among UK Universities for VALUE ADDED in the Guardian Universities League table for 2012. See more about this on our website http://www.northampton.ac.uk/news/article/133/the-university-of-northampton-is-no-1-for-value-added--the-guardian.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">This e-mail is private and may be confidential and is for the intended recipient only. If you are not the intended recipient you are strictly prohibited from using, printing, copying, distributing or disseminating this e-mail or any
information contained in it. We virus scan all E-mails leaving The University of Northampton but no warranty is given that this E-mail and any attachments are virus free. You should undertake your own virus checking. The right to monitor E-mail communications
through our networks is reserved by us.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> </p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">_______________________________________________</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Xerte mailing list</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Xerte@lists.nottingham.ac.uk</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/xerte</p>
</div>
This email is confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient please accept our apologies. Please do not disclose, copy, or distribute information in this email nor take any action in reliance on its contents: to do so is strictly
prohibited and may be unlawful. Please inform us that this message has gone astray before deleting it. Please note that views expressed in this email are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Higher Education Academy. Please note
that this e-mail has been created in the knowledge that Internet e-mail is not a secure communications medium. We advise that you understand and observe this lack of security when e-mailing us. Although we have taken steps to ensure this e-mail and attachments
are free from any virus, we advise that in keeping with good computing practice the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free. The Higher Education Academy Registered No 4930131
</body>
</html>