We are thrilled to announce that Moodle Workplace has achieved WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility compliance! This milestone marks a significant step in our ongoing commitment to digital accessibility and inclusive learning environments.
This certification is particularly noteworthy as it’s the first time Moodle Workplace has received this accreditation. While all features inherited from Moodle LMS were already accessible, this certification now extends to Workplace-specific features, ensuring a comprehensive accessibility standard across the entire platform.
Why is accessibility important for workplace learning?
Accessibility is a fundamental aspect of workplace learning that ensures all employees, regardless of their physical, sensory, or cognitive abilities, have equal opportunities to engage with training materials and professional development resources.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are a set of standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to ensure that web content is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. WCAG 2.1 is the most recent version of these guidelines, and it includes a range of criteria aimed at improving accessibility.
Ensuring that Moodle Workplace meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance brings several benefits to workplace learning:
- Inclusivity and equal opportunity: Accessibility ensures that all employees, including those with disabilities, can participate fully in workplace learning programs. This fosters an inclusive work environment where everyone has equal opportunities for growth and development.
- Legal compliance: Many countries have laws and regulations requiring workplaces to provide accessible learning environments. Ensuring accessibility helps organisations comply with these legal requirements, avoiding potential fines and legal actions.
- Enhanced employee performance: When learning materials are accessible, all employees can effectively engage with the content, leading to better understanding and retention of information. This improves overall job performance and productivity.
- Employee retention and satisfaction: Providing accessible learning opportunities demonstrates that the organisation values all employees and their development. This can boost employee morale, job satisfaction, and retention rates.
- Innovation and creativity: Diverse teams bring a wide range of perspectives and ideas. By ensuring accessibility, organisations can tap into the potential of all employees, fostering innovation and creativity in problem-solving and decision-making.
- Reputation and brand image: Organisations that prioritise accessibility are viewed positively by clients, customers, and potential employees. This can enhance the company’s reputation and make it a more attractive place to work.
- Adapting to technological advances: Accessible learning materials are often more flexible and adaptable to various technologies, ensuring that all employees can benefit from the latest tools and resources available for professional development.
Moodle Workplace’s commitment to accessibility, demonstrated by its WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance, ensures that all workplace-specific features are accessible. This aligns with our goal to create an inclusive learning environment where every employee can thrive and contribute to the organisation’s success.
Building on a solid foundation
Moodle Workplace is built on top of Moodle LMS and adheres to the same rigorous accessibility principles. In May 2023, we announced that Moodle LMS had achieved WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance. This latest certification further solidifies our commitment to accessibility across our product suite.
The accessibility conformance report for Moodle Workplace is based on a thorough audit conducted by GrackleDocs, complemented by internal testing and community audits. In July 2024, GrackleDocs issued a Statement of Accessibility Conformance for WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
The audit was performed on Moodle Workplace 4.2, and we’re pleased to report that all issues identified during the audit have been addressed and rectified in all supported versions of Moodle Workplace, including our latest 4.4 release! The new features introduced in Moodle Workplace 4.3 and 4.4 will undergo an official review by GrackleDocs in November 2024.
It’s important to note that the Moodle Workplace accessibility conformance report complements the equivalent report for Moodle LMS. All accessibility enhancements and fixes added to Moodle LMS are included in Moodle Workplace as well, ensuring consistent accessibility across our platforms.
“Achieving WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance for Moodle Workplace is a testament to our team’s dedication to creating an inclusive learning environment. This certification validates our efforts and reinforces our commitment to ensuring that all users, regardless of their abilities, can fully engage with and benefit from our platform. We’re particularly proud that this accreditation now covers our Workplace-specific features, making Moodle Workplace a truly accessible solution for corporate learning and development,” commented Emilio Lazano, Head of Workplace Solutions.
Resources and tips to making Moodle more accessible
Although Moodle Workplace provides accessibility features according to WCAG 2.1 AA standards, our users should also know how they organise their sites and create courses and content impacts accessibility.
If you’d like to know more about making your Moodle courses more accessible, check out the following resources and tips:
- If you are an educator or admin, check out our Accessible course design page.
- If you’re a developer, read about accessibility in our developer documentation when you create new plugins or features.
- Use the ‘Accessibility Checker’ in Moodle’s text editor, which scans your content and alerts you to various accessibility issues that may be within the text.
- Learn more about accessibility on Moodle Academy. We have created various ways for educators to learn how to design accessible online learning environments, including courses such as Introduction to Accessibility, Accessible Teaching Basics and Accessible Development Practices.
- Check out Brickfield’s Accessibility Starter Toolkit, which provides the automated analysis of Moodle courses against accessibility standards, reviewing the content inside all of Moodle’s core activities.
Our ongoing commitment
At Moodle, we believe that accessibility is not a destination but a journey. We remain committed to continually improving and updating our platforms to meet the highest accessibility standards.
While our official certification is for WCAG 2.1, we’re already looking ahead! Due to the timing of the WCAG 2.2 standard’s release in November 2023 and the commencement of our external audit in August 2023, we’ve conducted internal assessments against the WCAG 2.2 criteria.
These internal assessments were done in good faith, and we plan to undergo a formal audit against WCAG 2.2 in the next cycle.
By prioritising accessibility, we’re ensuring that Moodle Workplace can be used effectively by all learners and educators, regardless of their abilities or the assistive technologies they may use.
Stay tuned for more updates as we continue our accessibility journey!
