Cover lesson · IT · Year 10 · Intermediate

Digital tools for accessibility

DCF: Citizenship → Health and well-being

Name: Class: Date:

Cover teacher — you need no subject knowledge

Print: this sheet and the stimulus sheet "Ysgol Glan Taf: trip notice web page", one of each per pupil. The lesson works with no computers. Everything pupils need to know about each tool is in the grey box below.

Run: 5 min read the tools box · 10 min match tools to barriers · 15 min audit the trip notice · 15 min rewrite two parts of the notice properly · 5 min swap and tick.

Collect: this sheet and the annotated stimulus sheet. If machines are available, pupils may turn a screen reader or Immersive Reader on to hear the difference — warn the class first, because a screen reader starting up is loud and startling. Headphones if you have them.

What you are doing

Accessibility features are not add-ons: Windows, macOS, Android and every major browser already have them built in. You are going to match six real features to the barrier each one removes, then audit a genuinely bad school web page against the four WCAG principles and rewrite the worst of it.

Six features that are already on the device

Feature Where it is What it actually does
Narrator Built into Windows 11 — nothing to download or install A screen reader. It speaks the text on screen and describes the controls, so the whole computer can be driven by listening and using the keyboard. Narrator key + Shift + S silences speech without turning it off.
Immersive Reader Microsoft Word, OneNote, Edge and Teams Strips the clutter off a page and adds Read Aloud, wider text spacing, line focus (showing one to five lines at a time), syllable breaks, a picture dictionary and translation.
VoiceOver Built into macOS and iOS Apple's screen reader. Command-F5 turns it on or off. Commands are pressed with the VoiceOver modifier, which is Control and Option together, or Caps Lock.
TalkBack Built into Android phones and tablets Android's screen reader: it reads the screen out loud and you explore by touch and by swipe gestures instead of by looking.
Browser zoom Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari Enlarges everything on the page. Ctrl and plus to zoom in, Ctrl and minus to zoom out, Ctrl and 0 to reset. Works on any site — unless the site's author has blocked zooming.
Live captions Windows 11, version 22H2 and later Windows logo key + Ctrl + L. Captions any audio playing through the PC, including video with no captions of its own. The language files stay on the device and the microphone is off by default.

Task 1 — match the feature to the barrier

Write the feature you would recommend, and the reason. Do not use the same feature twice.

The person Feature Why that one
A pupil who is blind and uses a Windows laptop in every lesson.
A pupil with dyslexia who can read but loses their place and finds long pages exhausting.
A pupil who is deaf and has been set a four-minute video for homework that has no captions.
A grandparent with age-related sight loss who can read large print but not normal web text.
A pupil who is blind and does most of their reading on an Android phone on the bus.
A teacher with low vision who works on a MacBook.

Task 2 — audit the trip notice

Use the stimulus sheet. Find six faults. For each one, name the WCAG principle it breaks (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable or Robust), say who is shut out, and write the fix.

Fault on the page WCAG principle Who is shut out Fix
1
2
3
4
5
6

Task 3 — rewrite it properly

(a) Write the alternative text you would set for the mountain photograph and for the timetable photograph. Remember that the timetable is the only place the times appear.

(b) Rewrite the three "Click here" links so each one makes sense read out on its own, and rewrite the lunch instruction so it does not depend on colour.

Step by step

  1. 5 min — Read the tools box. Note which two of the six are screen readers and which platform each belongs to.
  2. 10 min — Complete Task 1. The reason column matters more than the name.
  3. 15 min — Mark six faults on the stimulus sheet, then fill in the audit table.
  4. 15 min — Do Task 3. Your alternative text must carry the same information, not describe the picture for its own sake.
  5. 5 min — Swap and tick against the success criteria.

Success criteria

If you finish early