Toronto Metropolitan University

Law Practice Program (LPP)

A collaboration between Toronto Metropolitan University and the Law Society of Ontario that offers a hybrid learning experience as an alternative to articling for future lawyers in Ontario. The project was designed to support a comprehensive training program for 200+ candidates, 60+ mentors, and covering dozens of topics using Brightspace by D2L.

Screenshot of a module intro page from the LPP course shell

Accessibility Features

In this project we implemented elements that comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) as well as design best practices to enhance content variety and interaction for all participants.

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WCAG 2.1 Level AA success criteria

The elements on the various web pages were designed to meet the success criteria defined in the WCAG documentation.

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Alternative Texts and Long Descriptions

Alternative texts (either alt tags or in the surrounding text) are provided for visuals. Interactions that inlcude elements have a text-only alternative as well.

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Media Production and Closed Captions for Videos

Videos are deployed on YouTube and have close captions enabled (auto-generated with corrections where identified).

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Development of Custom Accessible Templates

Develop custom page templates using the Bootstrap framework and enhancing examples provided by D2L developers.

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Testing with WAVE and SCREEN Readers

As we developed and deployed content, elements were tested with the Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (WAVE) by WebAim and Screen Readers (ChromeVox and VoiceOver).

Screenshot of a page that uses a grid system for profile cards in the New Content Experience in Brightspace
Course shell configured using the New Learning Experience layout by Brightspace and customized with the brand colors
Home page widgets, adding sliders, call-to-action (CTA), footer section and other elements.
Custom cards using css flex and fully accessible featuring program contributors and links to their bios (either LinkedIn or company websites)
Using the description field in Brightspace with inline CSS styles to create custom elements beyond plain text
Using a mix of tabs and accordions (collapsible elements) in a content page
A custom table with links, hover effects, and merged cells used to detail the program schedule
An image with a long description to supplement the Alternative Text for the image
Using the description section of a module in Brightspace to provide easy navigation to content items in the module bypassing the side menu (saving clicks/interactions)
External links to PDF files with visual enhancement and descriptions for each file

What was Done?

The following features provide an overview of what was done, overall, for this project

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Instructional Design

Applying multiple instructional design strategies, including UDL to create an engaging learning experience for facilitators and learners.

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Digital Accessibility

Implementing web accessibility and digital documents standards to meet WCAG 2.1 level AA criteria for the content.

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Web Development

Develop custom CSS and HTML scripts as well as adding, if possible, functionality through internal and external JS resources. 

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H5P interactions

Leverage the integration that the Pressbooks instance from eCampus Ontario has with H5P to add interactions to the content.

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Video Production

Record and product videos covering course materials as a series of instructor led videos for the topics of the book.

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User Interface Design

Creating a UI Kit for the program, including a visual language for the pages and individual elements used across the program.

Inline Scripts

Using inline scripts to enhance Brightspace items that are not pages (e.g., checklists, item descriptions, discussion topic prompts, and others) to make them more engaging.

Content Items

Page Templates

Assessments

Participants (Cohort)

Why we are different

Our team builds universal design and digital accessibility into the development process. From the initial conversation with the client and subject matter experts and through the templates used for collaborating on content and the continuous testing as materials are being uploaded to websites or learning management systems.

 We don’t just focus on getting projects done, but also on informing and being informed by our partners about what and how we can create more inclusive and accessible teaching and learning experiences.