Padlet Accessibility Summary
Service Overview
Padlet is a digital engagement tool that provides a discussion board where participants can post sticky notes, comments, images, etc.
Testing Parameters
The CU Boulder Digital Accessibility Office tested three components of the Padlet tool: Wall, Shelf, and Map. All tested components were created before testing using the “Neon” membership. The Wall and Shelf tools were tested in desktop and mobile environments, while the Map tool was only tested in the desktop environment.
Accessibility Status
General Finding
The Digital Accessibility Office has found the Padlet Wall, Shelf, and Map tools problematic for individuals who utilize assistive technologies (AT) and keyboard access. Multiple tools had usable features but were time-consuming, unclear, and ultimately frustrating for users.
Wall
The activities in this tool can technically be done, but our testing found this tool to be frustrating and confusing to users. Like other Padlet tools, this one had multiple elements in mobile and desktop environments that were unavailable to screen readers. Additionally, there were many unlabeled buttons that could create difficult experiences for screen reader users.
Other issues include inconsistent focus handling, inconsistent document structure, a lack of audible alerts for screen reader users, and a lack of focus indicators for keyboard users. A unique issue with the wall platform was that drawings, images, and graphics were programmed as links and included labels that were a long string of seemingly random characters. The lack of meaningful names/labels makes it impossible for users to search for graphics or to know what the link/graphic is about.
Shelf
The activities in this tool can technically be done, but our testing found this tool to be frustrating and confusing to users. For example, mobile screen readers do not read or see GIFs and graphics and have incomprehensible labels in the desktop version. Additionally, elements like the drawing feature or post colors are unavailable to screen readers in both the mobile and desktop versions. The drawing feature is also not accessible to keyboard-only users.
A large amount of frustration came from many buttons being unlabeled and announced differently across screen readers. Additional frustration came from inconsistent focus handling, content read out of order, and the overuse of headings, making navigation difficult.
Map
Several issues were found that impacted the navigation and readability of the page. Several elements were unlabeled or labeled in a way that did not make it clear what each button's purpose was on the page. Additionally, the pins on the map require unique, nonstandard ways to activate them. To access the information from the pins, the users would have to know how to access that information in the preview panel. However, the preview panel does not alert the user once the pins are activated.
In addition to the more severe items, several other issues impacted readability, like the “Post” button being located at the bottom of the page after the “terms and conditions” rather than in a more intuitive location, such as after the edit area. There is also a lack of focus indicators for keyboard users.
Recommendations
When using images, the post's creator should include descriptive text in the post, as there is no way to add alternative text to the image.
Only post videos that are appropriately captioned.
Do not use color alone to convey meaning. Posts can be in different colors, but this feature should not be required.
Additional Information
These summaries reflect the state of the platform as of March 31st, 2022. Please note that some information may have changed since this platform was last tested.
The findings presented in this summary are accurate in the context of the IT environment and configuration at the time of testing at CU Boulder. They may not be accurate in other environments and different versions of the application.
Vendor Accessibility Documentation
Padlet Accessibility Statement