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Accessibility and Seesaw

audience.png Audience: Seesaw Users

Accessibility Philosophy

We are passionate about the fact that Seesaw gives all learners ways to demonstrate and share their learning. We design intuitive tools that allow students to show their learning in the way that works best for them—photo, video, voice, text, and more. For example, students can take a photo of written work, record a video of themselves reading out loud, type or draw a response, or record their train of thought as they work through a math problem using our Draw+Record tool. 

Additionally, teachers can offer multiple modes of instruction for any lesson or communication. For example, teachers can add voice or video instructions to any lesson or announcement to support pre-readers and visually impaired students. Text labels, text captions, or video closed captions can be provided to reach hearing impaired students and families. Teachers can also differentiate instruction by assigning different versions of a lesson or activity to different students. Watch this training to learn more!

If you have a student or family member who uses assistive technologies in your class, please be sure to add captions or voice captions to all multimedia posts.

To support building a strong community around learning, teachers, students, and family members can leave both voice and text comments on student work. Seesaw also offers translation features that expand access for teachers and families who speak different languages. 

Combined, these features help students better understand lessons, share their learning in the ways that work best for them, and build a supportive learning loop between students, teachers, and families.

We are committed to continuously improving the accessibility of Seesaw to serve a diversity of learners and families. From a technical perspective, Seesaw is partially conformant with WCAG 2.2 AA. For limitations and alternatives, please see further details in our Accessibility Statement.

Seesaw's Accessibility Statement is available in our Help Center. If you have questions or concerns regarding Seesaw’s accessibility, please contact accessibility@seesaw.me.
 

Technical Accessibility Details 

  • From a technical perspective, Seesaw is partially conformant with WCAG 2.2 AA. For limitations and alternatives, please see further details in our Accessibility Statement.
  • Keyboard Navigation: Navigating the web version of Seesaw without a mouse is supported. Learn how to set up your computer to support keyboard navigation on Mac to use macOS keyboard shortcuts, on Chromebook, on PC. Note: Drawing in the creative canvas requires the use of a mouse, stylus, or finger, but students have many other ways to respond to lessons. 
  • Screen Readers: Screen Readers are supported on the web version of Seesaw. VoiceOver is supported on iOS and TalkBack is supported on Android.
  • Speech to Text or Dictation: Speech to text or dictation features are supported. Learn how to use speech to text on iOS, Android, Chrome, and Edge. 
  • Alt Text: Seesaw provides basic alt text for user-generated content (ex: “Javier’s post, in response to Writers Workshop, 2 pages”), but custom alt text can be provided in several ways. 
  • Closed Captions: Closed captions can be uploaded to videos or audio files in multiple languages. This functionality is currently available on the Creative Canvas. For captions on voice-based features outside of the Creative Canvas, we recommend enabling Live Captions on Chrome/Chromebooks (English content only), iOS (iPhone, iPad, and macOs), and Android. 
  • Voice Annotations and Instructions: Custom voice instructions and voice labels can be added to all user-generated content. 
  • Audio Descriptions: Audio descriptions can be uploaded to videos in multiple languages. 
  • Color Contrast, Inverting Colors, and Font Size: Color Contrast, Inverting Colors, and Font Size: Basic accessibility features built into the operating system or browser for adjusting color contrast, inverting colors, zooming, increasing font size are supported on web, iOS, and Android. The app can scale text up to 200% without affecting content or functionality. Font sizes beyond the app’s supported range may cause layout issues such as overlapping text or horizontal scrolling.
  • Printing: Teachers, students, and families can print any post or assignment by tapping the [...] more options menu and selecting Print.   

For a more detailed report on the accessibility of Seesaw, you can download a copy of our Government Product Accessibility Template (GPAT) and our Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) in our trust center.

These documents explain how information and communication technology products such as software, hardware, electronic content, and support documentation meet the Revised 508 Standards for IT accessibility. Learn more.

Recommended Platforms for Users Requiring Accommodations

For users who require robust accessibility accommodations, we recommend using Seesaw on Chromebooks or the web browser on MacOS/Windows. These platforms offer the most compatibility with assistive technologies and provide the best overall accessibility experience. While the Seesaw iOS and Android apps are largely accessible, specialized accessibility features are not well supported. These are noted in our Accessibility Limitations and Alternatives documentation. 

Legacy and Third Party Material

Some legacy professional learning and marketing resources may not fully support accessibility features. If you encounter an accessibility issue, please report it to accessibility@seesaw.me, and we will work to provide an accessible version when possible. 

The Community Library includes content created by a diverse community of educators. We provide contributors with guidance on creating accessible content, and we make a best effort to curate activities that meet technical accessibility requirements. However, some activities may need accessibility enhancements. Before assigning an activity from the Community Library, we recommend reviewing it and adding accessibility support to templates or examples using Seesaw’s built-in accessibility tools. 

Supplemental Accessibility Tools

 

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