Built-in functions and tools ensure that participants with disabilities can use WISEflow as an exam tool. The tools available make it possible for the manager to help participants with special needs and disabilities.
In the following you will find an explanation for the functions and tools available in WISEflow and the lockdown browser.
Based on a thorough report on the experience of the accessibility and usability of WISEflow, we have been working to enhance 6 areas with the October release 2021. The accessibility enhancements should provide a much better and accessible WISEflow today, but at the same time support our general compliance with the WCAG 2.1 AA standard and help us secure that WISEflow in the future gets even more accessible and inclusive for its users.
- Text alternatives to non-text content (screen reader support)
- Contrast Ratio (distinct visual appearance)
- Page titles (screen reader support and better distinction between browser tabs)
- Keyboard support (motorically impairment)
- Zoom and text size (visually impairment)
- Tooltip's appearance (keyboard accessible)
It is possible for managers to adjust certain settings for individual participants to differ from the general settings via the Participation settings on the flow. Among others, managers can:
- Enable/disable spell-checker (only for FLOWlock): If the spellcheck is enabled, a different language can be added to an individual participant.
- Remove lockdown browser: Remove the lockdown browser for a specific participant on a FLOWlock/FLOWmulti to allow them to use external programs.
- External internet resources: It is possible to provide a participant with access to an external internet resource if necessary.
- Extra time: It is possible to allocate extra time before, during and after the participation period. This is done via the participant list of a flow.
Participants have the option to change certain functionalities within the lockdown browser on their own:
Inside the lockdown browser, the participant can zoom and adjust the size of the text either by choosing the right percentage or using keyboard shortcuts. This is done through the navigation on the right hand side.
FLOWmulti
The participant chooses the option "Accessibility" 
and adjusts the size of fonts:
and/or zoom in and out using the following keyboard shortcuts:
The instructions for the shortcuts will adapt to the use of MacBook or Windows.
FLOWlock
Click on the small info circle in the top menu. This will open the settings window where you have the option to set a zoom level and apply it.
It is possible to change the color of the foreground and background of the assignment in the lockdown browser for a FLOWmulti by clicking on option "Accessibility" . It is possible to choose between various color combinations to improve the readability for users with usual impairments.
Authors can add a line reader as a feature tool when creating a FLOWmulti assignment. The line reader helps participants to focus their eyes on a single part of a text, by having a black shaded box take up most of screen around a clear area they can read from.
Participants can drag the line reader around the screen, resize it, and resize the focus area. With this, their eyes can focus on one line or a specific area at at time, while being able to move the line reader as they continue to read.
Participants with dyslexia might need to use a spellchecker in their assessment. In WISEflow the spellchecker is available for different languages and managers can adjust it for individual participants on the flow.
Macbook:
- The Mac version of the lockdown Browser works with VoiceOver (the standard screen reader that comes with the Mac OS). The functionalities and security of the lockdown browser remain the same when VoiceOver is used. Be sure you are using the lockdown browser version 2.0.3.03 or newer.
- Other programs such as the program TorTalk and ClaroRead are used by some of our customers. These are not official recommended by Respondus.
Windows:
- The Windows version of the lockdown browser allows a student to use some screen reader accessibility programs, such as NVDA, JAWS, MS-Windows Narrator, ReadSpeaker webReader, and Windows-Eyes. In our experience, NVDA works the best. It is free and available to download here.
If a participant uses a different program than those mentioned above we suggest that you create a test flow for the participant to test the program beforehand. As a manager you can also remove the lockdown browser for a single participant on FLOWlocks and FLOWmultis if the desired program cannot run with the lockdown browser.
You can find general information about the accessibility of the Respondus lockdown browser here.