Category: YuJa Panorama LMS Accessibility Platform
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December 8, 2023
YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform – “Lincoln Peak” Version Released to US, CAN, AU, and EU Zones
Australia Zone Canada Zone European Union Zone United States Zone YuJa Panorama LMS Accessibility PlatformWe have successfully pushed an update to all YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform instances residing in the United States, Canada, European Union, and Australia. This release provides our users with updates to our Remediation Engine to support HTML documents, the option to add alt-text to all occurrences of an image in Canvas, a new OCR conversion engine, enable Panorama in specific LMS sub-accounts, new design tool elements, Themes and Templates for the Accessible Design Tool, increased accessibility checks for images, HTML and DOCX files, and so much more!
- New Inline WCAG 2.1-Aligned Remediation Engine for HTML Issues Directly within Accessibility Reports
Complementing our Remediation Engine for inline accessibility issue resolution of Microsoft Word documents and PowerPoints, we’ve now extended these capabilities to HTML documents inside Accessibility Reports to resolve issues such as:- Alternative text for images.
- Non-descriptive hyperlink text.
- Unformatted lists.
- Find-and-Tag to Add Alt-Text to all Occurrences of an Image Within Canvas
Tired of alt-tagging the same image in multiple courses? Now Content Creators can instantly create and apply alt-text to all instances of the same image in multiple HTML areas of their LMS or only to instances without a description.
- Enhanced Support for OCR, PDF Tagging, DOCX, and HTML Conversions
We’re introducing an OCR conversion engine to provide greater capabilities in generating distinct documents based on the OCR-ed content.- OCR Overlaid Tagged PDF: Generate a tagged PDF that allows for selectable text overlaid on the original document.
- OCR Reconstructed Tagged PDF: Generate a brand new tagged PDF.
- OCR Reconstructed DOCX Document: Generate a brand new DOCX file.
- OCR Reconstructed HTML Document: Generate a brand new HTML file.
- Enable Panorama in Specific Sub-Accounts / Sub-Orgs / Nodes
Admins can now view a hierarchical list of institution sub-accounts / sub-orgs / nodes and choose which accounts to enable Panorama in to allow course-scanning for Accessibility Reports, Alternative Formats, and more.
- Accessibility Report: Docx Lists Will Be Checked for Proper Formatting
The Accessibility Report for DOCX files will check if ordered and unordered lists within the document are formatted correctly.
- Broader Set of Accessibility Checks for Images
We’ve added additional accessibility checks to ensure images are accessible to all viewers.- Flag alternative text longer than 120 characters.
- Flag images that have the file name as the alternative text.
- Flag images that have placeholder text as the alternative text (e.g. “Photo” or “Image”).
- Increased the Number of Accessibility Checks for HTML Content
We’ve also added additional accessibility checks to ensure that HTML content is accessible with two additional checks:- Flag adjacent links with the same URL.
- Flag tables with no content.
- Accessibility Check to Ensure Vimeo Videos Contain Captions
Linked Vimeo videos in HTML documents will be scanned to ensure the video contains captions.
- Export Reports With a Date Range and the Preferred File Format
Admins and Instructors can now select the date range of data to include in their reports and receive them as a JSON or Excel file via email.
- Downloaded Course Reports Will Include All Issues
When downloading a Course Report, it will now contain all issues detected within the course. This will allow admins and instructors to receive all the information of the report as seen within the Panorama LTI app. - New Alternative Format: Enhanced HTML View
With Enhanced HTML view, HTML documents can be displayed in a dedicated tab to customize the appearance of the document using the Website Accessibility tool for a more personalized viewing experience.
- Keyboard Accessibility Support for the Design Tool
Creators can access and navigate through the Design Tool through the use of their keyboard. - Disable the Check for Specific Accessibility Issues
We now allow administrators to turn off their preferred checks for accessibility issues. While we recognize the significance of not disabling issues that Panorama can detect, we understand the importance of providing institution administrators with the flexibility to meet their institution’s accessibility needs.
- Panorama REST API to Generate Alternative Formats Reports
We have added additional support for third-party API integrations to allow individuals to access information regarding their documents and options to generate Alternative Formats and Accessibility reports. To learn how to use our APIs, please visit our Panorama API guide. - Option to Disable the Panorama Design Tool
We have provided a course-level setting instructors can use to disable the Panorama Design Tool.
- New Inline WCAG 2.1-Aligned Remediation Engine for HTML Issues Directly within Accessibility Reports
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October 20, 2023
YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform – “King’s Peak” Version Released to US, CAN, AU, and EU Zones
Australia Zone Canada Zone European Union Zone United States Zone YuJa Panorama LMS Accessibility PlatformWe have successfully pushed an update to all YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform instances residing in the United States, Canada, European Union and Australia. This release provides our users with remediation capabilities for PowerPoint issues, an Accessible Design Tool to replace YouDoIt design tools, enhanced website scanning to support linked pages and documents, removed the need for third-party cookies, new faster processing queues for Alternative Formats, the option to hide the Website Accessibility Icon, enhanced UI designs, and so much more.
- New Remediation Engine – WCAG 2.1 Aligned Microsoft PowerPoint Issues
To recap, we offer Accessibility Engines to identify accessibility issues across all major document types. Remediation Engines take things to the next level by actually fixing the document all while inside your LMS. With the introduction of our Remediation Engine tailored for real-time resolution of Microsoft Word documents, we now extend these capabilities to Microsoft PowerPoint. The new Microsoft PowerPoint Remediation Engine enables users to address PowerPoint-related WCAG 2.1 compliance issues directly within the LMS, including issues such as contrast, font size adjustments, provision of alternative text for images, and dozens more. - Gamify and Celebrate Your Accessibility Improvements (a Newly Architected Processing Pipeline Makes It Possible)
Improving the accessibility of documents is important work, and here at YuJa, we believe such efforts should be celebrated. Enjoy your success in using the Remediation Engine effectively with cheerful streamers and confetti animating your screen. We encourage and appreciate your ongoing efforts to impact student learning positively.
For those more technically inclined, to provide ultra-fast inline remediation and gamification-ready response times, we rebuilt the processing pipelines to have multiple “swim-lanes”, each with independently scaling infrastructure. This updated architecture was purpose-built to accelerate Accessibility Engine processing.
- WCAG 2.1-Aligned Website Scanning Tool Enhanced to Offer Accessibility Insights for Linked Pages and Documents
To provide accessibility assistance outside of integrated LMS domains, Panorama offers Website Accessibility scanning designed to extend accessibility checks and support beyond integrated LMS domains. The scanning tool operates in three phases, starting by identifying content and linked pages within a specified domain. It then performs a scan to generate Accessibility Reports for the domain, documents, and linked pages. Finally, it enables users to create Alternative Formats for discovered documents.
A comprehensive list of all scanned domains can then be viewed within the Website Report, offering the overall accessibility score, individualized scores for content found within the domain, and access to generate Alternative Formats.
- No More Third-Party Cookies!
Panorama’s LMS integration, with its established and IMS-certified implementation of LTI 1.3/LTI Advantage protocols, has traditionally utilized third-party cookies to ensure secure data transfer between integrated tools. Now, thanks to the adoption of new enhanced protocols, the necessity for third-party cookies is no longer required. This development enables users to benefit from a more secure connection and straightforward product integration, especially with browsers that might default to having cookies turned off.
- On-Demand Processing Queue for Faster Accessibility Report and Alternative Formats Generation
As Panorama continues to expand, we have built an Elastic Media Cloud (EMC) that can process institutions and courses with hundreds and thousands of files within an hour. We’re now introducing an extension to the EMC, On-Demand Processing, to help manage processing requests for Alternative Formats and updates to documents made through our Remediation Engine. With a workload that is 99.9% lighter than the traditional general processing workload, the On-Demand queue assures the completion of these immediate processing tasks in two minutes or less.
- Option to Hide the Website Accessibility Icon
With an approach to optimizing viewability on smaller screens, such as mobile devices, instructors and students can conceal the Website Accessibility icon until they navigate to a new page or for a specified duration of one day. For those who prefer a consistently minimal interface, the option to hide the icon permanently is also available.
- Customize the Institution Name on the Institution Information Page
Panorama offers the option to customize the institution name displayed on the Institution Information page to provide a custom viewing experience. Administrators wishing to modify the name to align with specific branding or internal naming conventions can do so by contacting their Customer Success Manager.
- My Content Tab Supports Multi-File Drag-and-Drop
We’ve introduced a new drag-and-drop functionality to Panorama, allowing users to upload multiple documents into their My Content Files or created folders.
- Filter Issues by Severity in the Accessibility Report
The Accessibility Report now allows instructors and students to organize and view identified issues based on their severity level—Severe, Major, and Minor.
- Enhanced UI for Panorama’s WYSIWYG Editor
To ensure a unified and modern user interface across Panorama, we’ve upgraded the WYSIWYG editor, aligning its UI with the refined aesthetic and functionality similar to that of the Accessibility Report UI. Users will now be able to view an organized list of accessibility issues, with the option to filter by severity to resolve the most concerning issues immediately.
- On-Demand Refresh of Institution-Level Reports
For institutions utilizing the option to Pre-Generate Reports, we’ve introduced a new feature to update reports manually. A “Refresh” button is now available for each report, providing the option to initiate an update that will generate the most recent data within the hour.
- Updated Support for LibreOffice Version 7.6.2
Panorama continues to align with advancements in document technology, now offering support for LibreOffice version 7.6.2. This update is crucial in ensuring the security of documents, aligning with our commitment to providing a safe and up-to-date environment for all users.
- Improved Interface for Performing Accessibility Weighting Adjustments
We have updated the interaction for adjusting accessibility weighting for various issue types—Severe, Major, and Minor. Admins can now select their preferred weights using a sliding bar while still having the option to input precise values with the textbox.
- Panorama Expansion with a Dedicated Server for Australian Institutions
As Panorama grows, we’ve introduced a dedicated server specifically for Australian institutions to take advantage of our accessibility learning features.
- New Remediation Engine – WCAG 2.1 Aligned Microsoft PowerPoint Issues
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September 8, 2023
YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform – “Jackson Peak” Version Released to US, CAN, and EU Zones
Canada Zone European Union Zone United States Zone YuJa Panorama LMS Accessibility PlatformWe have successfully pushed an update to all YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This release provides our users with a new workflow for remediating accessibility issues, a Remediation Engine that fully supports Microsoft Word issues, a refreshed Accessibility Report, custom weighting for severity types, the option to replace the original document with a generated alternative format, localization support for Dutch and Finnish languages, and so much more.
- Streamlined Workflow for Remediating Accessibility Issues
As part of our development for Panorama’s Remediation Engine, we have taken a deep dive into how users can easily resolve issues in real time within the Accessibility Report. As a result, we are introducing a dedicated ‘Fix Issue’ feature that offers immediate insights into the current problem and practical suggestions for a resolution. After adding the necessary changes, a comprehensive list of all fixes can be reviewed before applying the changes to update the document.
- Expanded Support for Microsoft Word Remediation Engine for Inline Remediation Within the LMS
Our previous release introduced our new Microsoft Word Remediation Engine, designed to address font-size issues in real-time within Microsoft Word documents. Building upon this, we’re expanding our remediation capabilities by allowing users to resolve more WCAG 2.1 Microsoft Word issues:- Contrast issues
- Alternative text for images
- Non-descriptive hyperlink text
- Refreshed Accessibility Report Interface
We have updated the Accessibility Report with a modernized UI showcasing an organized display of issues. To accomplish this, we have made the following changes: 1) issue can be seen within the new list-style view; 2) The number of issues have been categorized by their severity; 3) Filtering options to allow users to view specific issues in each severity. - Create a Custom Weighted Scale for Severity Types
Panorama has consistently assessed accessibility issues with Severe, Major, and Minor importance. We’re now providing administrators the option to fine-tune the weight of each severity, allowing institutions to create a more precise accessibility score aligning with their unique priorities.
Each severity level will now uniquely influence the final accessibility score through its customized weight. For instance, if Major issues are assigned a weight of 10 and Minor issues a weight of 1, Major issues will affect the accessibility score ten times more than Minor issues. To learn more about this feature and how to set custom weights for the severity of issues, please visit our guide on Customizing Severity Weighting Settings for Panorama - Replace Original Documents with a Generated Alternative Format
Instructors have the option to seamlessly replace the original document within their Learning Management System with a newly generated alternative format.
- Accessibility Icons Can Be Hidden at the Course Level
To give instructors more control over their courses, they can now disable accessibility icons at the course level. This option will prevent students and instructors from accessing the Alternative Formats menu and Accessibility Reports within their LMS but will still provide analytical tracking for the course.
- Integrate Panorama into Specific LMS Sub-Accounts for LTI 1.3
Panorama now offers targeted integration within specific LTI 1.3 sub-accounts to accommodate institutions utilizing hierarchical sub-accounts in their LMS. This will allow administrators to only enable Panorama for their desired accounts instead of applying it to the top-level account, which would activate Panorama for all sub-accounts. - The Course Setting Page Offers Access to the LMS Course
Administrators and instructors who wish to navigate back to their course after making course-setting adjustments can, with a click of a button, navigate directly to their course.
- Local Support for Dutch and Finnish Languages
Complementing our English, French, and Spanish localization, Panorama will now fully support Dutch and Finnish languages across the entire Platform. Simply access your settings to adjust your language preferences.
- Updated Colors and Icons for the Panorama Sidebar
As part of our ongoing commitment to elevate the Panorama experience with our new branding, administrators can expect vibrant color enhancements and new icons that provide a refreshed look to the sidebar.
- Screen Readers Can Detect When Alternative Formats Are Generated
Users who navigate through Panorama with the help of accessibility tools will now be notified by their screen reader when an alternative format has been successfully generated. - Pre-Generate Course Reports to Provide Instant Viewing of Analytics
Similar to pre-generating institution reports, activating this feature ensures that the Course Report stays consistently up-to-date, providing institutions with large data sets instant access to their analytics.
- Increased Responsiveness for the Panorama LTI App on Canvas
To enhance Panorama’s accessibility for users who prefer utilizing their browser’s zoom functionalities, Panorama will now dynamically adapt its interface to accommodate zoom levels exceeding 100%.
- Streamlined Workflow for Remediating Accessibility Issues
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August 18, 2023
YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform – “Mount Jasper” Version Released to US, CAN, and EU Zones
Canada Zone European Union Zone United States Zone YuJa Panorama LMS Accessibility PlatformWe have successfully pushed an update to all YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This release provides our users with reports for webpage accessibility scanning, a new interface for Website Accessibility, the option to adjust Accessibility Icon colors, unified HTML reporting, map Canvas custom roles to Panorama, the option to scan newly added courses, and more.
- New WCAG 2.1-Aligned Webpage Scanning and Reporting
To expand on Panorama’s Website Accessibility Widget, the Platform can now perform WCAG 2.1-aligned accessibility analysis on webpages and its linked content.
Website Administrators can easily view low-scoring webpages within a dedicated table to identify web pages that may hinder students’ learning or compromise an institution’s commitment to website accessibility. In an upcoming release, we will be adding optional, automated domain-level website traversal to provide fully automated scanning of websites which can replace legacy website accessibility scanning tools. - Refreshed Website Accessibility Interface
The Website Accessibility Widget, designed to improve the usability and accessibility of any website, now offers an improved user interface with a tabular view organizing Color Adjustments, Content Adjustment, and Accessibility Profiles. Select any adjustment or Profile to quickly apply an accessible preset or apply custom granular adjustments for accessibility issues such as text color, background color, font sizing, letter spacing, and so much more.
- Adjust Branding Colors for Accessibility Icons
Recognizing the diverse branding and accessibility requirements of different institutions, Panorama now offers administrators the flexibility to adjust color preferences for icons. Simply navigate to your institution settings and add any color to the accessibility icons.
- Unified Accessibility Reporting for HTML Regions and Documents
In an effort to unify how we present Accessibility Reports across Learning Management Systems, HTML pages will feature only the Accessibility Icon to access Alternative Formats and Accessibility Reports when additional HTML gauges are disabled.
- Map Any Custom Canvas Role to a Panorama Role
Administrators have the option to align their custom Canvas roles with Panorama’s Administrator, Instructor, or Student roles. This integration will allow unique institution roles to be recognized by Panorama, ensuring controlled access to accessibility features. To learn how to align custom Canvas roles with Panorama, please visit our support guide on How to Add Custom Canvas Roles to Panorama.
- Enhanced Scan Management Tools to Scan New Courses or Re-Scan All Courses
To enhance administrators’ control over scanning and processing courses, the Scheduled Scans panel offers new tools to scan newly added courses and rescan all existing courses. This will allow administrators to exclusively scan and process newly added courses or re-scan all existing courses according to their needs. - Self-Service Tools to Test the Correct API Access on the Institution and Course Level
Administrators will be able to test Panorama’s LMS API access to ensure APIs can retrieve relevant information about the institution or course, such as a list of roles, the names of courses, files added to a course, HTML pages created, etc.
- The Course Report Content Search Can Filter by Dates
To allow admins and instructors to locate documents efficiently within a course, we have introduced a filtering option for the Content table that organizes search results by recently added. - The Accessibility Report Will Prioritize Showing Document-Wide Issues
We’ve enhanced our Accessibility Report layout to prioritize listing document-wide issues at the top of the issues list, organized by severity. For instance, concerns such as malformed or untagged documents now appear before issues such as alt text or hyperlinks. This can be used to focus on and resolve critical accessibility issues that have affected the entire document.
- New WCAG 2.1-Aligned Webpage Scanning and Reporting
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July 14, 2023
YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform – “Iceberg Peak” Version Released to US, CAN, and EU Zones
Canada Zone European Union Zone United States Zone YuJa Panorama LMS Accessibility PlatformWe have successfully pushed an update to all YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This release provides our users with automatic font size adjustments through our new Remediation Engine, a comprehensive report for Website Accessibility, a student-centric tool to display Website Accessibility on any page, the option to add downloadable files from any page to My Content, new improvements to the WYSIWYG Editor, filters for content search in the Course Report, new admin-specific settings, and more.
- Remediation Engines: A New Class of Accessibility Tools
With our latest update, we’re introducing an industry-first by launching a new class of Engines to Panorama called Remediation Engines. This type of Engine complements our existing set of Engines with the distinction that while an Accessibility Engine identifies accessibility issues, a Remediation Engine can actually remediate the issue within the document. In upcoming releases, we plan to broaden the scope of available Remediation Engines that will perform document remediations across a wider set of accessibility concerns and supported file formats. - New Microsoft Word Remediation Engine Capability – Adjust Font Size Issues for all Word Documents
Our first innovation in the Remediation Engine space is a new Microsoft Word Remediation Engine which allows content owners to select specific font size adjustments for each issue, review their selection, and then directly apply the change to their actual document.
- Comprehensive Website Accessibility Reporting Based on the Website Accessibility Widget
Panorama now provides a new Website Accessibility Report, offering a comprehensive summary of key accessibility modifications performed when using the Website Accessibility Widget. This report includes:- The total number of adjustments, encompassing Content and Color Adjustments.
- Most frequently utilized Content and Color Adjustments.
- A detailed breakdown of each Content and Color Adjustment employed.
By taking advantage of this feature, administrators gain valuable insights into students’ preferences for the accessibility of their Learning Management Systems (LMS) and external websites.
- New Accessibility Tool Built for Students to Improve Accessibility of Any Website
Our 2023 Four Quadrant Accessibility Strategy focused on delivering accessibility solutions on four quadrants:- LMS Accessibility
- Website Accessibility
- Content Library Accessibility
- Student Self-Service Accessibility
We are now delivering on the last quadrant – Student Self-Service Accessibility- with a Panorama Browser Tool that a user can apply to any website to create a more personalized and accessible web browsing environment. This means that students can traverse any website in their learning journey that is outside of university-managed infrastructure and benefit from Panorama’s accessibility tools.
- Website Accessibility Scans for Documents to Add to My Content
When students have access to My Content, Website Accessibility seamlessly scans and presents a comprehensive list of downloadable files found on the web page. This intuitive feature allows students to effortlessly view files and conveniently add them to their personal repository, My Content.
- New WYSIWYG Real-Time Engine Improvement: Detection of Unhelpful Descriptive Texts for URLs
URL Descriptions provide users with information about the content contained within a website. Understanding that certain descriptive texts may not be helpful, the WYSIWYG Editor identifies common unhelpful descriptions, such as “click here” and “click more,” and allows users to adjust the descriptive text for their URLs.
- New WYSIWYG Real-Time Engine Improvement: HTML Table Caption Check
As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure comprehensive accessibility checks for our WYSIWYG editor, we have implemented a check for missing table captions. This check is essential in ensuring the content within tables is accurately described to users.
- New WYSIWYG Real-Time Engine Improvement: Classify Images as Decorative
Decorative images are specifically intended for visual enhancement and do not provide any additional information. By categorizing an image as decorative with the WYSIWYG Editor, assistive technologies, such as screen readers, will disregard it, enabling users to navigate through relevant content in their learning environment.
- New WYSIWYG Real-Time Engine Improvement: HTML Lists will be Checked for Proper Formatting
To generate precise accessibility reports for content, Panorama’s WYSIWYG Editor verifies the adherence to proper HTML formatting for ordered and unordered lists. This ensures that content meets the required standards, enhancing the overall accessibility of the material.
- Adjust the Visibility of User Setup at the Institution Level
Similar to how administrators can adjust the visibility of My Content, we are now extending this feature to include the User Setup page. Simply adjust the visibility under Global Settings to be visible to all, available to instructors and administrators, or completely hidden from view.
- Customize the “Help” Link for the Alternative Formats Menu
The Alternative Formats menu offers a Help button which can now be customized by the administrator, allowing for a custom link to be specified.
- The Course Report Content Search Now Offers Filters by File Type
To facilitate easy navigation for administrators and instructors, we have introduced a filtering option that organizes search results for Content in Course Reports based on file type.
- Administrators can Disable Course Settings for Instructors
To provide administrators with complete control over the accessibility of learning environments for courses, we now allow them to turn off course-specific settings for instructors.
- Panorama will Verify Document Availability for Accessible Alternative Formats in Canvas
Canvas offers instructors the option to mark specific documents as unavailable. When generating alternative formats, Panorama conducts a check every hour to verify that students have access to the document before proceeding with the generation of alternative formats. This ensures that alternative formats are created only for documents that are accessible to the student.
- Pre-Generation of Analytics Reporting will be Automatically Enabled
As institutions incorporate more campuses into Panorama, we will automatically enable Pre-Generate Reports when All Courses are selected in the Scope Settings. This will provide institutions with increased performance results for their institution reports.
- Enhanced Scanning of Courses for Large Institutions
We have enhanced our backend infrastructure to facilitate efficient scanning for institutions with thousands of courses. - Custom Placement for the Website Accessibility Icon on Individual Domains
Previously, administrators could designate a single location for the Website Accessibility icon on web pages. We have enhanced this feature to provide administrators with the flexibility to set custom icon placements for each domain, offering greater control over the visual integration of Website Accessibility.
- Enhanced Branding Across the Panorama Platform
As we continue to grow and partner with more institutions, we’re dedicated to providing a modern look and feel to the Panorama Platform. To achieve our branding goals, we have refined our designs for buttons and dialog boxes. Future releases will focus on color schemes for layouts, icon enhancements, and updates to our fonts.
- Remediation Engines: A New Class of Accessibility Tools
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June 15, 2023
YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform – “Mount Haltia” Version Released to US, CAN, and EU Zones
Australia Zone Canada Zone European Union Zone United States Zone YuJa Panorama LMS Accessibility PlatformWe have successfully pushed an update to all YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This release provides our users with video tutorials for all “How-to-Fix” guides, Custom LTI Role Mapping, expanded support for D2L Brightspace, enhanced scanning for Powerpoint presentations, Accessibility Reports regeneration for HTML content, Shared files no longer include Accessibility Reports, and enhanced security for the panorama LTI app.
- Every “How to Fix” Guide Now Includes a Video Tutorials
We have enhanced the Panorama “How-to-Fix” guides by introducing short video tutorials for every accessibility concern. Embedded directly within the Accessibility Report, these videos aim to assist users in creating accessible documents.
- Custom LTI Role Mapping
Administrators now have the option to configure how users are signed into the Panorama LTI app upon launch. By configuring their LTI role mapping, LMS-specific roles can be adjusted to match the institution’s needs for their Panorama role structure.
- Real-Time Updates for Accessibility Scores in Course Reports
We have implemented an auto-update feature for the Accessibility Scores of documents within Course Reports. Now, whenever a file is updated, the Accessibility Score will be updated immediately, enabling users to receive instant insights into the accessibility status of their documents.
- Expanded Support to Identify Files and Content Areas within D2L Brightspace
As part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing the accessibility of D2L Brightspace, Panorama has been updated to detect files in additional areas. Specifically, Panorama will now detect files inside HTML areas in Lessons View, ensuring comprehensive accessibility coverage across the platform.
- Automatic File Scans During the Creation of HTML-Based Pages in D2L Brightspace
To streamline the accessibility workflow on D2L Brightspace, Panorama now incorporates real-time scanning for files added to HTML pages being created. This ensures that when files are added to a page, Panorama will automatically perform a scan before the page is saved, providing immediate accessibility analysis.
- Enhanced PowerPoint Scanning for Generating Alternative Formats
We have expanded Panorama’s scanning capabilities to include improved recognition and detection of various background colors and images in PowerPoint presentations. This ensures Panorama can recognize any PowerPoint and generate its Alternative Formats in a timely manner.
- Editing an HTML Page Will Regenerate its Accessibility Report
To provide the most accurate reports for HTML pages, we have implemented an automatic process that regenerates the Accessibility Report whenever an HTML page is edited. This real-time regeneration guarantees that the report always reflects the most up-to-date information, allowing for improved accuracy and timely identification of accessibility issues. - Improved Panorama’s Compliance with JAWS
We have aligned Panorama more closely with JAWS, one of the most widely used screen reader software. We have extended keyboard navigation to additional areas like the My Content page and ensured consistent labeling of elements.
- Shared Files No Longer Include Their Accessibility Report
When sharing files from your personal repository, My Content, the associated Accessibility Report will no longer be shared. This allows you to have exclusive access to accessibility improvements, relieving the intended recipients from the need to interpret the report.
- Every “How to Fix” Guide Now Includes a Video Tutorials
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June 5, 2023
YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform – “Huron Peak” Version Released to US, CAN, and EU Zones
Canada Zone European Union Zone United States Zone YuJa Panorama LMS Accessibility PlatformWe have successfully pushed an update to all YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This release provides our users with several updates. Highlights include: UI enhancements to the Alternative Formats menu, options to customize How-to-Fix guides, new Course Analytics for Institution Reports, expanded support for the WYSIWYG editor inside D2L Brightspace, Accessibility Reports for content created with TinyMCE 6.0, expanded support for Panorama in Blackboard Ultra, new Panorama rest APIs to retrieve reports, and the option to set a data retention policy.
- Refreshed Alternative Formats Menu Interface
We have updated the Alternative Formats Menu with a refreshed and modernized UI that showcases all available alternative formats while minimizing the steps required to view a preferred format. In future releases, we aim to provide custom branding through icon colors and font adjustments to meet the branding needs of institutions.
- Editable “How-to-Fix” Guides to Meet the Unique Needs of Institutions
Administrators can edit the “How-to-Fix” guides using an integrated WYSIWYG editing interface to meet the exact needs and protocols of their institutions. Add new text, images, and links, and adjust formatting for guides. To provide guidelines on accessible content, each issue will now be accompanied by a link to its relevant Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to provide more information when editing the “How-to-Fix” guides.
- Upgraded Text and Images within Each “How-to-Fix” Guide
We have upgraded the Panorama “How-to-Fix” guides by improving all texts and images to provide more easy-to-follow instructions for improving the accessibility of content. In a near-term release, we will focus on bringing short video tutorials for each issue to help users create accessible content for their documents.
- Institution Report Offers Viewing for Key Course Metrics
The Institution Report provides a greater depth of analysis for admins looking to quickly gain more information about courses in their institution. Administrators now have access to key metrics, such as accessibility scores, storage sizes, and the number of files and downloads for all courses. If more detailed reports for courses are required, administrators can select any course to view its corresponding Course Report.
- Expanded Support for WYSIWYG Editor Inside D2L Brightspace Lessons View
As part of our ongoing efforts to increase accessibility in all areas of D2L Brightspace, we now support real-time accessibility checks with our WYSIWYG editor in the new Lessons View. By offering real-time analysis and actionable suggestions, Content Creators can create accessible content within their D2L Brightspace environment. Our checks are essential in ensuring content is accurate and in compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
- Accessibility Score Support for TinyMCE 6.0 in Moodle 4.1
With the recent TinyMCE 6.0 release available to all Moodle 4.1 users, Panorama can now assess the accessibility of content created using the TinyMCE 6.0 editor. This enables Panorama to accurately evaluate the accessibility of content created using TinyMCE 6.0 and provide users with accessibility scores.
- Expanded Support for Panorama in Blackboard Ultra
To increase accessibility scans for our Blackboard Ultra users, during course scans, files are now identified in the Content and Assignment sections of Blackboard. In addition, if HTML reporting is enabled, files from the Discussion section and Assessment region will also be included in the reports. With these enhancements, administrators and instructors will benefit from increased accuracy in accessibility scores for both institution and course-level reporting.
- Apply Multiple Filters to the Roster Management
To enhance the Roster Management experience, administrators can now apply multiple filters that provide greater precision when viewing the roster.
- Accessibility Scores for HTML-Based Pages in List View
Previously, instructors would have to click on each HTML-based page to review its accessibility score. We have now refined how instructors view accessibility scores by providing accessibility icons in sections where HTML pages are listed.
- Enhanced Panorama’s Screen Reader Compliance
In line with our dedication to fostering inclusivity and accessibility, we have significantly improved Panorama’s screen reader compliance. Screen readers can now efficiently and more accurately interpret content found within Panorama, such as the LTI App, Website Accessibility, LMS Visualizer, and more. - Course Reports Provide Average Accessibility Scores of Documents
Institution and Course Reports now provide a graph showcasing the average accessibility score for each file type.
- Panorama REST API to Retrieve Reports
We have added support for third-party API integration to allow administrators and instructors to access information regarding document accessibility issues and institution and course-level reporting. To learn how to use our APIs, please visit our Panorama API guide. - View Accessibility Impact Scores
Administrators can view impact scores for each course to see how they affect the overall institution score. This feature will allow administrators to focus on the least accessible courses and view changes to the impact score as users adjust courses.
- Improved Color Adjustments for Website Accessibility
Previously, adjusting the Contrast, Saturation, and Monochrome settings for Website Accessibility would, in certain circumstances, change the formatting of pages. We have updated these settings to ensure the original formatting of pages is kept intact.
- Administrators Can Now Create Data Retention Policy
Administrators can set Panorama to remove all data after a specified number of months automatically. This feature gives administrators and instructors a clean slate when using Panorama between semesters or school years.
- Adjust the Visibility of My Content
Administrators can adjust the visibility of My Content, the personal repository for users, to be visible to all, available to instructors and administrators, or completely hidden from view.
- Refreshed Alternative Formats Menu Interface
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May 5, 2023
YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform – “Glacier Peak” Version Released to US, CAN, AUS, and EU Zones
Canada Zone European Union Zone United States Zone YuJa Panorama LMS Accessibility PlatformWe have successfully pushed an update to all YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This release provides our users with the use of Panorama without the browser extension In D2L Brightspace, expanded support for HTML formats, new infrastructure to support zero downtime during product updates, support for Moodle 4.1, improvements to the WYSIWYG editor, sharing and uploading capabilities for the Panorama Content Repository, our new Roster Management and Scope setting capabilities, assign sub-admins to hierarchical accounts, new Storage Reports, automatic accessibility scans, and more.
- D2L Brightspace Does Not Require the Browser Extension
We have expanded our partnership with D2L’s Business Development Team and worked together to eliminate the need for the Browser Extension. All Panorama’s tools, including reports and alternative formats, are now accessible in D2L Brightspace without requiring the use of the Panorama browser extension. Please contact your Customer Success Manager to use this new integration. - Expanded Support for HTML Formats and Reports Inside D2L Brightspace
We now support HTML formats and reports in the D2L Lessons View, allowing Panorama to access even more areas of D2L Brightspace. With these enhancements, administrators, and instructors will benefit from increased accuracy in accessibility scores for both institution and course-level reporting.
- View Reports and Alternative Formats for HTML Content Within the Panorama LTI App
Previously, HTML reports were only accessible within the location of their respective file. We have now broadened Panorama’s ability to assess the accessibility of institutions by taking into consideration Accessibility Scores for files and embedded HTML content. This updated functionality allows Panorama to precisely evaluate the accessibility of an institution’s content when generating Institution Reports and individual Course Reports during scans. - Zero Downtime During Releases
Previously, a brief period of downtime was required for updates to appear on Panorama. We are pleased to announce that we have implemented a zero downtime release cycle, ensuring users have uninterrupted access to Panorama. - Panorama Now Supports Moodle 4.1
In continuing to ensure Panorama is available to all our users, we’re pleased to announce our latest support for Moodle 4.1.
- Real-Time Color Contrast Ratio Detection within WYSIWYG Editor
To provide Content Creators with a high degree of contrast accuracy, Panorama will now calculate the contrast ratio between text and background color. With ratios ranging from 1 to 21, content creators can confidently select the color that provides the most sufficient contrast.
- Improved Contrast Detection for Gradient Background
To provide accessible content, we’ve improved Panorama’s ability to detect when there isn’t enough contrast between the text and gradient backgrounds.
- New Real-Time HTML Header Checks within WYSIWYG Editor
As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure comprehensive accessibility checks for our WYSIWYG editor, we have implemented new measures to identify missing table headers and skipped heading orders. These checks are essential in ensuring content is accurately labeled and defined for individuals who utilize accessibility tools such as screen readers.
- Improved Upload and Sharing Capabilities for the Content Repository
To make sharing and uploading content more convenient for users, we have introduced a new feature that enables users to drag and drop files directly into their personal content repository. Additionally, users can now share items via email, allowing for seamless and effortless content-sharing with any individual.
- Panorama Will Accurately Identify User Roles Across Courses and Distinguish Between User Role and Course Role
We are pleased to announce that Panorama has been updated to provide complete accuracy in identifying user roles across courses in an LMS. With this enhancement, Panorama now detects the user’s specific role in each course, allowing for seamless navigation and appropriate access levels within each course. This means if a user is an instructor in one course and a student in another, Panorama will automatically recognize the user and assign the appropriate user role. - New Roster Management to Manage Users and Adjust User Role Mapping
We are pleased to announce the addition of our new Roster Management tab, which provides administrators with a comprehensive list of all users associated with their institution. The tab displays each user’s role within the institution, whether it be Admin, Sub-Admin, Instructor, or Student. Administrators can easily adjust role mappings through the Roster Management tab to provide users with customized access to Panorama’s role-specific features.
- Assign Hierarchical Accounts to Sub-Admins
Our latest role mapping feature allows administrators to assign LMS hierarchical accounts to sub-admins, allowing them access to view institutions, issues, content, and storage reports for all courses within their assigned accounts. With this feature, administrators can delegate tasks efficiently to review the accessibility content of their institution. For detailed instructions on assigning sub-accounts to sub-admins, please visit our guide on Assigning Sub-Accounts to Sub-Admins in the Panorama Platform.
- Upload Improved Documents to Canvas from Course Reports
To facilitate the seamless upload of improved documents within Canvas, users will no longer have to refresh their Canvas environment for uploaded documents to appear. This functionality ensures that any uploaded documents within the Course Report will automatically be reflected in the corresponding documents within Canvas. Unfortunately, this feature will only be available in Canvas due to LMS restrictions.
- Access Comprehensive Storage Reports at a Glance
To help administrators manage their storage usage, Panorama now provides a new Storage Report containing a summary of key storage details, which can be filtered by term or sub-accounts. These details include the average file size, total storage used, the number of files processed, and a breakdown of file sizes based on the document type. This allows administrators to gain a clear overview of their institution’s storage usage and manage their storage resources more efficiently.
- Enhanced UI & Instant Reports Analysis for Scope Settings
We have enhanced the user interface and functionality of our Scope Settings to enable the Panorama LTI app to scan and evaluate the accessibility of courses instantly. The updated display now features a straightforward toggle switch that can be easily adjusted from Visible to Hidden for any course. By adding and designating courses as either Visible or Hidden, Panorama is now able to generate all analytical reports without requiring administrators to access each course individually.
- Automatic Accessibility Scans for New Courses
Administrators have the option to set up regular scans each night to find newly created courses. Any detected course will automatically be sent for processing, allowing administrators to keep up with accessibility reports for their institution. If administrators prefer, they also have the option to scan for new courses manually every hour.
- D2L Brightspace Does Not Require the Browser Extension
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March 31, 2023
YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform – “Francs Peak” Version Released to US, CAN, AUS, and EU Zones
Canada Zone European Union Zone United States Zone YuJa Panorama LMS Accessibility PlatformWe have successfully pushed an update to all YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This release provides our users with a gradient reader and optical character recognition for alternative formats, new “silent courses” for Panorama, accessibility scores for GIFs, support for OpenOffice, options to filter institution reports by sub-accounts and terms, view a breakdown of all courses in the institution report, choose to enable the WYSIWYG editor, and improved text formatting and report generation.
- New Gradient Reader to Provide Focused Reading by Eliminating Unnecessary Eye Movements
To enhance visual word recognition, the new Gradient reader is designed to reduce distractions and increase the reader’s focus by providing a guiding color gradient. The gradient facilitates a smooth shift between lines of text, eliminating unnecessary eye movements when reading.
- AI-Powered Text Recognition for Scanned Documents and Images That Contain Handwritten or Digital Text
Any documents containing images and GIFs with text can now be converted into a digital format that can be processed by screen readers and searched electronically. Whether it’s handwritten or digital text, Panorama’s optical character recognition (OCR) engine can provide fast conversions for entire documents. New capabilities with this engine include:
- PDF from Scanned Documents – Creates a PDF document that allows text in images and GIFs to be searched and read aloud by screen readers.
- Plain Text from Scanned Content – Recommended for those who’d like plain text, Panorama will extract and display text within images and GIFs as a plain text (TXT) file.
- Audio Podcast from Scanned Content – Auditory learners can use the OCR tool to extract text within images and GIFs into an MP3 text-to-speech audio player.
- PDF from Scanned Documents – Creates a PDF document that allows text in images and GIFs to be searched and read aloud by screen readers.
- Support of Departments and Sub-Accounts for Reporting and Analytics
Panorama now offers admins comprehensive insights into the accessibility of their institution. We now offer the option to filter analytics through sub-accounts, organizations sharing an LMS across multiple schools can select specific institutions from which to access and download reports. Moreover, sub-accounts can be used by organizations with multiple branches and be filtered by term to narrow analytic reports for key areas of interest, providing institutions with accessibility data points over a specified period of time.
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- Add Silent Courses to Conceal Panorama from Students While Instructional Staff Review Accessibility Concerns
Admins can now add a Silent course to allow instructors to view all analytic reports and adjust the accessibility of their documents while ensuring that Panorama is not visible to enrolled students.
- Ability to Identify Potentially Harmful GIFs Using New Accessibility Engine Built to Analyze Color Intensity and Transitions
To foster a more inclusive digital experience that extends beyond traditional documents, Panorama will now produce Accessibility Reports for GIFs. By analyzing the intensity of color transitions between frames, Panorama can flag GIFs that have the potential to pose a risk to the well-being of individuals.
- Support for OpenOffice Documents Including ODT, ODP, ODS, RTF, XLSX, and XLS
Our OpenOffice users will be pleased to know that we now support ODT, ODP, ODS, RTF, XLSX, and XLS documents for Alternative Formats and Accessibility Reports.
- Downloadable Institution Report Offers Breakdown by Course
Downloading the Institution Report now allows administrators to view monthly accessibility scores, the least and most accessible courses, and a breakdown of files processed for each course.
- Connect to the Browser Extension with a Click of a Button
For institutions using the Browser Extension, connecting Panorama to the Browser Extension has now become even easier. Previously, first-time users would have had to launch Panorama within a new tab, but we’ve simplified the process with a one-click connection. Now, all you have to do is download the browser extension, click Connect, and let Panorama enhance documents and improve website accessibility.
- Enable the Prefered WYSIWYG Editor
Admins can now customize which WYSIWYG editor they wish to use in their LMS. Choose to enable the Panorama checker, the default LMS checker, or enable/disable both.
- Optimized Delivery Time for Alternative Formats
We have optimized our conversions for Alternative Formats to provide up to 60% faster delivery times. - Improved Text Formatting
Institutions with large data points for graphs will notice a more optimized UI when information is displayed.
- Optimized Pre-Generated Reports
We have enhanced pre-generated reports to run more efficiently for institutions.
- New Gradient Reader to Provide Focused Reading by Eliminating Unnecessary Eye Movements
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March 2, 2023
Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform – Update RC20230302 Released to US, CAN, AUS, and EU Zones
Canada Zone European Union Zone United States Zone YuJa Panorama LMS Accessibility PlatformWe have successfully pushed an update to all Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform instances residing in the US, Canada, and the European Union. This update includes a personal repository to upload and test the accessibility of documents, synced document uploads, YouTube caption detection, and the ability to adjust the access to Alternative Formats at the institution or course level.
- New Content Repository for Creating Accessible Media
Panorama’s goal is to provide a centralized Digital Accessibility strategy with Learning Organizations. This release, we are delivering the next major part of this vision with the introduction of new Contents Repository for use by both individual users, as well as, Departments. Use cases include:- Instructor Repository – Organize a personal repository of documents with detailed Accessibility Scoring, as well pre-generated Accessibility Alternatives.
- Library and Reserve Desk – The University Library can manage their digital reserves and provide resources to students in an accessible way.
- Student Content Store – Students are now empowered to self-manage their digital content with their private repository for digital contract
- Improved Versions Automatically Update to Canvas
Our Canvas users will be pleased to know that improved versions of documents uploaded within the Panorama Platform will automatically update to the underlying LMS course.
- YouTube Caption Detection Added as a Real-Time Accessibility Suggestion
Building upon the Real-Time Accessibility Engine capabilities, we have added a new accessibility suggestion that will detect if captions are available for linked YouTube videos.
- Launch the Panorama Platform from the Redesigned Browser Extension
We have provided a more modern look to the Panorama browser extension and have included direct access to the Panorama Portal through the new Launch Portal button.
- Instant Access to Panorama-Enabled Courses
Previously, newly added courses to Panorama would require instructors to wait 24 hours before their course reports could be viewed. We have improved this to allow instructors access to Panorama-enabled courses as soon as a course has been added. - Enhanced Navigation Sidebar
To easily navigate the Panorama Platform, we have organized the navigation menu into specific drop-down menu sections for reports and configurations.
- Pre-Generate Panorama Reports
Institutions with a large data sets can choose to pre-generate their Institution, Issues, and Content Reports to provide instant access to their analytics. Panorama will automatically suggest this feature when generating reports take longer than expected, or admins may directly access this feature from their Panorama settings.
- View All Documents for Each Issue Type
Panorama’s Course Report now offers admins and instructors the option to view a list of documents generated by any issue. Users may view the Accessibility Report of the documents and upload improved versions to fix accessibility issues.
- Adjust the Access to Alternative Formats at the Institution or Course Level
Admins that want to adjust the access to alternative formats can do so within their Panorama institution settings. Instructors may then enable or disable alternative formats for their specific course, such as disabling translations for language courses.
- Improved Accessibility and Responsiveness of the Website Accessibility Panel
The Website Accessibility panel can now be translated into French and Spanish and will automatically adjust to either language if they are the browser’s preferred setting. Additionally, we have improved its responsiveness to allow for comfortable viewing on any screen size.
- New Content Repository for Creating Accessible Media