ExploreLearning

At ExploreLearning, we believe all students can have success in math and science – and have fun along the way! This commitment inspires us to work continuously toward enhancing the accessibility of our products to serve the needs of learners with disabilities.

We passionately support the ultimate goal of making all products as accessible as possible and look forward to sharing more information as additional accessibility enhancements and/or new features are implemented.

<b>What are some accessibility features in Gizmos?</b>

We strive to make Gizmos an accessible learning solution that helps all students feel successful. The following list includes key considerations for accessibility:

For many actions in our Gizmos simulations, users can navigate using a keyboard as an alternative to using a mouse or touch device. These simple keystrokes are easy to remember, such as using ‘Tab’ to move forward, ‘Spacebar’ to toggle, or using arrows to navigate dropdown options and sliders. However, some more interactive Gizmos have diverse selection options that cannot be controlled by a keyboard.

Gizmos does not include spoken audio. Some Gizmos contain sound effects, which can be turned on/off via the tool menu.

Gizmos simulations use minimal text and automatically resize to the best fit for a screen, making most text easy to read. Presentation and full-screen mode allow for larger resizing of the simulation.

Additional texts on the page, such as the assessment questions, can be resized using the browser’s zoom functionality to increase or decrease the font size. All lesson materials, which are available as PDF and Word documents, can be resized using the zoom functionality. Labels and text instructions are provided for understanding and operating content.

Time-based responses are rarely used in Gizmos, and when required, users can repeat the simulation and try again.  Most auto-updating information is controlled by play/pause/reset options.

Color contrast: Much of the components/objects in Gizmos, but not all, have contrasting colors with the adjacent background color that exceed the required contrast ratios.

Please note that due to the highly visual and interactive nature of Gizmos, the simulations may not be appropriate for all users, especially those with severe visual impairments.

- For many actions in our Gizmos simulations, users can navigate using a keyboard as an alternative to using a mouse or touch device. These simple keystrokes are easy to remember, such as using ‘Tab’ to move forward, ‘Spacebar’ to toggle, or using arrows to navigate dropdown options and sliders. However, some more interactive Gizmos have diverse selection options that cannot be controlled by a keyboard.
- Gizmos does not include spoken audio. Some Gizmos contain sound effects, which can be turned on/off via the tool menu.
- Gizmos simulations use minimal text and automatically resize to the best fit for a screen, making most text easy to read. Presentation and full-screen mode allow for larger resizing of the simulation.
- Additional texts on the page, such as the assessment questions, can be resized using the browser’s zoom functionality to increase or decrease the font size. All lesson materials, which are available as PDF and Word documents, can be resized using the zoom functionality. Labels and text instructions are provided for understanding and operating content.
- Time-based responses are rarely used in Gizmos, and when required, users can repeat the simulation and try again.  Most auto-updating information is controlled by play/pause/reset options.
- Gizmos does not use repeated flashes.
- Color contrast: Much of the components/objects in Gizmos, but not all, have contrasting colors with the adjacent background color that exceed the required contrast ratios.
- Please note that due to the highly visual and interactive nature of Gizmos, the simulations may not be appropriate for all users, especially those with severe visual impairments.