[il-talk] Learning Ally New App

[Sharon Howerton]

Dan, I have a former student who works for Learning Ally. I sent your
message to her; she said it was most helpful. Though she does not work on
the apps, she is aware of the problems and is anxious that the app be
accessible to all particularly the blind and visually impaired since she is
blind, too.
Sharon

-----Original Message-----
From: IL-Talk [mailto:il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dan Tevelde
via IL-Talk
Sent: Monday, October 03, 2016 8:53 PM
To: NFB of Illinois Mailing List
Cc: Dan Tevelde
Subject: [il-talk] Learning Ally New App

Hello All,
I have a lifetime membership with Learning Ally and do sometimes listen to
their books.  Last week they announced that they have a new IOS app called
Learning Ally Link which should be used to read their books.  They will not
be supporting their old app, Learning Ally after December.  I would
recommend not installing the new app until it works better with VoiceOver.
The app is unstable and the video demo Learning Ally did doesn't even use
VoiceOver in the demo.
I sent them a long list of suggestions for improving the app and also how to
make their website more accessible.  They did call me and said that they
would take my feedback in mind but made excuses that their resources are
limited and that they need to make their services available to their entire
reading population.  I tried to explain to them that accessibility for the
blind wouldn't take anything away from someone else.  It's pretty obvious
that they don't understand the issues, and didn't take the time to test
their new app.  I tried to educate the person I spoke to about the
requirements of WCAG 2.0 level a accessibility.  In plain language what this
means is that computer app and websites need to be made usable with all
assistive technologies including any screenreader, Braille display, browser,
or anything else someone wants to use.
I would encourage anyone who uses their services to complain to them.  If
anyone wants to talk with me about the issues, send me a personal e-mail.

Thanks,
Dan

Sent from my iPhone

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