This accessibility statement applies to the Howspace facilitation service. In Howspace, you can create group workspaces where you can use different widgets to engage your group.

This statement has been updated on October 18, 2024. It was first published on June 5, 2023. This statement is based on Howspace’s own accessibility report, conducted in August 2024 by Howspace and an external expert organization.

The service largely meets accessibility requirements.

Non-Accessible Content

Accessibility issues are grouped under the following categories:

1. Perceivable
2. Operable
3. Understandable
4. Robust

1. Perceivable

1. Assistive technology users cannot access all analytics
   • Assistive technology users cannot access the information from the graphs because they lack text lternatives. (1.1.1)
2. There are deficiencies in the implementation of tooltip elements for assistive technology users
   • Tooltip content cannot be read with assistive technologies and the element lacks a role. (1.3.1)
3. Current item is not indicated to assistive technology
   • Current items are indicated visually but not programmatically. (1.3.1)
4. View buttons might be difficult to interpret with assistive technology
   • View buttons might be difficult to interpret with assistive technology because the active choice isn’t conveyed programmatically. (1.3.1)
5. The label associated with the element group is not conveyed
   • The group label of the radio buttons and checkboxes is not conveyed to the assistive technology user when navigating to the elements. (1.3.1)
6. Assistive technology users may misunderstand the desired input for the email field
   • The desired input for the email field may be difficult to interpret with assistive tools. (1.3.1)
7. The contrast is insufficient in certain areas.
   • The contrast between the text and the background is not always sufficient. (1.4.3)
8. Some content is lost when the display is narrowed to 320 CSS pixels wide
   • When the display is narrowed to 320 CSS pixels wide, some content is lost. (1.4.10)
9. The contrast of keyboard focus is not always strong enough
   • In many instances, the contrast of the visible keyboard focus in relation to the background is too weak. (1.4.11)
10. Additional content that appears on pointer hover is not dismissible and/or hoverable
    • When the mouse is hovered over some elements, additional content that appears is not always dismissable and/or hoverable. (1.4.13)

2. Operable

1. All functionalities aren’t operable with a keyboard.
   • Some functionalities cannot be used with only a keyboard. (2.1.1)
2. There are accessibility issues in the implementation of the chatbot
   • Focus can move from the chatbot to the main content. Assistive technologies focus on elements within the chatbot after it has been closed. assistive technology users are not informed about whether some buttons inside the chatbot are open or closed. (2.4.3), (4.1.2)
3. Focus order is not always logical
   • Occasionally there are deficiencies in the focus order when using the service. (2.4.3)
4. The purpose of individual links may be unclear to the user
   • The purpose of the example links may be unclear to the user. (2.4.4)
5. Focus is not always visible
   • Individual elements do not receive visible focus. (2.4.7)
6. Accessible name does not match the visible label
   • Accessible name of the notification element does not match the visible label. (2.5.3)

3. Understandable

1. There are issues with indicating an error and communicating a field’s mandatory status
   • If users try to save the “Edit profile fields” window without giving a title, the error is indicated with using color only. Users are not informed that the field is required. (3.3.1), (3.3.2)
2. Input fields do not have a visible label (3.3.2)

4. Robust

1. Some elements are missing accessible names (4.1.2)
2. Some elements are missing a role (4.1.2)
3. Toggle buttons have a wrong attribute
   • Toggle buttons have an aria-expanded attribute when it is not required. (4.1.2)
4. Status messages are not conveyed programmatically
   • Status messages are not conveyed to assistive technology users.

---

Information for screen reader users:

Howspace uses ARIA markup to indicate the purpose of widgets and functions. ARIA is a markup standard that complements HTML and improves the accessibility of dynamic web content for screen reader users. Still, it can be difficult to monitor the progress and change of real-time voting or mood meter estimates in real time with assistive technologies.

---

If you notice an accessibility problem in a workspace located in the University of Oulu’s Howspace:

If you notice inaccessible content in a workspace, you should first contact the workspace administrator, i.e., the teacher or event organizer. If you cannot reach them, or you are not satisfied with the answer, or if you notice that the accessibility problem concerns the technical solutions and widgets of Howspace workspaces in general, please contact ICT Services. Please use this address: ict@oulu.fi. If necessary, we will forward the requests to Howspace, in case of a UI-level issue.

Supervisory authority

If you notice any accessibility issues on the website, please give us feedback first (see previous paragraph). It may take up to 14 days to receive a response. If you are not satisfied with the response you have received, or you do not receive a response at all within two weeks, you can file a complaint with the Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland. The website of the Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland contains detailed instructions for contacting us.

Contact details of the supervisory authority

Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland
Accessibility Supervision Unit
webaccessibility.fi/
Phone number: switchboard +358(0)295 016 000

« Back