In this webinar, Scott Virkler, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer, and Lin Mahoney, Accessibility Lead, from McGraw-Hill Education will dive into how they are addressing accessibility across their organization. They will answer questions like who leads the a11y charge and who is in charge of making content accessible, as well as cover the many challenges they face in trying to unify accessibility at their organization.

1. How McGraw-Hill is
Formulating a Unified
Approach to Digital
Accessibility
Lin Mahoney
Accessibility Lead
McGraw-Hill
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presentation
• This webinar is being recorded & will be available
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Scott Virkler
Senior Vice
President, Chief
Product Officer
McGraw-Hill

2. February 1, 2017
Partnering Across Teams
McGraw-Hill Education
The Road to Accessibility

3. | Because learning changes everythingTM 1
The Accessibility Journey
1. The McGraw-Hill Transition
Putting the student experience at the center
2. Accessibility and Implementation
Defining Accessibility and where to being
3. Case Study in Accessibility
Partnering across an organization
4. The Future
Scaling based on experience
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4. 1
The McGraw-Hill Transition

5. | Because learning changes everythingTM 1
Our Vision
“Unlock the full potential
of each learner”
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6. | Because learning changes everythingTM 1
A 129-Year Journey:
From Publishing to Learning Science
This rich tradition
continues today…
OUR FUTURE
to meet the needs of
diverse student
populations.
providing educators
with flexible
solutions…
K-12, Higher Ed & Professional
businesses
~4,800
employees
A 129 year global
reputation for…
OUR HISTORY
as we harness the
power of
technology and
data…
to serve educators and
students in ways never
before possible.
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7. 2
Accessibility and Implementation

8. | Because learning changes everythingTM 2
Internally for MHE teams
• What is accessibility?
• How do we define success?
• Where do we begin?
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9. | Because learning changes everythingTM 2
The MHE Accessibility Council
Our Mission:
Deliver solutions to
benefit each learner
is at the core of
what we do.
Accessible offerings need to meet the needs of variety
of disabilities and challenges, including but not limited
to:
• Visual
• Auditory
• Physical
• Cognitive & Neurological
Our target:
WCAG 2.0 AA
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10. | Because learning changes everythingTM 2
The MHE Accessibility Philosophy
• Equally usable/useful and WCAG 2.0 AA
compliant.
• End-to-end user experience - registration
through login and task completion.
• All platforms, learning tools and product
content were to be reviewed
• But we cannot fix all at once
McGraw-Hill Higher
Education
landscape:
• 6 Platforms
• 1,500 Authors
• 4,500 SMEs
• +500,000 ISBNs
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11. | Because learning changes everythingTM 2
MHE Accessibility Cycle
Phase 1:
Build the
Foundation
Phase 2:
Develop research-
backed solutions
Phase 3:
Build, Test, and Deploy
Phase 4:
Evaluate & Iterate
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12. | Because learning changes everythingTM 2
Phase 1: Results
External Partnerships Internal Efforts
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13. | Because learning changes everythingTM 2
Phase 2: Engaging with our users
“I have no idea if it did anything.
It’s not obvious to me.”
“I don’t know what all that noise
is at the top of the screen. ”
and where we still need to improve.
“I notice these are all linked to
expanded definitions which is
pretty cool.”
“I’m pleasantly surprised to hear
everything is labeled correctly!”
What we do well…
User testing tells us:
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14. | Because learning changes everythingTM 214
External Testing:
Make it usable
+
Internal Testing:
Make it work
Going beyond WCAG compliance
Phase 2: Maximizing User Value

15. | Because learning changes everythingTM 215
• Provide tools for sales and product development
• Campus visits including faculty, DSS, and administration
• Partnership! Voice of customer
• Rubrics for digital solutions
• Marketing across the organization
Phase 2: Communication and Outreach

16. 3
Case Study in Accessibility

17. | Because learning changes everything TM 317
1. Learn the standards
Translate them into tangible requirements
2. Learn user behaviors
Focus on biggest challenge – how do people use screen readers
3. Apply those findings to our products and systems
Recognize that doing homework is a different user experience than passive reading
4. Prioritize highest impact areas of improvement
Figure out how we can improve everyone’s experience
5. Test, Test, Test
Prove that what we’re building is not only accessible, but usable
Connect’s Accessibility Update

18. | Because learning changes everything TM 3
Lessons Learned: Focus on Agility
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Accessibility updates
led to an updated UI
that benefits all users.

19. | Because learning changes everything TM 319
Accessibility matters at every stage from authoring, to development,
to delivery to support.
Update all our systems and practices to support accessibility:
• Design: Color Contrast, Line Art requirements
• Authoring: Alt-Text and Long Descriptions, Captions, Transcripts
• Delivery: Metadata, Registration
• Support: accessibility@mheducation.com
Lessons Learned: Partner Across Teams

20. | Because learning changes everything TM 3
Not perfect, but we are making progress
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Connect Accessibility:
~73% reduction in y/o/y errors, with continued improvements still to come
Total Errors
Audit Errors in 2016 vs. 2017
2016
2017
2017: 96 errors
2016: 315 errors

21. | Because learning changes everything TM 3
Lessons Learned: We’re Still Learning…
2018 means even bigger accessibility goals for MHE
• New Tools: integrated automated
testing for granular testing
• Training: New guidelines for internal
and external content developers
• Partners: Expand our consultation
circle.
• Budgeting: Accessibility can be time
and resource intensive – and must
account for that in planning
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22. 4
Our Future

23. | Because learning changes everything TM 423
Flexible FormatsInstructor SettingsStudent profiles
Focus on the needs of learners and educators.
Decrease Need for Accessibility Support

24. | Because learning changes everything TM 424
Usability feedback:
• Engagement with students who use
McGraw-Hill Education solutions
• Engagement with educators to
provide feedback and help guide
solutions
DirectionalGuidance:
• Provide insights into your student needs
• Share emerging best practices
• Guidance on creation of accessible
materials
• Consult with Board of Advisors
McGraw-Hill Education welcomes the opportunity to collaborate:
Extend Collaborations

25. | Because learning changes everythingTM 1
The Accessibility Journey
1. The McGraw-Hill Transition
Putting the student experience at the center
2. Accessibility and Implementation
Defining Accessibility and where to being
3. Case Study in Accessibility
Partnering across an organization
4. The Future
Scaling based on experience
25 4

26. Thank you!