Activity
Accessible digital advent calendar
Created by students, this digital advent calendar can teach tech skills!
Updated for December 2023.
Why was the snowman embarrassed when he was caught hunting through a bag of carrots?”
“He was picking his nose.”
Advent calendars are a fun way to count down the days to Christmas. Tactile Times has created an accessible digital advent calendar with a fun twist. Each day unlocks a student-friendly, holiday-related joke, song or ??? created by 3 braille students in the UK.
This motivating advent calendar can also be used to teach/practice tech skills to students!
Tech skills
This digital advent calendar is on a webpage with informational text and a countdown timer before the actual advent calendar. How can you quickly navigate to the advent calendar? There are several options! What are the pros and cons of each method?
When you select a day, you will hear the sound of a door opening. Then navigate to the text and/or play button. (Some days have both jokes in text format and recorded holiday music.)
Navigating to the advent calendar
- Skip to advent calendar button (only available when using a screen reader)
- Navigate by Headings (4th heading on the page, then multiple right swipes before accessing days on the calendar)
- Form Controls: (Navigates directly to Dec. 1st in the advent calendar)
- Note: With iOS devices, Form Controls must be included in the rotor options
Navigating the actual advent calendar
The actual advent calendar is in a table format with the day of the week as the column header. What is the best way to navigate the calendar? With iOS devices, set the rotor to Rows, then navigate with a swipe up, down, left or right. Students should first have a mental map of the calendar layout. If necessary, the student can drag a finger to build the mental map. Some students may benefit from a simple tactile graphic. The tech goal is to develop a mental map of the calendar (and of the webpage!) and then to navigate quickly and efficiently to the desired day.
Note: The calendar starts with Monday.
Resource
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