Accessibility

• Text as an alternative to speech. Every session can be completed by typing. A student who cannot speak, does not want to be recorded speaking, or is somewhere they cannot talk out loud is not shut out of the assignment.
• Live captions. The tutor's speech is captioned on screen as it is spoken, and the running transcript is available throughout the session.
• Keyboard operation. Session controls, the composer, the transcript and the instructor dashboard are reachable and operable from the keyboard, with visible focus.
• Screen readers. Controls carry accessible names; the transcript is a live region, so new turns are announced rather than silently appearing.
• Contrast. The palette is built from tokens with measured contrast ratios; body text meets AA in both light and dark themes.
• Light and dark themes, with light as the default rather than a system guess, and an explicit choice that is remembered.
• Zoom and reflow. Pages reflow to 320px and support 200% zoom without horizontal scrolling of the page body.
• Status that is not colour alone. Recording, connection state and blocked turns carry text or shape, not just a hue.
• Accessible exports. Transcripts export as structured text and JSON, which a screen reader can read directly.

• The animated avatar is a visual element with no meaningful text alternative. Nothing depends on seeing it — the same content is in the captions and the transcript — but it is decorative for a screen-reader user rather than informative.
• Live captions are generated from the tutor's own reply text, so they are accurate for the tutor. Captioning of the student's speech depends on speech recognition and will contain errors.
• Timed sessions apply a clock. Instructors can extend or disable the limit, and should where a student has an accommodation for extra time.
• We have not yet completed an independent audit or published a VPAT. Ask us if your procurement requires one; we will tell you where we actually are.

Two settings do most of the accessibility work in practice:

• Leave typing enabled. Do not build an assignment that can only be completed by speaking unless speaking is the skill being assessed — and where it is, arrange an alternative in advance.
• Set the time limit deliberately. It is a pedagogical choice, and it is also an accommodation question.

If you hit a barrier, write to studio@arclightxr.com with “accessibility” in the subject and tell us what you were trying to do and what got in the way. We aim to acknowledge within five business days and to tell you what we will do and roughly when.

If you are reporting on behalf of a student, please do not include details of their disability — we do not need them, and we would rather not hold them.

TutorTalks is operated by Arclight Innovation. Questions about this document, about a student record, or about a security concern go to studio@arclightxr.com.

If you are a student: requests to see, correct or delete your education records go to your school, not to us. Your school decides those questions; we carry them out on its instruction. Your instructor or your registrar's office is the right first contact.