Investigating Effective Alt Text: Designing a Detective-Themed Microlearning

Most of my recent work has lived in Storyline, so I challenged myself this month to re-engage with Rise and explore some of the features I hadn't touched yet. One of those was the embed block. After purchasing a Genially Pro plan during Black Friday, I saw an opportunity to pair the two: create a small accessibility-focused microlearning and test how Genially integrates into Rise.

The experience was far smoother than I expected. Why hadn't I experimented with the Rise embed block yet? So many tools, so little time. Have you seen the episode of the Twilight Zone with the bank clerk who just wants time alone to read his books? I really relate to that character in that sometimes I wish I could press pause on life and just immerse myself in authoring tools and ed tech. Though, maybe that isn't the best example, as I wouldn't want my story to end that tragically, and I'd rather leave a nuclear apocalypse out of this."There was time now!" If you know you know. (If you don't the episode is called "Time Enough At Last").

... but let's get back on track.

Experience the full project here (or open in a new window) and scroll down to read more!

Why Alt Text? Why a Detective Theme?

Accessibility is something I care deeply about - not just following guidelines, but truly making experiences easier to navigate for everyone. I have an entire backlog of accessibility-focused project ideas (so many ideas, so little time!) and decided to focus this project on some alternative text basics. It’s foundational, it’s approachable, and it’s often misunderstood.

I also didn’t want this to be dry or preachy or make the learner feel like they’d accidentally wandered into an accessibility pop quiz. That’s not how I design, and it’s not how adults learn best. Instead, I wanted to create a piece that invited curiosity and reflection… with a little instructional design humor sprinkled in for good measure. (Alt text crimes are real, folks, but sometimes we also need to laugh).

The detective theme helped keep things light and gave learners an approachable entry point - no judgment, no compliance checklist energy. Just a moment to pause, explore, and think differently.

Designing with Learners in Mind

From the start, my goal was to meet learners where they are. Many designers, content creators, and educators have heard of alt text but aren’t always confident about writing it. Honesty moment: I'm not always confident about writing it. I have my WCAG 2.2 guidelines and other resources bookmarked for easy reference.

Instead of overwhelming learners with rules, I wanted to create an experience that:

• Encourages exploration rather than assessment

• Reduces pressure by avoiding a quiz or grade

• Models good accessibility practices without lecturing

• Uses humor to lower affective filters (yes, even us IDs have them)

• Builds intrinsic motivation to learn more

  
  

This wasn’t meant to be a comprehensive guide to alt text, rather to spark awareness and curiosity.

Building the Detective Desk Interactive in Genially

For the centerpiece, I used Genially to create a detective-style desk scene with hotspots. Thanks to some ChatGPT-generated images, I assembled a cluttered workspace filled with suspicious alt text mishaps: mislabeled images, over-poetic descriptions, vague people photos, decorative icons with unnecessary alt text, etc.

Learners can choose hotspots in any order. There’s no forced progression, no “You must click all five to continue.” The freedom to explore supports autonomy and lowers the stakes, all while keeping the experience playful. And yes, I hid a couple of light-hearted and humorous bonus hotspots just for the learning design crowd.

Why I Didn't Add a Quiz

I intentionally skipped a traditional knowledge check. This learning experience isn’t homework - it’s an invitation. Instead, I ended with open-ended reflection prompts in Rise, encouraging learners to examine their own projects:

• Where am I confident about my alt text?

• Where am I guessing?

• Where could I improve today?

  
  

By shifting the focus from “answer these questions correctly” to “apply this to your real work,” the microlearning becomes far more meaningful, relevant, and actionable.

A Smooth Workflow Between Tools

Embedding Genially into Rise was so shockingly simple. Suspiciously simple. Am I doing this right simple. It formatted beautifully, scaled well, and when I made changes in Genially and published the changes, they updated instantly in Rise. Magic. Pure magic. It's also easy to "full screen" the Genially embed for better visibility (and you can open the experience in a new window if the blog version is too small!)

This workflow is absolutely a game changer for me, and now I’m already itching to experiment with the Storyline embed next.

Intended Audience

This microlearning is for anyone - IDs, educators, content creators, accessibility champions, or the alt-text-curious. I’ll be sharing it in my department’s resource repository, on LinkedIn, here on my blog, the Articulate E-Learning Heroes community, and anywhere else I think it might spark a good conversation.

If this little detective mission gets even one person to rethink a vague “chart” description or retire a filename masquerading as alt text, I’ll call the case a success.

Final Thoughts

Like any good detective story, this one ends with a simple truth: accessibility doesn’t have to be intimidating. When we meet learners where they are, we make space for curiosity and growth. A few intentional choices can make learning clearer, kinder, and more inclusive.

My hope is that this piece encourages others to pause, look closer, and design with empathy in mind. Accessibility is a journey, and every thoughtful step counts.