Accessing Higher Ground Virtual Conference 2019—you’re invited!

• November 8th, 2019
• in Training, UA11y News

The Center for Instructional Technology is happy to host the Accessing Higher Ground Virtual Conference, and you’re invited! Sessions from all five days of the conference will be streamed live in A232 and A342 Gordon Palmer Hall, Monday, November 18–Friday, November 22. Drop by for a session or stay for the entire event, and feel free to bring your lunch (and your friends!). Registration is not required.

Accessing Higher Ground focuses on the implementation and benefits of:

• Accessible media, Universal Design and Assistive Technology in the university, business and public setting;
• Legal and policy issues, including ADA and 508 compliance;
• The creation of accessible media and information resources, including Web pages and library resources.

There is a strong focus on campus accommodation, universal design, and curriculum accessibility as well as best practices for web design, reaching untapped audiences through accessible design, and compliance with existing and anticipated Section 508 and ADA stipulations.

A complete agenda is available on the conference website. As the schedule is subject to change, please check for updates before making the trip to Gordon Palmer. Times on the conference site are in Mountain Time; Central Time is one hour ahead.

Upcoming accessibility-related learning opportunities

• September 3rd, 2019
• in Training, UA11y News

We’re compiling our team’s favorite sources for accessibility news and professional development opportunities to add to the collection of Accessibility Resources on our website. Let us know if there are organizations, listservs, social media accounts, etc. you find particularly useful, and we’ll add them to the list.

Here are some upcoming accessibility-related learning opportunities:

Fall 2019 Technology Accessibility Workshops

• August 16th, 2019
• in Training, UA11y News

The Technology Accessibility team invites you to enhance your technology accessibility skills by participating in these workshops and webinars. Starting this semester, we are proud to partner with HR Learning and Development to offer workshop/webinar registration via UA LMS, the new online learning system for faculty and staff. Register for workshops/webinars via the links here, or view the entire Accessibility instructor-led training catalog in UA LMS: UA LMS Instructor-Led Training: Accessibility

We are also happy to offer private training sessions on these and other accessibility-related topics to members of the University community. Please contact us if we can help with your technology accessibility needs.

AHEAD 2019 Virtual Conference—you’re invited!

• July 1st, 2019
• in Training, UA11y News

The Office of Disability Services and the Center for Instructional Technology’s Technology Accessibility team are happy to host the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) 2019 Virtual Conference, and you’re invited! The conference’s Opening Plenary address and a dozen concurrent sessions and featured presentations will be streamed live in A232 and A342 Gordon Palmer Hall, Thursday, July 11–Friday, July 12. Drop by for a session or stay for the entire event, and feel free to bring your lunch (and your friends!). Registration is not required.

AHEAD is the leading professional membership association for individuals committed to equity for persons with disabilities in higher education. AHEAD’s annual international conference is the organization’s hallmark event and draws attendees from around the world. Participants and presenters come from diverse fields, including education, technology, law, scholarship, and government, but share a common interest in fostering equitable higher education experiences for individuals with disabilities.

Summer 2019 Technology Accessibility Workshops

• May 31st, 2019
• in Training, UA11y News

The Technology Accessibility team invites you to enhance your technology accessibility skills by participating in these workshops this summer:

• Accessibility Office Hours and Work Session
  Bring your accessibility questions or work to improve the accessibility of your digital content. We’re here to help!
  • Thursday, June 27, 2:00 p.m.
  • Thursday, July 25, 2:00 p.m.
• Advanced PDF Accessibility: Forms
  Participants in this hands-on workshop will learn techniques for creating accessible PDF forms with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC.
  Tuesday, August 6, 2:00 p.m.
• Advanced PDF Accessibility: Lists
  Participants in this hands-on workshop will learn how to correctly tag PDF lists using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC.
  Thursday, August 1, 2:00 p.m.
• Advanced PDF Accessibility: Scanned Documents
  Participants in this hands-on workshop will learn how to use Adobe Acrobat Pro DC to correct accessibility issues in a PDF created by scanning a document.
  Thursday, July 18, 2:00 p.m.
• Advanced PDF Accessibility: Tables
  Participants in this hands-on workshop will learn how to correctly tag PDF tables using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC.
  Tuesday, July 30, 2:00 p.m.
• Creating Accessible PDFs with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
  Participants in this introductory hands-on workshop will learn how to use Adobe Acrobat Pro DC to create accessible PDFs from Microsoft Office content.
  Tuesday, June 18, 2:00 p.m.
• Creating Accessible PDFs with Adobe InDesign CC
  Participants in this hands-on workshop will learn how to export an InDesign file as a tagged PDF and other accessibility considerations for InDesign.
  Thursday, August 8, 2:00 p.m.
• Creating Accessible Social Media Content
  Learn how to create Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media content accessible to users with disabilities.
  Monday, July 22, 9:00 a.m.
• Creating Accessible Social Media Content (webinar)
  Learn how to create Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media content accessible to users with disabilities.
  Monday, June 10, 9:00 a.m.
• Designing for Accessibility
  Learn the importance of designing for accessibility and impactful practices you can apply to create accessible documents, images, audio, video, and web content.
  Thursday, June 6, 2:00 p.m.
• Designing for Accessibility (webinar)
  Learn the importance of designing for accessibility and impactful practices you can apply to create accessible documents, images, audio, video, and web content.
  Monday, June 24, 9:00 a.m.
• Interpreting AMP Tests and Reports
  Learn how to navigate and understand accessibility testing results documented in an AMP Report.
  Thursday, July 11, 2:00 p.m.
• Introduction to AMP
  Learn about UA’s Accessibility Management Platform (AMP), a comprehensive accessibility and reporting tool freely available to members of the UA community.
  Tuesday, June 4, 2:00 p.m.
• Manual Testing in AMP
  Learn how to use Access Assistant, a browser toolbar integrated with AMP, to perform guided manual accessibility testing.
  Tuesday, July 9, 2:00 p.m.
• PDF Remediation Basics
  Participants in this hands-on workshop will learn how to use Adobe Acrobat Pro DC to correct basic tagging issues in a PDF.
  Tuesday, July 2, 2:00 p.m.

All classroom workshops are held in A232 Gordon Palmer. Registration is requested but not required.

We are also happy to offer private training sessions on these and other accessibility-related topics to members of the University community. Please contact us if we can help with your technology accessibility needs.

PDF Accessibility Sessions Added

• April 8th, 2019
• in Training, UA11y News

We’ve added several opportunities to learn about PDF accessibility in April and May. Enhance your ability to create accessible PDFs by participating in these workshops and webinars:

• Creating Accessible PDFs with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (webinar)
  This session covers how to use Adobe Acrobat Pro DC to create PDFs that are accessible to people with disabilities: what it means for a PDF to be accessible; generating accessible PDFs from Microsoft Office and other applications; and using Acrobat’s Accessibility Checker and Make Accessible Action Wizard to evaluate the accessibility of a PDF and make basic accessibility fixes.
  Thursday, Apr. 11, 2019, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
• Creating Accessible PDFs with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
  This session covers how to use Adobe Acrobat Pro DC to create PDFs that are accessible to people with disabilities: what it means for a PDF to be accessible; generating accessible PDFs from Microsoft Office and other applications; and using Acrobat’s Accessibility Checker and Make Accessible Action Wizard to evaluate the accessibility of a PDF and make basic accessibility fixes.
  Tuesday, April 16, 2019, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
• Advanced PDF Accessibility with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC: Scanned Documents, Tables, and Lists (webinar)
  You’ve mastered the basics of creating accessible PDFs, but what about more complex documents? This session covers advanced techniques such as working with scanned documents, complex tables, and complex lists. You are welcome to submit challenging PDF content in advance so we can address it during the session.
  Monday, April 22, 2019, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Advanced PDF Accessibility with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC: Scanned Documents, Tables, and Lists
  You’ve mastered the basics of creating accessible PDFs, but what about more complex documents? This session covers advanced techniques such as working with scanned documents, complex tables, and complex lists. You are welcome to submit challenging PDF content in advance so we can address it during the session.
  Tuesday, April 23, 2019, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
• Advanced PDF Accessibility with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC: Forms (webinar)
  This session covers how to use Adobe Acrobat Pro DC to create accessible PDF forms: adding fillable form fields and field descriptions, tagging, setting the set tab order, and other PDF form accessibility tasks.
  Monday, April 29, 2019, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Advanced PDF Accessibility with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC: Forms
  This session covers how to use Adobe Acrobat Pro DC to create accessible PDF forms: adding fillable form fields and field descriptions, tagging, setting the set tab order, and other PDF form accessibility tasks.
  Tuesday, April 30, 2019, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
• Creating Accessible PDFs with Adobe InDesign CC (webinar)
  Be it a handout, flyer, poster, article, or other digital content, it’s important to ensure your InDesign document is accessible to people with disabilities. This session covers using InDesign and Acrobat to create an accessible PDF: tagging and ordering content, identifying and describing images and other non-text content, selecting the most accessible export options, and using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC to touch up the exported file.
  Monday, May 6, 2019, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Creating Accessible PDFs with Adobe InDesign CC 
  You’ve mastered the basics of creating accessible PDFs, but what about more complex documents? This session covers advanced techniques such as working with scanned documents, complex tables, and complex lists. You are welcome to submit challenging PDF content in advance so we can address it during the session.
  Tuesday, May 7, 2019, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

All classroom workshops are held in A232 Gordon Palmer. Registration is requested.

We are also happy to offer private training sessions on these and other accessibility-related topics to members of the University community. Please contact us if we can help with your technology accessibility needs.

Happy New Year from the Technology Accessibility Team

• January 3rd, 2019
• in Training, UA11y News

Happy New Year! We’re excited to share some news with you as we start a new year and a new semester.

Faculty Resource Center Spring 2019 Workshop Registration is now open! This semester, the Technology Accessibility team will offer workshops and webinars on web accessibility; best practices for creating accessible documents, presentations, spreadsheets, emails, and social media content; and Universal Design for Learning, a set of curriculum development principles that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. New this semester are Accessibility Testing with NVDA (2/27) and Accessibility Testing with VoiceOver (3/21), workshops in which participants will learn how to use free screen reader programs to test the accessibility of digital content.

We are especially looking forward to our Texthelp expert trainer visit on Wednesday, February 13. Texthelper Kimberly Nix will provide comprehensive introductions to Read&Write for Google Chrome and Read&Write for Windows, literacy support solutions with tools for reading, writing, research, and studying. Read&Write is freely available to all UA students, faculty, and staff on campus and personal machines, as are two additional Texthelp tools: EquatIO, an application you can use to type, handwrite, or speak to create equations, formulas, and other math and chemistry expressions; and Snapverter, an easy to use add-on for Read&Write for Google Chrome and iOS app that transforms papers and files into readable PDF documents. Register online for these and other technology accessibility workshops and other workshops offered by the Faculty Resource Center.

A couple of additional learning opportunities in which you may be interested:

• Microsoft is offering a new series of free Accessibility Learning Webinars, the goal of which is to share the latest technology and accessibility features across Microsoft products and help answer common accessibility questions. Upcoming webinars include Narrator 101 (1/16), Magnifier and Low Vision Features in Windows 10 (2/20), and Navigating the New Office Ribbon (3/20).
• Also from Microsoft, the newly-created Empower every student with an inclusive classroom course enables educators of all subject areas to learn about Microsoft Learning Tools and practice creating accessible learning environments Windows 10 and Office 365. The course is free and is part of Microsoft’s Inclusive Classroom Learning Path.

Keep up with us throughout the semester by following our UA11y News blog, the Technology Accessibility Facebook page, and the UATechAccess Twitter account.

As always, thanks for your efforts in making UA a more inclusive and accessible campus! Best wishes for a great semester, and please contact us if we can help with your technology accessibility needs.

Spring 2019 Technology Accessibility Workshops

• December 14th, 2018
• in Training, UA11y News

Emerging Technology and Accessibility invites you to enhance your technology accessibility skills by participating in these workshops during the Spring 2019 term:

• Accessibility Testing with NVDA
  Learn how to use the free NVDA screen reader to test the accessibility of digital content.
  Wednesday, Feb. 27, 11:00 a.m.
• Accessibility Testing with VoiceOver
  Learn how to use the VoiceOver macOS and iOS screen reader program to test the accessibility of digital content.
  Thursday, Mar. 21, 2:00 p.m.
• Creating Accessible Content with Microsoft Office
  Learn how to create Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, and Outlook emails accessible to users with disabilities.
  Wednesday, Jan. 16, 11:00 a.m.
• Creating Accessible Content with Microsoft Office (webinar)
  Learn how to create Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, and Outlook emails accessible to users with disabilities.
  Thursday, Apr. 4, 2:00 p.m.
• Creating Accessible PDFs with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
  Learn to create PDFs accessible to people with disabilities using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC .
  Thursday, Jan. 17, 2:00 p.m.
• Creating Accessible PDFs with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (webinar)
  Learn to create PDFs accessible to people with disabilities using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC .
  Thursday, Apr. 11, 2:00 p.m.
• Creating Accessible Social Media Content
  Learn how to create social media content accessible to users with disabilities.
  Wednesday, Mar. 6, 11:00 a.m.
• Creating Accessible Social Media Content (webinar)
  Learn how to create social media content accessible to users with disabilities.
  Thursday, Apr. 25, 2:00 p.m.
• Introduction to Read&Write 
  A comprehensive introduction to Read&Write, a literacy support solution with tools for reading, writing, research and studying.
  • Introduction to Read&Write for Google Chrome, Wednesday, February 13, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
  • Introduction to Read&Write for Google Chrome, Wednesday, February 13, 12:00-2:00 p.m.
  • Introduction to Read&Write for Windows, Wednesday, February 13, 2:15-4:15 p.m.
• Introduction to Web Accessibility
  Learn about the University’s web accessibility guidelines, common accessibility challenges and solutions, and strategies for creating accessible digital content.
  Wednesday, Jan. 30, 11:00 a.m.
• Introduction to Web Accessibility (webinar)
  Learn about the University’s web accessibility guidelines, common accessibility challenges and solutions, and strategies for creating accessible digital content.
  Thursday, Apr. 18, 2:00 p.m.
• Universal Design for Learning and Accessibility
  Learn how to create inclusive, accessible learning opportunities by utilizing Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a set of curriculum development principles that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn.
  Wednesday, Feb. 6, 11:00 a.m.
• Universal Design for Learning and Accessibility (webinar)
  Learn how to create inclusive, accessible learning opportunities by utilizing Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a set of curriculum development principles that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn.
  Wednesday, Mar. 27, 11:00 a.m.
• WCAG in a Nutshell
  Learn about Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 requirements and techniques and resources you can use to meet these guidelines.
  Monday, Jan. 28, 11:00 a.m.

All classroom workshops are held in A232 Gordon Palmer. Registration is requested but not required.

We are also happy to offer private training sessions on these and other accessibility-related topics to members of the University community. Please contact us if we can help with your technology accessibility needs.

Accessing Higher Ground Virtual Conference BYOD prep

• November 7th, 2018
• in Training, UA11y News

We can’t wait to see you at next week’s Accessing Higher Ground Virtual Conference! Sessions from all five days of the conference will be streamed live in A232 and A203 Gordon Palmer Hall, Monday, November 12–Friday, November 16.

If you are planning to bring your own device, be sure to check out the instructions for preparing your computer for pre-conference workshops and main conference labs.

See you next week!

Accessing Higher Ground Virtual Conference—you’re invited!

• November 1st, 2018
• in Training, UA11y News

The Faculty Resource Center’s Emerging Technology and Accessibility team is happy to host the Accessing Higher Ground Virtual Conference, and you’re invited! Sessions from all five days of the conference will be streamed live in A232 and A203 Gordon Palmer Hall, Monday, November 12–Friday, November 16. Drop by for a session or stay for the entire event, and feel free to bring your lunch (and your friends!). Registration is not required.

Accessing Higher Ground focuses on the implementation and benefits of:

• Accessible media, Universal Design and Assistive Technology in the university, business and public setting;
• Legal and policy issues, including ADA and 508 compliance;
• The creation of accessible media and information resources, including Web pages and library resources.

There is a strong focus on campus accommodation, universal design, and curriculum accessibility as well as best practices for web design, reaching untapped audiences through accessible design, and compliance with existing and anticipated Section 508 and ADA stipulations.

A complete agenda is available on the conference website. As the schedule is subject to change, please check for updates before making the trip to Gordon Palmer. Times on the conference site are in Mountain Time; Central Time is one hour ahead.