UA11y News

  1. Home
  2. UA11y News

Blackboard Ally “Fix your Content Day”

Are you up for the challenge? Fix Your Content Day. Thursday, May 21

May 21st marks the annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day and as part of our campus-wide commitment to inclusive education, we are participating in the first ever Blackboard Ally “Fix your Content Day.” For 24 hours, we’ll be on a mission to fix as many accessibility issues with course files as we can. At the end of the day, the campus with the most files fixed will be recognized and awarded a prize.

How can you help? Blackboard instructors, start selecting those red and orange indicators in your Blackboard courses and fix as many files as you can. Focus on images that need a description and Word documents to start. Aim for 100%, but improvement is what counts!

For more information on how to fix files through Ally, check out these resources:

UA Ally News: Blackboard Ally now enabled in all courses

Video: Overview for Instructors of Ally for Learning Management Systems

Blackboard Ally Help Page: Improve File Accessibility 

As always, thanks for your efforts in making UA a more inclusive and accessible campus. Please contact us if we can help with your technology accessibility needs.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2020

Thursday, May 21 is the ninth Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)! GAAD’s purpose is “to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital (web, software, mobile, etc.) access/inclusion and people with different disabilities.” A number of organizations are offering free, online events to celebrate GAAD. We’re particularly looking forward to these; others can be found on the GAAD website: GAAD Events & Activities

In addition to these events, we encourage you to participate by experiencing first-hand the impact of digital accessibility (or lack thereof). Suggested activities:

Gain Perspective

Digital accessibility is essential for people with disabilities and useful for all. Learn about the impact of accessibility and the benefits for everyone in a variety of situations by watching this series of short videos: Web Accessibility Perspectives: Explore the Impact and Benefits for Everyone

Go Mouseless For An Hour

Many people use only the keyboard to navigate websites — either through preference or circumstance. Unplug your mouse and only use your keyboard alone (tab/shift tab, arrow keys, enter, and spacebar) to navigate and interact with your favorite websites and applications. If you use a touchpad, trackpad or similar input method, disable it, and use the keyboard instead.

Developers and designers, we encourage you to visit a site you were involved in creating and take it for a test-drive.

  • Is there a visible focus indicator (i.e., do you know where you are) at all times as you navigate each screen using the tab and shift tab keys?
  • Are you able to interact with every element that receives focus using the keyboard alone?
  • If there is any element that provides functionality if you hover over it with your mouse, such as revealing a tooltip or a set of actions, can you display this strictly using the keyboard alone?

Surf The Web With A Screen Reader

Screen reader software processes content on the desktop and in web browsers and converts it to others forms such as text-to-speech and Braille.  Screen readers typically provide other functions such as shortcut keys, different modes for processing content and interacting with it, and the ability to highlight the text that is being read aloud. Unplug your mouse, launch a screen reader, and spend an hour using some of your favorite sites using the keyboard alone.

There are a number of free/open source screen readers available for Windows users; one of the more popular ones is NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA). Mac users, you have a built-in screen reader called VoiceOver on your systems.

Learn About And Use Other OS/Mobile Accessibility Features

The Windows 10 Operating System has a number of built-in accessibility features, as do the Apple operating systems, Android, and BlackBerry devices. Take an hour to explore them.

Try Other Adaptive Software Tools

The Adaptech Research Network has a library of free or inexpensive software that is useful to people with disabilities. We’re partial to ZoomText and the Texthelp tools, both accessible via the OIT Software catalog.

As always, thanks for your efforts in making UA a more inclusive and accessible campus. Please contact us if we can help with your technology accessibility needs.

Blackboard Ally now enabled in all courses

In order to help instructors and students transition to online learning, Blackboard Ally for LMS has been enabled in all Blackboard courses. Ally helps make digital course content more accessible by automatically providing alternative formats (such as semantic HTML, audio, ePub, and electronic Braille) and providing instructor feedback and guidance on fixing accessibility issues in a course.

Read more

Texthelp tools for remote learning and working

Texthelp offers a collection of Mac and PC desktop software, Google Chrome apps and extensions, and iOS and Android apps that support reading, writing, language learning and STEM subjects. Texthelp tools freely available to all UA students, faculty and staff include: Read&Write, a literacy support toolbar with supports for reading, writing, research, and studying; 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.

Here are some tips on how to use Texthelp tools to enhance remote learning and working, from the Texthelp blog:

Read more

Spring 2020 Technology Accessibility Workshops

The Technology Accessibility team invites you to enhance your technology accessibility skills by participating in these workshops and webinars. We are proud to partner with HR Learning and Development to offer workshop/webinar registration via UA LMS, the 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 Students unable to register via UA LMS are also welcome to attend and may register by emailing accessibility@ua.edu.

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.

Read more

Introducing Blackboard Ally

The Center for Instructional Technology is happy to share that we are piloting Blackboard Ally for LMS during the Spring 2020 semester. Ally helps make digital course content more accessible by automatically providing alternative formats (such as semantic HTML, audio, ePub, and electronic Braille) and providing instructor feedback and guidance on fixing accessibility issues in a course.

Video: Blackboard Ally for courses

Stay tuned for more information from the technology accessibility team about Ally and pilot participation.

Texthelp tool access for personal Google accounts

UA users of Texthelp tools are able to access Read&Write, EquatIO, and Snapverter by signing in with a Crimson Mail account (“Sign in with Google”) or a @ua.edu Office 365 account (“Sign in with Microsoft”). Some users previously granted authorization for an email address connected to a different Google or Microsoft account may have lost this access in a recent update. If you are unable to log into the Texthelp tools with a non-UA email address for which you had previously received authorization, please contact us.

Accessing Higher Ground Accessible Media, Web & Technology Conference Presented by AHEAD in collaboration with ATHEN

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

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

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:

Read more

Fall 2019 Technology Accessibility Workshops

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.

Read more