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Spring 2019 Technology Accessibility Workshops

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

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

Accessing Higher Ground Virtual Conference—you’re invited!

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.

Oct. 17 Introduction to Read&Write sessions cancelled

The Introduction to Read&Write for Google Chrome and Introduction to Read&Write for Windows sessions scheduled for Wednesday, October 17 have been cancelled due to presenter travel issues.

The sessions will be rescheduled. In the meantime, contact accessibility@ua.edu if you wish to learn more about Read&Write and/or the other Texthelp tools, EquatIO and Snapverter. We are also happy to offer individual or small group training on these tools upon request.

Texthelp expert-led EquatIO and Read&Write training for UA users—you’re invited!

The Faculty Resource Center’s Emerging Technology and Accessibility team invites you to participate in upcoming opportunities to learn more about Texthelp tools for reading, writing, language learning and STEM subjects. These tools are free to all UA students, faculty, and staff. They are particularly beneficial for English language learners, students with learning disabilities, and students who can benefit from writing supports, but are useful to all. Please consider joining us for these events and sharing this post with others who may wish to attend.

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Mid- 2018 Accessibility Initiative Update

The Emerging Technology and Accessibility team, now part of UA’s Faculty Resource Center (FRC), housed in the Office of Information Technology (OIT), continues to lead the initiative to provide our technology users, including those with disabilities, a functional and accessible technology experience with our web presence and our instructional and emerging technologies. An annual audit of campus college and division web sites reflects that many campus areas continue to improve in their accessibility status.

2017-2018 efforts include:

  • Working with campus stakeholders to develop a Web Resources Accessibility Policy that would adopt WCAG 2.0 AA to address the accessibility of public-facing web resources, campus-wide web resources, and web resources needed to conduct core University administrative and academic functions, including third-party tools and equal access and non-compliance plans.
  • Establishing technology accessibility liaisons for each college, school, and division. Appointed by campus deans and vice presidents, these liaisons serve as the area contact to address technology needs related to accessibility.
  • Compiling and distributing to liaisons the most complete and accurate list of UA web sites to date.
  • Acquiring and rolling out campus wide the Texthelp suite of literacy support tools. Texthelp tools freely available to all UA students, faculty and staff on campus and personal machines include Read&Write, a literacy support solution with tools 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.
  • Assuming management of campus licensing for ZoomText, a screen magnification and reading program that enables users with low vision to see, hear, and use everything on the computer screen
  • Captioning and/or transcribing over 4000 minutes of media through UA captioning grants. Captioning grants may be used to caption and/or transcribe UA-owned video and audio that will be shared on public or campus-wide websites.
  • Offering new workshops covering accessibility best practices for various media as well as diversity in learners and learning style and how accessibility barriers affect users with diversity of ability.
  • Adding staff member Melissa Green. Melissa is a Technology Accessibility Specialist dedicated to technology accessibility training needs.
  • Resolving 255 tickets in the Helpspot customer service/support ticket system.
  • Running 3246 Accessibility Management Platform reports. Accessibility Management Platform (AMP) is a comprehensive accessibility and reporting tool freely available to members of the UA community.

Fall 2018 Technology Accessibility Workshops

Emerging Technology and Accessibility invites you to enhance your technology accessibility skills by participating in these workshops during the Fall 2018 term:

  • AMP Office Hours
    Get assistance with your Accessibility Management Platform (AMP) questions in this open help session.
    Monday, Oct. 1, 10:30-11:30 a.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.
    Friday, Sept. 21, 10:00-11:00 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, Sept. 27, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
  • Creating Accessible PDFs with Adobe Acrobat DC
    Learn how to use Adobe Acrobat DC to create PDFs accessible to users with disabilities.
    Friday, Oct. 12, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
  • Creating Accessible Social Media Content
    Learn how to create social media content accessible to users with disabilities.
    Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
  • Creating Accessible Social Media Content (webinar)
    Learn how to create social media content accessible to users with disabilities.
    Tuesday, Nov. 6, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
  • How People with Disabilities Access Digital Content
    Gain a fuller appreciation of technology accessibility by exploring technologies and methods people with disabilities use to access websites, documents, audio, video, and other digital content.
    Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
  • Introduction to AMP
    Learn about UA’s Accessibility Management Platform (AMP), a comprehensive accessibility testing and reporting tool freely available to members of the UA community.
    Friday, Sept. 14, 9:30-10:30 a.m.
  • Introduction to EquatIO (onsite webinar)
    A comprehensive introduction to EquatIO and EquatIO mathspace, applications that let everyone create mathematical equations, formulas, graphs, and more on their computer or Chromebook.
    Monday, Sept. 10, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
  • Introduction to Read&Write for Google Chrome
    A comprehensive introduction to Read&Write for Google Chrome, a literacy support solution with tools for reading, writing, research and studying.
    Wednesday, Oct. 17, 8:30-11:30 a.m.
  • Introduction to Read&Write for Windows
    A comprehensive introduction to Read&Write for Windows, a literacy support solution with tools for reading, writing, research and studying.
    Wednesday, Oct. 17, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
  • Introduction to Web Accessibility
    Learn about laws and standards regarding accessibility in higher education, the University’s web accessibility guidelines, common accessibility challenges and solutions, and resources and strategies for creating accessible documents, images, audio, video, and web content.
    Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
  • Introduction to Web Accessibility (webinar)
    Learn about laws and standards regarding accessibility in higher education, the University’s web accessibility guidelines, common accessibility challenges and solutions, and resources and strategies for creating accessible documents, images, audio, video, and web content.
    Friday, Sept. 28, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
  • Testing Web Content for Accessibility
    Learn basic web accessibility evaluation techniques: using the WAVE accessibility evaluation tool; testing keyboard accessibility and content scaling; and manual checks for other common accessibility issues.
    Wednesday, Oct. 10, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
  • Testing Web Content for Accessibility (webinar)
    Learn basic web accessibility evaluation techniques: using the WAVE accessibility evaluation tool; testing keyboard accessibility and content scaling; and manual checks for other common accessibility issues.
    Thursday, Nov. 1, 1:00-2:00 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.
    Friday, Nov. 9, 10:00-11:00 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, Oct. 30, 3:00-4:00 p.m.
  • WCAG in a Nutshell
    Learn about Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 requirements (success criteria) and techniques, along with resources UA web professionals can use to meet these guidelines.
    Friday, Oct. 26, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 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.

AHEAD Equity & Excellence: Access in Higher Education

AHEAD 2018 Virtual Conference—you’re invited!

The Faculty Resource Center’s Emerging Technology and Accessibility team is happy to host the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) 2018 Virtual Conference, and you’re invited! The conference’s Opening Plenary address and 20 concurrent sessions will be streamed live in A232 and A236 Gordon Palmer Hall, Wednesday, July 18–Friday, July 20. 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.

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