Tag: accessibility

Accessing Higher Ground Conference Recap

by Dec 04, 2017

In November, I had the opportunity to attend Accessing Higher Ground, an accessibility and technology conference in Denver, Colorado. The conference presentations focused on how to use technology to support disabled students in their academic careers. It was a great opportunity to speak with other accessibility professionals about the opportunities and challenges they face in their work. Here are some of the changes, trends, and innovations happening in the world of accessible and assistive technology. WCAG 2.1: Updates to the Guidelines The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 have been in place for several years without substantive updates, even as

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Web Accessibility: What’s the Law Say?

by Sep 20, 2017

When talking about web accessibility, many people will reference the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as the law that requires websites to be made accessible. This isn’t an entirely accurate description, however. In actuality, there is no single web accessibility law or statute. Instead, the legal requirements of web accessibility stem from a patchwork of laws and court decisions, which can often lead to confusion when trying to enforce web accessibility standards–especially in higher education. Let’s try to demystify some of this confusion and go through the major laws that dictate web accessibility. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 While

Top Five Takeaways from AHEAD

by Aug 07, 2017

Last month, I had the privilege of attending the national conference of the Association of Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). The three-day conference was a time for staff, faculty, and students who work in disability services and accessibility to meet and share their knowledge, experiences, and stories. I had the opportunity to present on the Distance Learning department’s efforts on web accessibility and share our processes and guidelines with other institutions. I also attended numerous sessions and learned a great deal about accessibility, disability services, and disability culture. Here are five of the many, many takeaways I brought back from

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Vetting Web Tools for Accessibility

by Jul 03, 2017

Recently, Instructional Technologist William Guth has written about Web 2.0 Selection Criteria, which help online learning faculty and staff select the best web tools for their course. One of those criteria is making sure that the tool is accessible. But how can you find out? Given the vast variety of tools available, it’s a tough question to answer. But there are a few things you can do to make sure that a web tool has some degree of accessibility for students. What does accessibility mean? In this instance, accessibility means making sure that a tool can be accessed and interacted

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Spotlight on Accessibility – Alternative Text: May 2017 Online Learning Webinar

by May 22, 2017

In May’s online learning webinar, Content Specialist Christine Scherer shared information on web accessibility in course design, specifically the use of alternative text to make images accessible to all students. Faculty were asked to think of alt-text for a variety of images, both straightforward and complex. A recording of the webinar is available on Blue Jeans. To learn more about accessibility, visit the SPS Distance Learning Accessibility page.

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