ACC is participating in Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on Thursday, May 18, by providing learning opportunities for our Riverbat community. Faculty and staff are encouraged to attend a session that day to learn more about accessibility and how to create documents and files that are accessible to our students and colleagues.

The hour-long sessions include 30 minutes of presentation and end with hands-on practice where attendees will work on making their courses and class documents more accessible with support from experienced workshop facilitators. 

Provided by the ACC Alternative Text & Media Department in collaboration with the Office of Distance & Alternative Education, sessions are offered in-person at the Highland Campus ACCelerator (Building 1000, Room 1202) and concurrently online via Zoom.

Register to receive event reminders, a Zoom link (if attending online), and information on how to document professional development (one hour of professional development per session).

GAAD Sessions Information

11 a.m. | GAAD Accessibility Basics/Interactive Fix Your Content Clinic
An overview of the basics of digital accessibility with Meg Kareithi. We will answer questions such as “What is WCAG?” and “How can Blackboard Ally benefit my students?”  We will finish the session by working with participants to help them make documents and courses more accessible.

12 p.m.| Accessibility Testers in MS Office and Google Docs/Interactive Fix Your Content Clinic
Sean Loraas will demonstrate some of the built-in accessibility checking tools available in MS Office, Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Sean will show how to use accessibility checks to identify barriers in your documents and fix them to make your materials more accessible for students with disabilities and more useful for everyone.

1 p.m. | Blackboard Ally/Interactive Fix Your Content Clinic
Michelle Escudier will present an overview of Blackboard Ally, describe how Ally works, and how to increase your Ally score to make content available for all learners. It’s easier than you think! Facilitators will work with faculty and staff to fix their documents after the presentation.

Snacks will be provided at in-person sessions. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch to enjoy on the Highland Campus social staircase in Building 1000 between sessions.

For more details and a complete list of learning opportunities for GAAD 2023, visit this TLED blog post.

Contact [email protected] for any questions.