Ticket to Accessibility
Concurrent Session 4
Brief Abstract
All aboard! Welcome aboard the train to accessibility with stops along the way at inclusivity and course design, passing through captioning, alt-text, and headings. We’re glad you’ve joined us on this journey, the students will be too! Punch your ticket as we travel to our final destination.
Presenters
Extended Abstract
Accessibility is an important aspect of course design, but when it comes to the design of online courses, accessible features can get overlooked. In this session participants will examine the steps necessary to implement certain aspects of accessible course design and evaluate the time needed to enact those features. We will examine how to project manage to ensure that multimedia and other aspects of the course are accessible and inclusive for students, taking time and resources into account so that both instructional designers and faculty can be on the same page to ensure that standards are met.
Hop aboard our train to accessible course materials and join us as we make stops at Inclusivity, Course Design, Alt-text, and Headings on our way to course materials that are accessible for all. Of course, there’s always the possibility of bandits and unexpected stops on our journey but we’ll deal with those as they happen. Along the way you’ll be able to collect important pieces for that final game to see who can travel the most routes with what you’ve learned.
As we head to our first stop, let’s take a look at what makes course materials and multimedia inclusive. One question to ask yourself is, “Do I see myself in these materials?” The very next question, “Do I see someone not like me in these materials?” Then, “Do I see another different person in these materials?” Representation, inclusive language, diversity, and deliberate attention to these is key in creating an inclusive environment. We don’t just look at color, race, age but also at different abilities. Can someone who is categorized as disabled get the same information as someone who is not? If your answer is “no” or “I don’t know” to any of those questions, there’s work to do. Let’s make a few stops along the route and see what we can do to help our courses be more inclusive.
Our first stop is a bustling town called Course Design. People move about this city in all different ways and each has a unique encounter with all parts of this town. City planners made sure that everyone was going to be able to go about their daily lives without barriers and that included tending to organization, ability to find places and information, all without overwhelming them. The clairity they provided makes this city a welcoming place for all.
Now that we’re on our way to our next destination along the route, let’s talk a little about what we’ll be doing at our next stop in the big town of Captioning. Captioning began as a rural town but as they grew, they found the need for increased services. They began to see an increase in the variety of people, languages, and needs of the residents. What they found out is that in the town video announcements, if they added captions on the screen, people were able to utilize them to better understand the announcement no matter what their language. What an improvement! Let’s continue down the line and see what comes next.
While our first three stops are behind us, always remember what we learned there. As we head further towards our final destination, we’ll be stopping in a rural area called Alt-text. Here you’ll see that the town is working towards making sure that everyone in town has the same opportunity to know what the images the city council puts up on their website mean. The last time I visited, they just started the process of adding information and now it looks like no matter how you access those photos, you have the opportunity to know what’s being shown. Wow! Think what would happen if everyone did that. Let’s hop back on the train and head to our next stop.
We’re rolling into Headings next and let me tell you, it’s the last stop on this route before we get to our final destination. It’s an organized stop and we’re sure you’ll enjoy how everything in town just makes sense. You can jump from shop to shop and see what’s inside when you want to find out more. I don’t know about you but I do like it when information is easy to find and the town of Headings really gets the job done!
Full steam ahead to our final destination, Accessibility! As we step off the train, it will be your turn to find routes to accessible content. Using the pieces you’ve earned along the way and some you’ll get to draw from, you’ll be able to challenge your opponents to be the best conductor with Online Education Railways.
As you depart the train, please make sure to collect all of your belongings including your “how-to” guides, route maps, our business cards, and of course your memories of our wonderful time here together on Accessibility Railways.
Interactivity
We will be using a Ticket to Ride modified board game. Attendees are given route cards for different types of course elements to make accessible as they travel from start to finish. To complete a route attendees will have to gather cards for the different stations along the route. Most completed routes takes the prize!
Outcomes
At the end of this session participants will be able to:
- Identify steps needed to make aspects of course accessible
- Evaluate time needed to manage accessibility processes
- Re-evaluate course design process to account for accessibility
Takeaways
- Steps necessary to ensure accessible documents/activities in their classes.
- How-to guides for accessibility tasks presented upon.
- Game they can play with their units to remind them of all those little things they have to ensure they’re checking.