Webinar Five - What's your question? Maybe someone has the answer!
by Joanna Schimizzi 11 months, 2 weeks agoDuring Webinar FIVE, we explored POUR as a set of practices for evaluating accessibility and are beginning to look at how all of this knowledge is settling in your brain.
Please click reply to this original prompt to share your thoughts and reply to one peer.
- What question is really bouncing around in your brain?
My question that I am asking myself is how many OER content creators will read through the accessibility training materials we present to them and apply them.
Hopefully many. Accessibility is the right thing to do.
That's my question as well Heather.
My question is basically just a planning thing -- trying to think about the best way to disseminate all the tips we're learning here to our OER textbook creator cohort this summer. :)
About to go slip this one in the online course!
Melissa,
Great question! Getting these to our new instructional designer will be easier than the entire faculty although just as important if not moreso.
Laurie
I am sure many others have similar questions, but at the moment, my biggest question is the implementation of these improvements without our faculty feeling overwhelmed by the vast amount of things that could be improved.
I agree George! Faculty already have so much on their plates. Hopefully we can introduce these improvements to them this summer and they will be happy to start using some of these tools in the Fall.
Maybe by starting small - like with the syllabus.
^^^ This!
I do think breaking things up into manageable chunks and staggering introduciton/implementation is key. :)
My thought exactly. I am thinking that offering ideas for small improvements that don't take a lot of time is key. This way, faculty can choose to do one thing a semester without feeling overwhelmed and make their classes more accessible in incremental fashion,
My question is similar. I've heard lots of advice to start with one or two things and keep making improvements. Everything is so interrelated! Where to start, and what makes sense to save for a later semester since I know I can't accompliish everything for fall.
Hi George,
We're going to try asking for the basics and keep training documents for our OER authors short. We might even ask them to look at certain documents that apply to what they are doing. We also plan to ask them to apply what they have learned about formatting for accessiblity and show us where they implemented it, i.e. which Pressbook page, which page of their Word document, etc.
What are the best social media platforms (e.g., Twitter handles) to follow in order to keep up and continue to build knowledge related to OER and Accessibility?
How can we make more websites more accessible? Something to ponder about.
I am really interested in learning how to use the WAVE tool effectively. When I played with it, it was very overwhelming and felt unsure of how to properly review inaccessible content from the Details list. I will have to find some tutorials because it was a very robust interface.
But in terms of our group's goal to create guidelines for faculty, this can be difficult when we have a super small staff avaialbel to do any kind of dedicated review and coaching in a more programmatic way. Has anyone with a teaching and learning center staff of 3 or less been able to effectively create a far-reaching training program and then provide adequate follow up and review of courses to gauge success of accessibility training measures?
My question is how can we inform different departments on campus about this learning (university marketing, for one) while also implementing a plan for faculty that feels doable? What are the recommendations for how best to increase awareness and implementation of accessibility on campus?
The doable part is what our team is working on! Yesterday, we decided to come up with a prioritized check-list. When procuring OER, there are a few things that are non-negotiable, and there needs to be an action plan in place to provide accessibile access when something isn't there (e.g., if a video doesn't have captions, a transcript is created)
The question that's bouncing around in my brain this week is about how to advocate for the standardization of all of this -- accessibility and OER both, across the board. It really should be standard practice that all content should be accessible, and that universities move towards open models of materials, but it feels like there are so many areas where implementation is slow or spotty.
I feel the same. If, as an institution, we are embracing diversity & inclusion, and if there an underlying fear for litigation (I'd like to think it is not a driving factor, but for many it is), why is this not standardized practice across the institution? And how do I support this happening?
My biggest question is: How do we get our insitution's leadership team to go beyond stating that they support OER efforts on campus and moving towards the design and implemention a plan that will truly serve the students and provide Open Acess OER?
How do we get everyone (students included) to be an accessibility champion and proactive about POUR and using other tools?
Here it is: If I wanted to direct faculty to the three most important accessibility areas to review in OER content, what would those three areas be?
I think it's important to champion accessiblity across my campus, but to do it effectively, my team needs to know how best to ease people into the process.
Yolanda
Hi Yolanda,
Using the SLIDE model is a good place to start. The practices that each of the letters refer to really are the basics of creating accessible documents.
I like Heather's suggestion of slide. I also think some faculty need just *one* small, doable item to put on their list, like using descriptive text in links. It's very small but visible, and could be a way to pique interest in what else is out there. Sometimes I can't even hope to approach 5 to do list items, but I could maybe take on *one*.
That's really helpful advice, Hope. Thank you!
I agree. One step at a time.
How can I get access to the assistive tech so I can truly experience what navigating using it might be like?
Hi Richard,
NVDA is a free screen reader that is downloadable from https://www.nvaccess.org/download/. You can get a sense of what is like using a screen reader if you install it and listen to NVDA read back web pages or documents. Word has a built in reader you can listen to also. It is under the Review tab and Read aloud. If an OER author is using the Equation Editor built into Word, this is a good way to check how someone who is blind would experience the information.
Thank you Heather!
Thanks for these tips. I would also like to experiment with using assistive tech.
Yes, NVDA is great for testing. JAWS screen reader also provides a free 40 minute version too!
One question that our team has been asking is how do we organize content (like a syllabus calendar) without using tables?
You could create an accessible table in Word for your course schedule. Put one row at the top that will serve as your header row. Right click on that row, go to Table Properties in Word, click the Row tab and check off the box next to Repeat as header row at the top of each page. This will make this row programmatically a header row for a screen reader. Remember that a screen reader will read the table from top down and from left to right, row by row, if it is reading English. Make sure that the words you add in each cell at the top of the table describe the content that is in the cell below it. You might have the following for the cells of the top row: "Time Period," "Modules and Activities," "Items Due." The next row could say "Week 1," "Orientation to course, etc.," "Complete syllabus quiz and introduce yourself in the discussion." When a screen reader reads a table formatted for accessibility on a web page, it can be set to read the header cells before each data cell, so that someone who is blind can make the association for the information in each cell. Don't merge cells, and don't split cells. Try not to leave cells empty. Click in the cell at the far left corner and tab through the table. Would everything make sense read out loud in that order to someone who is blind?
Heather, this post and your other one below responding to Hope's question are really helpful. Thank you!
Heather, this is great advice. I love your mention of NOT leaving blank cells. I wouldn't have thought to put a label on 'time period'--but if I don't, the screen reader might not follow the intended structure of the table. great advice!
Heather, you contribute such helpful information to this group! Thank you!
My question is similar to what many others have posted here: What are the best ways to help our faculty learn and adopt some accessibility practices without becoming overwhelmed.
Our team had some discussion today around using tables in OER materials. We're accustomed to using tables for presenting daily/weekly course schedules, and also to present some world language content like vocabulary lists, grammatical charts, etc. We've heard in this workshop about the importance of not relying on tables for formatting information that doesn't need to be in a table. So, we're talking about how to use tables effectively, what alternatives there are, and when those are appropriate. A few resources we've started looking at are How to create accessible tables in word and Tables with Two Headers | Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) | W3C.
How do we know when to use/not use tables? How do we make them accessible without requiring faculty to learn to code, and how do we check their accessibility? Any expert advice or clarification out there? Thanks!
Hi Hope,
If the information can linearize well when a user tabs through the informaiton, and you have a simple table with one header row at the top, no merged or split cells, no empty cells, I feel this is accessible to someone who is blind and using a screen reader. WCAG 2 does not prohibit the use of tables for layout altogether. We have a faculty member who is authoring an OER in Chemistry. He said he does not have time to learn MathML for formatting equations in Pressbooks, so we asked him to author in Word and use the built in equation editor. Perhaps your faculty authors who don't have time to learn how to code could use Word also as an authoring tool. Word has a built in accessibility checker.
How do we implement EVERYTHING we learned without being overwhelmed or "overdoing" it? When trying to make something 100% accessible, are we really reaching all learning styles? How does accessibility and learning styles complement each other without making the resource cluttered?
Similar to many others, how do we get faculty on board without making them feel overwhelmed? Is it starting with a conversation, the accessibility syllabi, establishing a list of contacts and/or resources, training sessions, etc.?
In addition, I would be curious to know how others would react to the “no mouse challenge!”
Hi Christy, I also want to use the "no mouse challenge" on a group of faculty! I think that exercise brings some concepts home in a way that is quickly understandable.
In a perfect world, faculty would be held accountable for what they upoad to an online course. If they were held accountable they might engage in the process more.
Our deparment checks the course shells for complaince and accessibility however once the instructor is in the LMS course they can upload materials that may not be accessible.
How can we make accessibility not so overwhelming?! There is so much to know and do. How do we develop accessibility skills/knowledge so that it is just an automatic part of what we do, not something extra?
We have learned some great principles to assist faculty, staff and students with OERs and accessibility. It can be overwhleming at times. What are the basic tools we can give to our college community to help them navigate accessibility?
how do I disseminate accessibility tips to my textbook author colleagues, informative but not overwhelmed?
The question I'm asking myself is what to prioritize in the journey toward accessibility. I can take small steps to make the materials *I* create more and more accessible, but I (like many language teachers) use a lot of "real world" materials from all over the place - websites, video clips, audio files, photos, social media posts, etc. - that were not created with accessibility in mind, and I'm not sure how to deal with those.
My question is the same as many others, I'm sure. How can we share all of this with faculty and not overwhelm them? Also, once we create our resource how will we ensure it is kept up to date and relevant?
It seems like we are having the same thoughts. I want them to be aware and start making changes but I don't want to overwhelm them. Something my department has been talking about already is doing drop-in Zoom hours relating to specific areas of accessible content creation, for example, alt text, closed captioning, heading structures, etc. A takeaway for me from this series is to include more of the checker tools (ANDI and WAVE). We are already working on guidance with the Ally tool in our LMS and the accessibility checkers in the Microsoft and Google software.
I am considering if faculty will take time to use the resources to make their courses accessible to all students?
Hi Carolyn! I wonder this too -- our faculty are always so busy, it may take a lot of effort and education to convince them to prioritize making their materials accessible. I like the attitude of our facilitators in this course, which is that accessibility isn't an "add on" but an essential part of the material creation process, and a project isn't done until it is accessible. I'm hoping that conveying that attitude to faculty here at CSU will help!
Mandi,
I think it will take a cultural shift to make it work and embed it as one of the expectations of all faculty prepping for courses. I do think the more we use these resources and apply the concepts the easier it will become for all of us.
Carolyn
What are some best practices for getting faculty on board with creating/remixing content to make it more accessible?
I think my biggest question is the next steps in terms of outreach to instructors. How do we get this out there without overwhelming them?
April- I agree. I think we are going to take the SLIDE protocol and break it down at our department meeting each month to address things in small chunks that faculty can do things with during the month and then come back in the next month and talk about what we did and then do the next step.
Less of a question and more strategy. There's been so much good material shared in these sessions and I'm seeking a way to share this content with OER creators who have limited time. I'm thinking a mini session or signposting to resources in a central location.
Hi Bethany! I like that. Indeed it is more of a strategy that takes a lot of consideration before impementation.
What steps can be taken to encourage faculty and staff to fully support and engage with accessibility?
Daniel,
I think one step can be to encourage small step integrations. Not all accessibility tools introduced and required at once!
I wonder for time sake is it better to build with all the accessiblity considerations first and then check with WAVE or build and then check with WAVE to then address all accessibility issues.
I'm wondering how I'm going to bring all my courses up to accessibility standards. Mindblowing amount of work! Does anyone have a Graduate assistant? lol
Seriously, I like how POUR has taken me out of a conventional mindset. I'm here because I care about all of my students and I want every one of them to feel like they are included and an active part of their education.
I'm wondering how I can turn all of this information into habits that I consistently apply (and how I can help others do the same!).
Hi Mandi,
I was wondering that too. What I love about trainings is that I learn so much information, but I can never remember it all and I create these long lists of new things but I rarely actually use them because I never really have time unless it's something I will implement in my daily life.
Jerry
Question: How do I create accessible tables?
Answer: Create accessible tables in Word.
My question is how can we make all this information accessible to our non-tech saavy or tech aligned colleagues. I understand the importance of accessibility but all the acronyms and education jargon can be off-putting faculty who consider themselves content experts, not teachers.
Jerry, I am thinking about this too! There are several instructors at my campus that don't feel tech-savvy, who I think would be put off--not because they didn't want to do the things, but because it seems so overwhelming. But I think we can help ease them in by showing them the 'simple' things first; like working with their syllabi, something that they are already familiar with.
--Rachel Peterson
Why is qualtity educational content creation so underrated?
There are lots! But right now the biggest one is how do I know I'm using the right tools to properly assess accessibility. I think its more of a aconfidence thing in storing and correctly using what I have learned these past five weeks.
In the same vein as one of my colleagues mentioned above, how do we transform the verbal "allyship" of our Insitution's leadership for OER efforts into active and meaninful change that allows equitable OER to be designed and implimented in a way that benifits students while also providing resources and compensation to the faculty designing the material?
Like lots of folks here, I'm thinking a lot about how to help in faculty understanding of making accessiblity an organic part of their thought-process when using/creating/ implementing OER for their courses.
I have so many questions bouncing around - from who will use our guide for making OER more accessible at MTSU and how will we get word to the "poeple". We are inundated with email, I think we will have to make it a personal connection.
Katherine- I have the same thought. We have trainings covering Accessibility and OER, but it seems like the same people attend every time. How do you get the information out to people who do not attend the trainings and might not read their emails.
My question is how will Artifical Intelligence influece the field of Accessibility in the future?
This is a very interesting question, and I hope that AI will be used for the best. It is actually something good that can come out of it.
That is very true. I hope so also.
I am still struggling with the accessible wording of links, because I am so used to "click here," etc.
Additionally, at our library, we often talk about making content inviting so that students will be interested in using our material (when it's not required). At times, more inviting content might not always be accessible. So, how do we accomplish both aims simultaneously?
My question is how can I and my OER committee get everyone on board with the OER initiative? A lot of people are hesitatant for whatever reason, and I am not sure how we can get them more involved with moving in this direction.
Hi Raffi,
That's a great question you posed. One that I'm sure all of us have faced at some point in time. Perhaps sharing with them success stories from other institutions in the OER community would help.
How can I best INSPIRE faculty to embrace OER and accessibility?
That's a great question, Ginelle!
A few possible thoughts:
- Remind faculty how OER and accessibility are connected to inclusion, fairness, and student success
- Invite champion faculty to share their positive experiences
- Have students who have benfitted from OER and accessibility share their stories about how these efforts have benefitted them
- Have an aspirational roadmap with small steps anyone can take today to slowly work toward it (because as a faculty member myself, it can be overwhelming!)
Curious to learn what others think! - Julie
What is the most common unexpected surprise learners encounter?
I don't know if this is exactly the right type of question that we had in mind for this prompt, but I think the question that I'm grappling with most is, how can we effectively support cross-institutional collaboration after this workshop is over? It is true that we have made some great contacts here and also have built connections in other ways, but what will help us to maintain that momentum after the course wraps up?
How can we rely on the expertise that lives beyond the scope of out own institutuions without feeling like we are promoting an exploitative relationship with others? How can we effectively deepen that expertise - especially in areas of niche subject mater expertise to promote and further these projects?
I think about the reduction in majors many liberal arts schoold are being asked to make vs. the numerous options I had as an undergraduate and considereing what makes the most sense to continue promotion of our educational offerings!
How can we spread this good practices? A lot of people do not know anything about them.
Just thinking about the best way to disseminate all the information about accessibility and OER to our campus :)
My main question is how do I see myself contributing to our OER 'group' within our institution...and to also think about how this impacts my persoanl course content moving forward.
I think our institution is still in the earlier planning phases, especially in regards to OER remixing and creation. So my question is: Is there a starting guide or resource for people and institutions that are interesting in beginning to remix OER content and creating their own remixed OER resources?
Do people who design training think about accessibility while developing the training or is it an afterthought?
One wondering I have is how AI might be able to help identify and fix accessibility issues in the near future - are there any tools on the horizon that we should be monitoring?
It will take me some time to ingrain all this information and put into action accessibility in my OERs. It is a lot to take in. But I'm hopeful. Already the S in SLIDE -Styles and L descriptive Link is part of the documents I create in Word. I want to start using Google docs soon. I am also aware of my lacking in leadership skills. I don't have questions bouncing around in my head since I am still absorbing information.
You put yourself out there and chose to participate in this academy, Susan. That shows tremendous leadership ability right there! Do not sell yourself short. :)
How to integrate all this information into my work!
My primary question is strategic: how do we get top-down buy in from leadership to help stress the importance of accessibility institution-wide.
If you figure out the secret to getting buy-in, let us all know! :)
My role is in accessibility, so I am comfortable with that "side" of things. I would like to know how I can make more colleagues (faculty and staff) feel less overwhelmed with accessibility. How can I best show them this isn't a massive lift but something that can be "baked in"?
I am comfortable checking our website accessibility at this point, but I am starting to wonder how to effectively check some of our third party software? I think vendors products might leave some things to be desired in that area, but haven't figured out how to approach that yet.
I think this is such a good point! We use products from Pearson and Knewton, and while they provide us with a VPAT, I worry that their interpretation of standards is not in line with what we are doing in the rest of the course.
That's a great point, too - one that's been on our radar in several ways. And how do we ensure that colleagues who meet with vendors have accessibility in mind as a priority from the start.
How to plan and successfully implement in our classes......try to get everyone on board.
My question, like many others, is how do you implement a plan to improve resource accessibility across your campus without overwhelming and burning out your faculty. Depending on their prior knowledge and comfort level, this kind of work may require only simple fixes, or it may be a LOT of work.
My questions pertain to systems change and culture change. How do we encourage campus-wide discussion around accessibility, build an integrated support and resource system, include diverse voices and perspectives, and get admin buy-in? To me, this is the "critical " work as we strive to promote and implement all that we have learned during these six weeks throughout our university.
That’s a good question, especially for faculty that have limited time to check all the materials for accessibility and make changes. I think getting the administration on board would be the easiest. There is a good argument that can be made linking accessibility to improved student outcomes. Most students drop or fail courses because of frustration or lack of interest, so making the class intuitive and accessible would likely increase grades and retention.
How is AI going to impact issues surrounding accessibility and OER, and are AI tools like ChatGPT accessible?
We've leared about so many tools and techniques that can help ensure accessibility when creating OER materials (ANDI, WAVE, SLIDE, POUR). I'm sure that there are a lot of people out there creating content that are not aware of these tools. How do we spread the word?
The No Mouse Challenge had me thinking about the old adage, "You can't understand someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. How can we create/use activites like the No Mouse Challenge to increase accessibility awareness?
How am I going to retain all of this great information? I hope will have access to this group for some time so we can go back and review the material.
How can we most effectively promote the adoption of POUR principles in accessibility with our colleagues without overwhelming them or creating resistance due to increased workload?
Much of the information in this seminar has been about helping students with physical disabilities and limitations, such as hearing or sight problems. A question that I’ve been grappling with concerns the students with non-physical issues. Almost every student that I receive paperwork on from the disabilities office deals with mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and ADD/ADHD. How can we best include them, too, when thinking about accessibility? I’ve been told to break up videos and readings into smaller, more manageable pieces, but it would help to have some more best practices.
This is a really great point. Neurodivergent students have needs that are really important for us to consider as well. I do think that UDL practices help promote learning for folks of all different learning needs. ATD has some good tips for design for these learners: https://www.td.org/magazines/td-magazine/design-for-neurodiverse-learners
This is a really great point. Neurodivergent students have needs that are really important for us to consider as well. I do think that UDL practices help promote learning for folks of all different learning needs. ATD has some good tips for design for these learners: https://www.td.org/magazines/td-magazine/design-for-neurodiverse-learners
Do students even know about all of the accessibility options? I'd love to provide a list of resources in my syllabus to guide students. I will put this as a goal!
We have learned so much and received such great information, but I am wonderful as a new faculty member, how do you "eat an elephant" and where is the best place to start?
My question is about how to disseminate all this great information to our faculty without completely overwhelming them.
How can my institution support this work for all faculty?
My biggest questions and thoughts that keep running through my head are "How can we provide resources to our college that will be broadly utilized? How can we get people excited about accessibility?"
I have this same question. It is difficult to make others excited about accessibility and aware of its need.
Thanks for mentioning this, faculty are so overwhelmed that getting the buy in from them feels like an additional challenge
Dividing your course content into manageable parts helps students learn more effectively.
Can a POUR model be created for AI??
My question is, what is the best way to gain and maintain buy-in on OER usage?
How can I help foster the initiative in my department to embrace OER content creation.
I was already familiar with POUR from previous coursework. This additional training has led me to wonder how it can best be rolled out to the university community as a whole. Baby steps will be very important, but I want to make sure we continue moving forward.
I have two:
I am asking myself how do I priortize? I am glad I have the POUR acronmy as a tool to help with my initial course build. After content is created, and it needs to be reviewed, which of the components of POUR serve as a top priority?
Not really a question -- deciding what to share first and how to do so.
Laurie
How can we remember all this accessibilty information and make certain our classes meet the guidelines? It seems overwhelming and time-consuming.
Jacque, that's a great question! I am very excited about all of the resources that I have learned and have been shared. However, when it is time to use them, will I be able to locate the resources and remember how to use them?
How to build best material design practices for adjuct faculty so they appreciate the power of spending a little extra time and attention to accessibility design?
How many clicks is too many clicks for a single web page in the no mouse challenge?
Hi Charles,
I always remember that you should try aim for no more than 3, but check out this Nielsen Norman Group article it is very interesting!
Thanks,
Leah :)
How large of a task will it really be to make all of our syllabi and course materials OER ready?
How do I effectively bring these guidelines and practices to the attention of the people who have the authority to implement changes and decide policies?
I am trying to keep all the notes handy. This is lot of information and after the session I will have more questions to address.
I'm really thinking about how to take the step to finding and implementing OER - I think the course has prepared me well for ascertaining and improving the accessibility of OER, but I'm still struggling with finding good OER that will be functional in my class.
My question is how can we get everyone on board with the accessibility and ensuring all courses are accessible by all students?
So many awesome tools for accessibility. Like many others, I'm wondering how we can keep faculty from being overwhelmed. If we had to recommend one specific tool to begin utilizing, which one would it be? Which tools would be the next to recommend to build usage and implementation?
I think there are folks who are super passionate about this, but I think about those who are maybe less inclined to make sure their courses and materials are accsesible. How do we bring people in?
The big question I was left with was how is intuitive defined?
My question is more of a thought/observation I guess, but I keep thinking about the different levels of effectiveness when it comes to accessibility. For example, you can put any alt text on an image and it won't be flagged in the checker... but there is such a thing as effective alt text, and just putting "picture of company logo" as the alt text doesn't mean you've accomplished accessibility well/effectively... yet the checker tools we have are only able to check for these things on a technical/basic level.
So what's been swirling in my head is how to take accessibility to the next level and make sure we move "beyond the checker" when it comes to looking at accessible documents, videos, etc.
I agree, moving beyond the check is a vital goal. Just reminds me of when I went to the store and the computer said imy item was out of stock but when I went to the shelf, there it was. Just means that technology is great but sometimes we just need to help it and not totally rely on it.
Question for me is: How to get buy in from a majority of faculty to use these resources in their courses without making it seem like significant work
My question is really I can I standardize this and ensure I do it, but also make it easier or more understandable for others to do.
How are we both presenting, while also adapting, accessibility tools to meet the differing needs of partners across campus?
How do I present this information to faculty to make it stand out in importance to their OER work?
How to get faculty to go the extra step to use tools. The extra difficulty underlines the difficulty those using assistive tech go through. Hopefully if faculty have already gone the extra step to use OER, they are willing to remix to add accessibility and their own content.
How to get everyone on board at the college but more importantly at the department level to move to OER.
How to find more reliable and quality OER materials? I'm familiar with many of the common sites, but the options within my discipline are lacking in many ways.
I agree! Options are limited.
How do we get faculty to use more OER materials that are accessible?