2014 Session Descriptions

Keynote Address

Session Description Unavailable
Presented by: Scott Lissner, OSU ADA Coordinator, and AHEAD President

Accessibility Challenges in Higher Education (Panel Discussion)

Presented by: Peter Bossley, OSU, OCIO Accessibility Analyst; Ken Petri, OSU, Web Accessibility Center Director; Jessica Thiede, Cincinnati VA Medical Center Psychologist; and Andy Zeisler, MU, Office of Disability Resources Director

Accessible Documents: How to Create an Accessible PDF

This session will provide a brief introduction of document accessibility, how to create accessible content and check existing PDFs for accessibility, and give some instruction on how to "fix" non-accessible files.  Accessibility resources from Adobe will also be offered.
Presented by: Tim Plumer, Jr., Adobe

Accessibility Features of e-Books

Session Description Unavailable

Accessibility Technology in the Classroom

Persons who are blind or visually impaired (BVI) are very underrepresented in STEM careers although they are as interested in science as other students during high school. Part of this discrepancy between interest and employment is due to the actual and perceived inaccessibility of STEM undergraduate courses, in particular laboratory courses. Independence Science has worked with Vernier Software and Technology to make their scientific data collection solutions, the LabQuest and LoggerPro software, accessible to BVI students. In this workshop, we will introduce the Talking LabQuest and demonstrate how it can be used to provide greater independence to BVI students in lab courses. We will also discuss other challenges in STEM accessibility.
Presented by: Greg Williams, Independent Science

Best Practices: Setting Up an Accessible Course Site in Niihka

Please join Dave Scoville, Miami's Learning Systems Coordinator, for an informative session focused on creating a more accessible course site in Niihka. This session will present several good practices for creating a more accessible experience with a variety of Niihka tools. 

Presented by: Dave Scoville

Captioning Made Easy Using Amara

Session Description Unavailable

Presented by: Todd Pashak

Library Tour

Learn about the resources available in the Miami University Libraries to help you create accessible course content. This tour will cover software and services in the Libraries' Center for Digital Scholarship and the Center for Information Management.

Presented by: Katie Gibson

Using Universal Design for Learning to Support All Online Students

The 45-minute workshop on “Using Universal Design for Learning to Support All Online Students” supports online-student retention and satisfaction by applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in higher-education online-course design, using

  • multiple means of representing information,
  • multiple ways for learners to take action and express their learning, and
  • multiple means of learner engagement.

UDL strategies are typically discussed as ways of accommodating learners with disabilities, but they make online environments more engaging and flexible for all learners. This workshop provides participants with five specific actions they can take in order to incorporate UDL principles into their online courses:

  • Start new design processes with text.
  • Create or find alternate versions of all multimedia.
  • Design at least one alternative way for learners to demonstrate each course objective.
  • Break up complex learners' tasks into separate components.
  • Expand, document, and share interactions within online courses using free or low-cost tools.

Presented by: Tom Tobin