2016 Session Descriptions

Accessibility 101 Forum

Panel members will represent a diverse group of accessibility professionals, discussing accessibility within a University setting—from web developers and faculty to administrative office and procurement. Each panel member has a different perspective to offer on the sustainable implementation of an accessible technology initiative across the campus. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions to gain a better understanding of the benefits and implementation strategies for building a sustainable campus accessibility program.

Presented by: Andy Zeisler, Student Disability Services (MU); Cheryl Pruitt, ATI Director, CSU System; Duc Ta, IT Services (MU); Kara Zirkle, IT Services (MU)

Accessibility in the Classroom

During this presentation, we will cover high-level best practices for designing/developing courses and content and building accessibility into the course and the design. We'll review resources and support provided to Miami faculty to help achieve access for everyone!

Presented by: Laura Patch DePue, eLearning Miami and Kara Zirkle, IT Services (MU)

Campus Accessibility: A Journey From Reactive to Proactive

Implementing an accessible technology initiative to sustainably remove accessibility barriers from electronic and information technology is a broad and far-reaching endeavor that touches every aspect of postsecondary education. Campuses just beginning to implement an accessible technology program will face many challenges and may benefit from the accessibility strategies and lessons learned by CSU in the ongoing CSU Accessible Technology Initiative.

Presented by: Cheryl Pruitt, Director, Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI), California State University (CSU) System

Captioning 101: What You Need to Know

Those who rely on video to communicate will want to attend this session on creating and editing closed captions using the tools provided by YouTube. Instruction will also address the pros and cons of the automatic captions feature and the use of existing transcripts (e.g., uploading them to YouTube and synchronizing them to the video's audio track). Finally, we'll cover some new features of Canvas and Kaltura My Media and what they mean for the captioning process.

Presented by: Jia-Tom Luo, eLearning Miami

Evaluating Course Accessibility in Canvas Using UDOIT

This session will provide an overview of the Universal Design Online Content Inspection Tool (UDOIT) that helps faculty identify and fix accessibility issues within their Canvas courses. During this presentation, you will discover how to run a UDOIT scan in Canvas, interpret UDOIT reports, and use UDOIT’s suggestions to update your course. We encourage you to bring your laptop and follow along in your own course.

Presented by: Elizabeth Farrar, eLearning Miami and Cyndi Govreau, eLearning Miami

Procurement

Do you buy technology? If so, you'll want to attend this session, as Miami is building procedures for procurement to help purchase the most accessible technology available. We'll cover basics of the best practices that are being developed.

Presented by: Kara Zirkle, IT Services (MU)

Read&Write Overview: How Students Benefit

Read&Write is a toolbar for both PCs and Macs that interacts with Internet browsers, Microsoft Word, PDFs, and just about anything open on a computer screen. It provides powerful supports like speech-to-text, visual/talking dictionaries, highlighting tools for extracting research, and much more. This literacy support software is available to all Miami University students, faculty, and staff for free. The session will provide an introduction to how the software works, and students will demonstrate ways they use it to promote independent learning in and outside the classroom.

Presented by: Mark Gross, Student Disability Services (MU); Sean Poley, IT Services (MU); and Miami Student Guests

Students Accessing Miami (SAM)

Student Disability Services (SDS) provided services to over 1,200 students with disabilities last year, and this number is expected to grow in the coming years. Coordinating accommodations for thousands of classes is no small feat and requires a robust case management system. In this session, you will meet SAM, where SDS staff will demonstrate how the system is used to provide services, tailor accommodations, enhance student autonomy, document staff case notes, and report statistics to the Division of Student Affairs and University administration.

Presented by: Mark Gross, Student Disability Services (MU); Karon Selm, Student Disability Services (MU); Hope Sweeney, Student Disability Services (MU); and Andy Zeisler, Student Disability Services (MU)

Web Accessibility

This will be a high-level presentation on web accessibility, covering areas of roles and responsibilities, best practices, and available resources. This is the preliminary course to more detailed courses that will be offered through Miami's TRAIN system.

Presented by: Duc Ta, IT Services (MU) and Kara Zirkle, IT Services (MU)