9-9:45 a.m. |
Thinking Outside the Box: Innovative Pathways to Employment for Job Seekers with Disabilities (AIFLW) |
Stream: Accessibility, Inclusion, and the Future of Learning and Work (AIFLW) Presenter: Elizabeth Mohler, Ryerson
Description
This interactive presentation will showcase a new fit-based online tool, ALiGN, which helps applicants highlight their attitudinal and behavioural fit to employers based on a profile established through objective benchmarking. The platform then matches candidates to positions based on their fit for the role. The results of the assessment may lead to employment or training supports to eventually allow a path to meaningful employment.
I will demonstrate the key features of the ALiGN tool by walking you through the types of questions presented in the Lumina Assessment.
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Understand the difference between a fit-based assessment and traditional matching technology that matches job seekers based on experience
- Understand how fit-based assessments work and how these types of assessments benefit job seekers facing barriers to work retention
- Comfortably register for the ALiGN platform and set up a profile
Presenter Biography
Elizabeth Mohler works as project coordinator, Inclusive Hiring at Ryerson Magnet. She has co-authored ‘Creating a Culture of Accessibility in the Sciences’ and has worked for several years mentoring post-secondary students with disabilities, helping them to find and implement new learning strategies.
Elizabeth sits as an active member on the Ontario government education standards committee where she provides consultation and helps develop strategies to inform a more inclusive education landscape. In addition, she has been a contributing member to the Labour Canada Breaking Down Barriers Project developed by the National Educational Association of Disabled Students.
Email: elizabeth.mohler@ryerson.ca Twitter: @mohlerc
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Improving the Accessibility of Remote Higher Education: Lessons from the Pandemic and Recommendations (AIFLW) |
Stream: Accessibility, Inclusion, and the Future of Learning and Work (AIFLW) Session Level: Introductory Presenters: Jackie Pichette and Sarah Brumwell, Higher Education Quality Control of Ontario (HEQCO)
Description
The COVID-19 pandemic forced a rapid shift to remote learning in March 2020. To understand what this shift has meant for students with accessibility needs, Higher Education Quality Control of Ontario (HEQCO) surveyed more than 600 students (200 of whom have a self-reported disability), as well as disability support staff at colleges and universities in Ontario. Also interviewed, were more than 30 student representatives, community advocates, and post-secondary instructors and staff to learn what supports students, especially those with disabilities, need to succeed in a remote learning environment.
This session will present challenges and opportunities for accessible remote learning identified by our interviewees and survey respondents. It will also offer some practical, evidence-based recommendations for post-secondary faculty and staff to consider.
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Gain an understanding of some of the challenges and advantages offered by remote learning from an accessibility standpoint
- Identify evidence-based recommendations for supporting accessible learning during the pandemic and recovery
Presenter Biographies
Jackie Pichette is the Director of Research, Policy and Partnerships at HEQCO, overseeing projects that relate to equitable post-secondary access and student skill development, often in collaboration with stakeholders. Prior to joining HEQCO, Jackie worked as a consultant at an Indigenous advisory services firm, as community organizer at Simon Fraser University, and as a government policy analyst. She holds an MPP from Simon Fraser University and a BAH from Queen’s University.
Twitter: @jackie_pichette
Sarah Brumwell is a Senior Researcher at HEQCO, where she has worked on a variety of projects and evaluations related to student skill development, assessment and post-secondary access. Sarah has an MA from the University of Western Ontario and a B.Hum./BA from Carleton University.
Twitter: @HEQCO
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Global Portraits of Inclusion: An Ethnographic Account of Accessibility in Education (ATL) |
Stream: Accessible Teaching and Learning (ATL) Session Level: Introductory Presenter: John Scott, Blackboard Ally
Description
How are diverse educational communities tackling barriers to inclusion and introducing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles into teaching and learning? During the 2019 Blackboard Ally Tour, we visited over 40 institutions around the world to learn more about the accessibility challenges they face as well as the strategies they are using to drive a culture shift toward inclusion.
In this ethnographic portrait of inclusive learning from around the world, we triangulate findings from dozens of interviews with academic leadership, instructional technologists, instructors, and students with accessibility data from Blackboard Ally to generate insights about inclusive learning.
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Identify the trends in the accessibility of digital course content and student usage of alternative formats of learning materials
- Understand the challenges faced by institutions and the strategies they are implementing to address barriers to inclusion
- See how institutions are integrating UDL principles into their teaching to improve learning for all students
Presenter Biography
John Scott is a product manager for Blackboard Ally. Prior to joining the Blackboard Ally team, John completed his PhD in Learning Sciences and New Media at the University of California Berkeley, where he designed, taught, and researched online learning courses focused on collaborative learning, multimodal literacy, and Universal Design for Learning. He spent 4 years as a literacy and arts teacher in New York City public schools, earning a Master’s Degree in Special Education, and specializing in technology-mediated literacy and learning. He has published and presented at professional research conferences on digital literacies, networked learning, and global education.
Email: john.scott@blackboard.com Twitter: @johnscottworks Website: Blackboard Ally User Group
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10-10:45 a.m. |
Introducing ARRM: A Framework to Fight Accessibility Apathy (ATPC)
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Stream: Accessibility Theory, Policy and Compliance (ATPC) Presenter: Jennifer Chadwick, Siteimprove
Description
The Accessibility Roles and Responsibility Mapping (ARRM) is a framework developed by the W3C’s Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) to help teams break down the WCAG accessibility requirements by roles.
The work in building the ARRM will be introduced as it has been created to make it easy for digital team members to understand what role they play in ensuring websites are accessible.
Whether you're a graphic or UX designer, developer, content writer or contributor, accessibility tester or project manager, you will learn precisely which WCAG success criteria you are responsible for and receive specific instructions and guidance for fixing accessibility issues.
The purpose of the ARRM is for teams to implement a framework to meet the guidelines for WCAG conformance.
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Understand your role in making a website or mobile application accessible
- Identify your responsibility for each individual WCAG success criterion (primary, secondary, contributor, or collaborator)
- Follow a helpful guide to determine who is responsible for what
- Build a checklist within your team and distribute this to stakeholders so everyone is on the same page, everything is accounted for, and there is no duplication of work
- Feel more confident in your understanding of WCAG success criteria—the who, why and how
- Feel confident to roll out the ARRM in your own organization
Presenter Biography
Jennifer Chadwick is the lead accessibility strategist at Siteimprove. She has been an inclusive designer and digital accessibility advocate for the past 14 years. She guides teams to think, write, design and develop accessible websites and applications every day, and works with leaders to create and maintain a culture of inclusion and innovation. An invited expert to the W3C, she is a contributor to several standards, and resources on WCAG, and is a regular global speaker.
Jennifer has spoken at CSUN, Guelph Accessibility Conference, the United Nation’s M-Enabling Summit in Washington and AccessU in Texas, and the State Parties on the Persons with Disabilities (UN COSP). She is an active volunteer for the #a11yTO conference and collaborator with the Inclusive Design Research Centre.
Email: jcha@siteimprove.com Twitter: @jennjchadwick
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End-User Testing and the use of Personas in Accessible Media Research (WA) |
Stream: Web Accessibility (WA) Session Level: Introductory Presenter: Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Mohawk College
Description
The Accessible Media Production program's graduate students, in collaboration with industry partners and funded by the Ontario Centre for Excellence (OCE) grants, are completing applied research projects that explore ways for industry to meet accessibility legislation requirements.
Throughout the evidence-based, applied research process, the students are to connect and collaborate with industry experts and members of the disability community, following the philosophy of "nothing about us, without us."
Setting up end-user testing and developing personas is vital to the success of their project.
This talk will look at a few of the capstone projects, the process for setting up the end-user testing, and outcomes of the research. You will gain insight into the importance of end-user testing for accessibility as well as how to set it up.
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Interpret an evidence-based approach to the applied research process
- Set up formal and informal testing through the exploration end-user accessibility testing
- Understand the process for developing and using personas for accessibility testing
- Understand the outcomes from the perspectives of the end-user, the student, and the industry partner
Presenter Biography
Jennifer Curry Jahnke continues to be excited by creating opportunities to make social change and shifting perceptions, while embedding accessibility, at Mohawk College and with industry partners. Her roles as AODA project manager, ALS counsellor, and coordinator of the Accessible Media Production Graduate Certificate Program at Mohawk College support her work as a professor, researcher, international speaker, and accessibility consultant.
Additionally, Jennifer sits on several internal and external AODA committees—including the AODA PSE Education Standards Development Committee - ICT and Technical subcommittees.
Email: jennifer.jahnke@mohawkcollege.ca Twitter: @jennjahnke Website: Accessible Media Production - 390 (Mohawk College)
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Confronting Barriers in Graduate-Level Library Research by Co-Developing Accessibility Guidelines (ATL) |
Stream: Accessible Teaching and Learning (ATL) Session Level: Introductory Presenters: Ashley Shaw, CNIB Foundation, and Mark Weiler, Wilfrid Laurier University
Description
The purpose of this presentation is to explain how educational guidelines are being developed to detect and remove barriers in library-related research for graduate-level psychology. We describe a unique collaboration between a blind graduate psychology student and a sighted psychology librarian. The purpose of the collaboration is to develop guidelines to help psychology librarians proactively remove barriers that delay student success.
You will hear a first-hand account of the challenges encountered while conducting library-based research and how they were converted into the guidelines. We will reflect on the process and outcome to this point.
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Recognize barriers in library-based research for blind university students
- Describe process evaluation as an overarching framework for responding to barriers in graduate-level library research
- Describe methods for drawing a librarian’s attention to barriers, including using guidelines, consulting research, and dialogue
- Describe strategies for detecting and documenting barriers and solutions
- Reflect on challenges and successes in developing accessibility guidelines for an academic discipline
Presenter Biographies
Ashley Shaw is a masters student in the Community Psychology program at Wilfrid Laurier University, and a research associate at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. She holds a Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Her areas of research include visual impairment and employment, as well as inclusive workplace strategies. She has worked in the past as a strategic writer, as well as an accessible community engagement coordinator. She is passionate about developing evidence-based and participant-driven interventions that serve the needs of community members with disabilities.
Email: ashley.shaw@cnib.ca
Mark Weiler is the web & user experience librarian at Wilfrid Laurier University. He has liaison duties with the Psychology Department and User Experience Design program. Mark is sighted but is certified with the JAWS screen reader and is training for sightless navigation. Mark has organized and facilitated provincial, national, and international reading groups on the topic the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.
Email: mweiler@wlu.ca
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11-11:45 a.m. |
From Average to Inclusive: Why You Should Design for the ‘Edge Case’ (ATPC) |
Stream: Accessibility Theory, Policy and Compliance (ATPC) Session Level: Introductory Presenter: Lee Dale, Say Yeah!
Description
This talk illustrates the importance of extending our collective ambitions beyond "accessibility" and, instead, setting our sights on truly inclusive products and services.
We’ll contrast inclusive design with the typical approach of designing for the "average” by exploring why the average myth and avoiding edge cases makes for worse products and services.
Learn more inclusive process and business cases that get senior leadership on board with more thoughtful product and service design.
Takeaways include:
- An understanding of why standard methodologies around serving the “average” have limited product and service success
- An ability to articulate return on investment (ROI) for business leaders and decision-makers for taking more inclusive approaches to product and service development
- A clearly established understanding of how we can move beyond access towards inclusion
- The identification of diversity and inclusion gaps in current service design and accessibility focused models
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Understand why standard methodologies around serving the “average” limit product and service success
- Articulate ROI for business leaders and decision-makers for taking more inclusive approaches to product and service development
- Clearly establish an understanding of how we can move beyond access towards inclusion
- Share examples/case studies/methodologies for taking a more inclusive approach to product and service design
- Uncover diversity and inclusion gaps in current service design and accessibility focused models
- Meet past attendee goals related to awareness, shifting perceptions, and the importance of inclusion
Presenter Biography
Lee Dale has spent the past 15+ years working with organizations to help them realize the transformative capabilities of digital.
From customer experience to service delivery, Lee’s day-to-day at Say Yeah is spent coaching organizations—from public sector to industrial, sports to finance, insurance and more—on how to leverage technology and human-centred design processes in ways that increase marketing opportunity and engagement while reducing costs and inefficiencies. This is accomplished by guiding teams towards delivering exceptional, intuitive experiences across all consumer touchpoints and related services through the system strategy framework which identifies and aligns consumer needs and organizational capabilities.
Email: lee@sayyeah.com Twitter: @leedaleyyz Website: Say Yeah LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leedaleyyz/
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WordPress, Gutenberg, and Building an Accessible Site (WA) |
Stream: Web Accessibility (WA) Session Level: Introductory Presenter: Sandy Feldman, Accessible Web Sites
Description
In 2019, WordPress (WP) replaced its editor with a new one called Gutenberg. Early reports are that the Gutenberg backend is not nearly as accessible as the old WP editor. WP has announced they will be updating Gutenberg to make it more accessible, but that's a work in progress. For now, people with disabilities will probably want to stick with the old editor, which is still available via the "classic mode" plugin.
Integral to the Gutenberg editor are "blocks," versatile tools for building engaging content. I will talk about picking an accessibility-ready WordPress theme, and how to use Gutenberg to create accessible content. You will discover which features work out of the box, and which need plugins, custom CSS, or hand coding.
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Find a free, accessibility-ready WordPress theme
- Identify which features of Gutenberg are accessible out of the box
- Identify workarounds to inaccessible Gutenberg features
Presenter Biography
Sandy Feldman is a web geek who is interested in accessibility. She design's and codes sites and builds custom WordPress themes.
She also works as part of a team at Inclusive Media and Design, helping people learn how to make sites that comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) requirements.
Email: sandy@sandyfeldman.com Website: Sandy Feldman
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Deciphering Essential Requirements in the Post-Secondary Setting (ATL) |
Stream: Accessible Teaching and Learning (ATL) Session Level: Introductory Presenters: Christine Zaza and Trevor Holmes, University of Waterloo
Description
The term ‘essential requirements’ is used in Human Rights legislation to guide decisions about accommodations for persons with disabilities. In the post-secondary setting, essential requirements inform decisions about accommodations, course design and assessment at the course and program level. When our group set out to write a teaching resource explaining essential requirements, we encountered more questions than answers (e.g., what is the connection between essential and learning outcomes?).
In this "unconference" session, we will discuss several questions that challenge our understanding and application of essential requirements in post-secondary settings, and attempt to reach a common understanding of this term.
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Appreciate the complexity of considering essential requirements in various disciplines
- Explain the difference between essential requirements and learning outcomes
- Identify challenges in considering essential requirements when assessing students at the course and program level
Presenter Biographies
Christine Zaza is an online learning consultant with the Centre for Extended Learning, University of Waterloo.
Email: zaza@uwaterloo.ca
Trevor Holmes oversees the senior educational developers at the University of Waterloo's Centre for Teaching Excellence. Since 2015 he has taught an introductory course in the Gender and Social Justice program.
Email: tholmes@uwaterloo.ca
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1-1:45 p.m. |
AODA Compliance Strategies in a Large Organization (ATPC) |
Stream: Accessibility Theory, Policy and Compliance (ATPC) Session Level: Introductory Presenter: Logan Trafford, City of Ottawa
Description
The City of Ottawa is a large organization that faces many challenges, some unique, to comply with Section 14 of the IASR. The bilingual policy alone presents WCAG conformance challenges that other organizations may not face. And with over 200 contributors, how does it ensure that updated content remains accessible?
Yet while there are unique challenges, many will sound quite familiar; for example, individual departments run separate websites or applications. How are those being handled? And, of course, what about PDFs?
This presentation will take a close look into some of the strategies the City of Ottawa has implemented, working toward AODA compliance deadlines. From publishing procedures to corporate policy, WCAG working groups to ongoing monitoring, education and training to external vendors, we will look at what has or hasn’t worked, and identify the remaining challenges we need to overcome.
An open discussion will provide an opportunity to share similar experiences.
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Analyze some of the strategies outlined to determine if they relate to your own organization and, if so, are there details that may work or need to be taken further into consideration
Presenter Biography
Logan Trafford is the web accessibility coordinator for the City of Ottawa. Starting with the organization in 2001 as a web designer, he has turned his focus to digital accessibility within the corporation. In his current role, 100% of his time is dedicated to helping coordinate the corporate efforts toward AODA compliance on various fronts, including the provision of front-line staff training in PDF and document accessibility. He has also been instrumental in the development of a corporate-wide policy pertaining specifically to web accessibility and works closely with ITS developers to ensure consistent interpretation and implementation of WCAG standards.
Logan regularly seeks to share experiences and knowledge—both mentoring others and being mentored by experts in the field. He can be found attending accessibility conferences and gatherings, keeping up to date with the latest trends, and, on occasion, participating as a speaker on a variety of web accessibility topics.
Email: logan.trafford@ottawa.ca
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How to Build a Modern and Accessible Infographic for the Web (WA) |
Stream: Web Accessibility (WA) Session Level: Intermediate Presenter: Andre LeFort, VP Technology, AODA Online & tbk
Description
In 2018 and 2019, AODA Online and tbk produced a series of infographics that depicted technology research projects that they conducted internally: The State of Web Accessibility in Ontario (2018 & 2019), The State of Content Management Systems in Ontario (2019) and The State of E-Commerce in Ontario (2019).
These projects are noteworthy from the vantage point of web accessibility because all the infographics were built to comply with WCAG 2.0 Level AA, a feat that is very uncommon in the industry when websites publish infographics.
This presentation will demonstrate the approach we took to deliver accessible infographic assets. By demonstrating our approach, we will identify processes, tools, and considerations we leveraged to complete the successful projects.
It’s our aim that through this discussion you will be empowered with an approach for creating rich, data-dense infographics that are accessible.
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Plan the design and build of an accessible infographic
- Identify the tools and processes to support the design, build and content writing required for an accessible infographic
Presenter Biography
Andre LeFort has over 15 years of professional experience as a software developer. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Software Engineering from Western University.
Prior to joining tbk as the company’s VP Technology, Andre spent seven years at 3M Canada as one of the company’s senior developers and was on the team that built 3M’s global B2B e-commerce platform.
Andre was the development manager of AODA Online, one of Canada’s most popular web accessibility software. Andre consults nationally on web design and web accessibility. He has provided web accessibility consulting for websites such as Tim Hortons, Loblaw, Mitsubishi and Toyota.
Email: andre@aodaonline.com Twitter: @AODAOnline Website: AODA Online
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Exclusionary Inclusion?: The Realities of Academic Accommodation (ATL) |
Stream: Accessible Teaching and Learning (ATL) Presenter: Lindsay Johnstone, Carleton University
Description
This presentation reviews new research conducted at Carleton University in 2019-2020 focusing on both students who identify as having invisible physical chronic conditions as well as providers of accommodation.
Interviews reveal students’ and staff experiences of the following:
- Academic accommodations services
- The required self-identifying as disabled
- Meanings of disabled identity and stigma
- The experience of on-going questioning of the legitimacy of the invisible disability
- Academic accommodations and whether these actually "level the playing field”
- What it’s like from students’ perspectives to live and study at university when living with invisible physical chronic condition(s)
Questions are encouraged.
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Understand the perspectives of students living with invisible physical chronic conditions
- Understand the perspectives of staff at the accommodation centre
- Gain critical insight into the dominance of the biomedical model and learn if academic accommodation “levels the playing field”
- Gain insight into the broad identity and stigma challenges for these students, and challenges facing accommodation staff
Presenter Biography
Lindsay Johnstone is currently a B.Ed. student at St. Francis Xavier University (St.FX). She has her MA from Carleton University, and her BA (hons) from St.FX. While pursuing her research, Lindsay discovered her passion to learn from students who identify as having an invisible physical chronic condition(s).
She is an advocate for students who have invisible physical chronic conditions and a critic of the biomedical model institutionalized at universities. Her specific interests include: identity and issues of “passing”, institutional categorization, ableism, accessibility, and stigma. Her thesis research has focused on why students choose or choose not to receive academic accommodation.
Email: lindsayfiddlerjohnstone@gmail.com
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2-2:45 p.m. |
Disabling Effects of Inclusive Policy-Making (ATPC) |
Stream: Accessibility Theory, Policy and Compliance (ATPC) Session Level: Intermediate Presenter: Chloée C. Godin-Jacques, MA Candidate, Queen's University
Description
This session examines how intersectionality in the lived experiences of disabled persons is typically not considered during decision-making and policymaking processes, notably in the CRPD and its OP-CRPD.
You will define the concept of "intersectionality" and describe its presence in the daily lives of disabled persons. We will discuss contemporary debates pertaining to inclusivity. We will then illustrate the marginalization and oppression of disabled persons within the application of influential policies, and how they are being perceived by policymakers and other stakeholders.
The ultimate goal of this session is to recognize how disability policies are influenced by history, marginalization, and scholarship.
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Contextualize intersectionality within disability policies
- Differentiate disability policies from inclusive policies
- Understand the debates surrounding disabled persons and intersectionality, and identify scholars who are at the forefront of these debates
- Recognize potential shifts in society as a result of intersectional approaches embedded within disability policies and reiterate the importance of intersectionality in terms of future decision-making and policymaking
Presenter Biography
Chloee C. Godin-Jacques is a first year MA student in cultural studies. She holds BA Honours Specialization in Social Justice and Peace Studies, as well as a major in disability studies, from King’s University College.
Her current research investigates the consideration of intersectionality (or lack thereof) in contemporary disability policies, such as in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Chloee is a disability rights advocate and social entrepreneur. She is also the sole proprietor of Chloee Catherine Consulting, an accessibility and disability consulting firm.
Email: c.godinjacques@queensu.ca Twitter: @ChloeeCatherine Website: Think Beyond Accessibility
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Integrating an Accessibility Framework to Improve the WCAG Compliance Process (WA) |
Stream: Web Accessibility (WA) Session Level: Introductory Presenter: Juan Olarte, My MDS Digital
Description
This session explains the processes and artifacts required to integrate an Accessibility Framework (AF) within a project’s development life cycle. I will explain how accessibility can be introduced into activities such as project requirement gathering, user experience, UI design, usability, development and testing, while taking into consideration the business goals and objectives of the group managing the project, particularly when the business needs and technologies keep changing as a result of iterative improvements.
By the end of the session, you will have a clear understanding of the main activities that constitute the Accessibility Framework (AF).
- Pre Project-Preparation, including preparation of accessibility toolkit (i.e., browsers, assistive technologies, accessibility plugins, etc.)
- Establishment of accessibility policies to comply with (company/organization accessibility policies, Ontarians with Disabilities Act - AODA)
- Identification of Stakeholders
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate how an accessibility framework can help different types of organizations integrate accessibility into information technology projects
- Provide a framework outline that can be used by product owners, designers, developers and testers with their accessibility needs
Presenter Biography
Juan Olarte is an IT and accessibility specialist with over 18 years of working experience. He has worked with different organizations such as the government of Ontario, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC, NTT DATA, George Brown College and Ryerson University to help them integrate accessibility into project's development life cycle and meet accessibility standards mandated by the AODA. Juan taught the Inclusive Design Certificate at Humber College, and Creating Accessible Websites at Sheridan College.
Being visually impaired himself, Juan has experienced firsthand the challenges faced for people with disabilities, especially when it comes to the web, which is why he is passionate about improving web accessibility and sharing his knowledge to make the web more accessible to all.
Email: juan.olarte@mymdsdigital.com Twitter: @A11yJuan Website: My MDS Digital
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How Universal Design for Learning (UDL) enhances Educational Accessibility for Diverse Students (ATL) |
Stream: Accessible Teaching and Learning (ATL) Session Level: Introductory Presenter: Lisa Kovac, Occupational Safety Group (OSG)
Description
In light of new AODA legislation in the upcoming Education Standard, educators will soon be required to implement new ways of making school accessible for learners with diverse abilities.
This presentation will outline the concept of universal design for learning (UDL) and offer practical steps educators can follow to plan and teach lessons that students of all abilities can access. In particular, I will touch on how information technology can lend itself to the creation of a policy of universal design, and how this policy, in turn, can reduce siloed thinking and enhance disability awareness.
Learning Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
- Identify how principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) make learning more accessible to diverse students
- Implement diverse ways to represent lesson content, encourage learners’ expression of what they know, and maintain learners’ engagement
- Recognize how technology and alternative teaching strategies can reduce siloed thinking and enhance disability awareness
Presenter Biography
Lisa Kovac holds two BAs from Brescia University College, as well as a Diploma in Writing and a Master’s in English from Western University. She currently works as a curriculum developer at Occupational Safety Group, inc., (OSG), where she advises on accessibility and writes for the aoda.ca blog.
In her dwindling spare time, Lisa enjoys reading, writing, choral singing, and downhill skiing.
Email: lisa@osg.ca
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