Each year the Accessibility Conference offers workshops to provide more in-depth information and hands-on experiences.

The following workshops take place on Friday, May 31 and will be delivered virtually via Zoom Events conference platform.

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Workshops | Friday, May 31 – 9 AM

Access as Praxis: Approaching Accessibility as a Design Consideration (half day)

This workshop introduces you to key concepts, frameworks, and theories related to accessibility broadly and in education. You will work towards developing accessibility literacy, including a language of accessibility and an accessibility toolkit that you can draw from in your own teaching context(s). The goal of the workshop is not to provide a checklist, but to offer you a place to begin.

Time: 9 a.m. to noon
Stream: Accessible Teaching and Learning (ATL); Inclusive Design (ID)
Speakers: Dani Dilkes and Erika Katzman

Speaker Biographies

Dani Dilkes has been involved in educational development and curriculum design in higher education for over a decade. She is currently a member of the eLearning & Curriculum team at Western University’s Centre for Teaching and Learning, where she is leading the design and delivery of a universal design certificate for faculty, instructors, librarians and academic staff. She is also a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto, where her research focuses on shaping change in the institution through the use of co-design and community dialogue.

  • @DanielleDilkes (X)
  • @danid.bsky.social (BlueSky

Erika Katzman is an assistant professor of disability studies at King’s University College (Western University). A neurodivergent occupational therapist and former personal care attendant, Erika learned about disability through experience before formal education. Her research focuses on the everyday "work" disabled people perform to survive life in inaccessible spaces and in pursuit of rights and justice. Erika strives to create safe and equitable spaces in teaching, research and beyond by centring disabled knowledge. 

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Crafting Alt Text for Complex Graphics: A Starting Point (half day)

This half-day interactive workshop provides a framework for thinking about how we write alt text for complex graphics and diagrams in digital content. The framework is based on a project by the Dayton Art Institute and Wright State University. The focus of the workshop is developing strategies for describing art, sculptures, maps, diagrams and other types of complex graphics.

Time: 9 a.m. to noon
Stream: Accessible Teaching and Learning (ATL); Accessible Policy and Legislation (APL); Document and Media Accessibility (DMA); Inclusive Design (ID)
Speaker: Karen McCall

Speaker Biography 

Karen McCall (M.Ed.) (Karlen Communications) provides strategic planning, consulting and education on accessible content design/creation and inclusive education. She has over 22 years of experience in accessible digital content/inclusion. Karen is a Canadian delegate to the ISO PDF committees (PDF/PDF/UA – Universal Access) and is an active member in the Technical Standard Committee for Plain Language for the Accessible Canada Act. She is the author of several publications on accessible digital content dating back to 2005 and has contributed chapters to books on digital inclusion. She is a member of the Accessibility Consulting.ca collective of accessibility professionals. 

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Create Accessible Documents in Office 365: Word, PowerPoint, & Excel (full day)

In this full-day, hands-on workshop participants receive an overview of principles for creating accessible electronic documents. You will be given demonstrations for creating Office 365 documents with the visual formatting and structure needed to support all users. Practice all demonstrated processes and receive a complimentary enrollment for a video-based online course that expands on these principles and processes.

This Workshop includes complimentary access to WebAIM independent-study, video-based online training covering principles and techniques for optimizing accessibility in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents. You can earn a certificate of completion by passing multiple-choice quizzes and exams.

Participants who pass all assessments also qualify for 1 CEU from Utah State University (a records fee app). Access is valid until December 31, 2024.

Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Stream: Document and Media Accessibility (DMA)
Speaker: George Joeckel

Speaker Biography

George manages the online training program at WebAIM. He has a master’s degree in instructional psychology and technology, and over 25 years of teaching experience. He has developed online courses at Utah State University since 2008, and he joined the WebAIM team at the end of 2015. The Accessible Documents video-based course launched in July 2018, and over 9,000 participants have enrolled in this independent-study training. Since 2017, George has taught dozens of f2f and virtual workshops on document accessibility. 

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Workshops | Friday, May 31 – 1 PM

Optimizing Accessibility and Independence using Built-in Accessibility Tools (half day)

Join me and learn how to help your students achieve the ultimate level of independence—being able to use any device available to them (e.g., a public library computer, an school iPad, a Mac on campus) by independently enabling and adjusting accessibility tools and features.

Time: 1 to 4 p.m.
Stream: Assistive Technology (AT)
Speaker: Erin Ing

Speaker Biography 

Erin has been working in the assistive technology field for 25 years—includiing adapted and alternative access to technology, augmentative and alternative communication, vision technology, and educational technology. She has given presentations at ATIA, ASET, CSUN and CNIB Connecting the Dots. 

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Social Media Accessibility 101 (half day)

Social media has become a gateway to critical conversations and opportunities—but not everyone gets to take part.

This interactive workshop offers practical ways to approach graphic design, visual descriptions, and copy writing to make your social media content more inclusive. Learn how to ensure your content is accessible to as many people as possible on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) with opportunities for practice.

Time: 1 to 4 p.m.
Stream: Document and Media Accessibility (DMA)
Speaker: Caroline Kovesi

Speaker Biography 

Caroline Kovesi is an independent accessibility consultant and educator, as well as the former Awareness and Education Coordinator for the Nova Scotia Accessibility Directorate. She has previously led workshops on accessible social media content for the Nova Scotia Library Association, the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association and the University of King’s College, Social Media Day Halifax, and prescribed public sector bodies across Nova Scotia. Caroline has created social media content for a wide range of audiences from the government, to publishers, to small businesses and artisans, to grassroots mutual aid.

Caroline holds an MA in critical disability studies from York University and a BA in sociology from Mount Allison University. She is passionate about digital accessibility and communications and making both feel achievable by all. 

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