Over the last little while, several of the items I’ve sent out related to Canvas have focused on accessibility.  For example, two of the webinars that are coming up in August focus on accessibility.  There was the self-paced course created by Debbie Millican at TUN on Designing Online Courses for Accessibility that is available for faculty to complete (and you can see the thoughts of one of the TCU faculty that complete the course here).  Today I’d like to share with you two additional resources hat have come across my electronic desk related to accessibility that may be of use to you.

The first is about a report from Blackboard that is largely descriptive of the issue, with some useful tips and examples throughout.  Note that you don’t have to follow the link to download the report it mentions, as I have attached it to this message.  The second is a short online article that provides a good overview of the legal requirements around accessibility in the United States.

As always, if you have any questions about any of these issues, please let Jim or myself know.

Michael K. Barbour, Ph.D.
Fellow

From: “Sally Ewalt, Blackboard” <Sally.Ewalt@Blackboard.com>
Date: Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 11:32 AM
Subject: [Report] Accessible, inclusive education: a moral and legal imperative

Read this essential report on how accessibility can benefit all students View Online 11% of Higher Ed students have some type of disability DOWNLOAD REPORT Build an accessibility policy to reach 100% of students The accessibility of learning environments is high on everyone’s priority list these days. Regulatory requirements and the threat of lawsuits make accessibility an imperative. Directives from the Department of Justice and Department of Education say that students with disabilities must receive an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from the goods and services offered at their colleges and universities. Given the rising rates of students entering higher education with a known disability, are you making the relevant adjustments to provide all students with the opportunity to achieve their full potential? DOWNLOAD REPORT To learn more about inclusive education that can benefit all students – including those with differing abilities or learning preferences – read The Accessibility Imperative for Education. Accessible content is better content Blackboard Ally is a revolutionary product that integrates seamlessly into your Learning Management System and focuses on making digital course content more accessible. And now introducing Ally for websites! LEARN MORE What do you think of this email?   Stay in touch with Blackboard:   1111 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 This message was sent to michael.barbour@tu.edu by Blackboard. About Blackboard  |  Contact Us We respect your privacy. Access our privacy policy. © 1997 – 2019 Blackboard Inc. All Rights Reserved.

From: 3Play Media <marketing@3playmedia.com>
Date: Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 8:00 AM
Subject: Are you legally required to make your content accessible?

Should online learning content be accessible? In short, yes.  There are two major disability rights laws in the United States – the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act.  These laws serve to protect the rights of learners with disabilities. If you’d like to learn more about how these laws apply to you, check out our post on accessibility laws for online learning content.     DID YOU KNOW? 3Play Media also provides closed captioning, transcription, and audio description services. 3Play Media 34 Farnsworth Street 4th Floor Boston MA 02210