Accessibility Updates

New blackboard accessibility tool available soon

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A new component of Blackboard was announced in Faculty Senate last month called Blackboard Ally. Blackboard Ally automatically scans content loaded to Blackboard and provides an assessment of the content’s accessibility and assistance in increasing the accessibility of course content. Ally uses visual indicators, which provide a measure of the accessibility of your course, which will be very apparent once all courses are activated with the Ally feature. This new product will help to increase awareness of the level of accessibility of our digital course materials and provide tools to help us achieve our commitment to accessibility and promote a more inclusive campus.

Support will be offered for Ally in January 2019.

  • The Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL) has developed a knowledge base related to Ally and has created a web page to answer your questions.
  • A list of faculty will serve as Ally Ambassadors to assist you with the implementation of the Ally product.
  • As Ally is activated for all courses, the University will offer additional trainings related to Ally and university accessibility standards.

Please know that as the University continues to implement Ally there is not an expectation that faculty will immediately be able to address all of the issues identified by the Ally product; however, your willingness is appreciated to engage with Ally with the goal of increasing the University’s overall accessibility over time.

The post New blackboard accessibility tool available soon appeared first on Provost Communiqué.

This post originally published on Provost Communiqué.

Recap: Fall 2018 Web Accessibility Clinic

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Brian Heaton and Kristeena Laroue recently conducted a Web Accessibility Clinic. It was a comprehensive training session for identifying and correcting common accessibility issues with websites, including a screen reader demonstration.

Access the presentation

Key takeaways

Headings

  • Headings are an outline of your content.
  • Do not select heading level based on resulting visual presentation style.
  • Page title is heading level 1 (h1); first heading in your content will be h2; subtopic will be h3; etc.
  • Do not use bold paragraph for heading.
  • Avoid centering headings.
  • Headings should make sense out of context.
  • Headings divide your content into consumable sections.

Alternative text for non-text content

  • Provide alternate (alt) text for non-text content.
    • Images, including poster/flyer images (infographics).
    • Alt text should convey in text whatever meaning is conveyed by the image/flyer.
      • If the image has a lot of information, charts, diagrams, etc., the alt text should contain 1) a short description conveying the essential information presented by the image, and 2) a long description following the image or on another page.
        Bar chart displaying cost comparisons as detailed in the following paragraphs.

Link text (descriptions)

  • Very critical to the page containing the link and the destination page.
  • Links should make sense out of context.
  • Do not use meaningless or incomplete text like click here, learn more, download, etc.
  • Do not use URLs for link text.
  • Optimal link text is typically 2-6 words.
  • Each unique destination should have unique link text.

Content structure

  • Use paragraphs, unordered and ordered lists appropriately.
  • Write for your target audience.
  • Do not use a heading or bolded paragraph for announcement or notice. Use “Intro” or “Notice” markup instead.
  • Do not add blank paragraphs to generate separating space.
  • Do not create manual lists (e.g., starting lines with a hyphen).
  • Do not bold or italicize entire paragraphs, even one-line paragraphs. Treat just the important words.
  • Do not use all capital letters.
  • Avoid centering content.
  • The template is spacious by design; do not try to circumvent vertical spacing.

Tables

  • Used for presenting organized data.
  • Never use for layout (e.g., two columns).
  • Should always have headers (th). No need to bold or specify header as a heading style.
  • Do not combine multiple tables into one with embedded description row preceding each table.
  • Precede with descriptive heading, paragraph or include a table caption.

Screen readers

The screen reader demonstration showed typical page navigation and how page headings and links are frequently processed in a list. This emphasized how lists are consumed without benefit of the surrounding context, highlighting the importance of clear and complete heading and link text.

Hear your site on a screen reader

The testing center, located in Meyer Library Lower Level, room 010, has screen reader software installed and will have limited availability, with advance reservation. Please contact the testing center to make an appointment.

More assistance

Future sessions

The Web Accessibility Clinic is offered annually on the Global Accessibility Awareness Day (third Thursday in May), during the Disability Equity Week (October) and in early February.

Early in each semester a weekly open lab session will be focused on web accessibility where you can get one-on-one assistance with identifying and fixing accessibility issues on your website.

  • Friday, February 1, 2019, 2 – 4 p.m. Cheek Hall 100
  • Friday, June 7, 2019, 2 – 4 p.m. Meyer Alumni Center 601
  • Friday, August 30, 2019, 2 – 4 p.m., Cheek Hall 100

Serving Students With Autism

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On Sept. 14, the office of the provost and student affairs co-sponsored a professional development opportunity promoting accessibility in our campus community. Two consultants from the College Autism Network, Dr. Lee Burdette Williams and Dr. Bradley Cox, facilitated a joint session entitled: Serving Students With Autism — Strategies for Inclusion, Engagement and Success.

Three takeaways from the presentation

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a hard-wired, brain-based difference, not a disease or disorder to be “cured,” but differences to be understood and supported.
  • The common characteristics of ASD are not moral failings.
  • Students with ASD want to learn and succeed, and have overcome tremendous odds to be in college in the first place.

For additional information on the presentation and neurodiversity, review the attached PowerPoint presentation.

Council update for summer 2018

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The President’s Council on Disability stayed busy with projects over the summer and will continue this fall.

Accessibility Policy

On June 22, 2018, the Board of Governors approved a governing Accessibility Policy. The policy is intended to serve as an overarching policy statement, upon which operational policies are based. The university will continue to develop policies and procedures designed to eliminate barriers to access and to provide equal and inclusive access for all members of the university community.

Web Accessibility Subcommittee

The Web Accessibility Subcommittee met several times over the summer to discuss plans for improving university websites. The committee proposed priority recommendations for FY19:

  • Increased accessibility training for web editors of university departmental websites
  • Accessibility scanning and quality assurance for public websites, beginning with critical webpages

These recommendations were approved and implementation planning is ongoing this fall.

Blackboard Ally Subcommittee

The Blackboard Ally Subcommittee began review of an exciting new software product offered by Blackboard in the fall of 2017. This Blackboard software supplement, called Blackboard Ally, aims to increase accessibility of course content and is a resource to faculty members who use Blackboard. Specifically, Ally generates alternative formats, provides instructor feedback on how to improve accessibility of course content, and provides the university with the ability to run institutional reports on accessibility in course materials. Vetting the software was a big undertaking and included input from a wide range of constituents including faculty, accessibility trainers and experts, and information technology administers. The Council’s recommendation to procure Blackboard Ally is supported by Academic Affairs, the President, and Administrative Counsel. Implementing Ally will also be a big job and is currently in the early planning stages. Stay tuned for additional news related to planning for Blackboard Ally!

Accessibility improvements

As students returned to campus for classes this fall, several improvements to accessibility could be seen from communication about resources, to parking, to accessibility in buildings.  The improvements include:

  • Inclusion of information about areas of refuge and shelter information in all course syllabi.
  • Parking lot maintenance which included the addition of 37 accessible parking spaces in the following parking lots: 4, 18, 19, 27, 39, 40, 42, and accessible spaces within the newly constructed lot 45.
  • The Hill Hall renovation improved accessibility throughout the entire facility including the entrances.
  • Automatic bathroom door openers were installed at Plaster Student Union for the second-floor men’s and women’s restrooms.
  • The NPHC (National Pan-Hellenic Council) Plots project, which is currently underway, will include an accessible ramp.
  • While all projects are designed to meet accessibility standards, below is a list of significant renovations that were completed this summer beyond those stated above:
    • Magers Health and Wellness Center
    • Mechanical Engineering Renovation at Plaster Center
    • Locker Room Addition at Greenwood Laboratory School
    • Renovation of Woods House
    • Hass-Darr Hall on the West Plains Campus (currently underway)

Shattering the silences: Words matter: The evolving language of disability

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A Disability Equity Week Event
Shattering the Silences:
Words Matter: The Evolving Language of Disability

Tuesday, October 30
5:00pm-7:00pm
PSU Ballroom East

When is person first language appropriate?
Professor of English and Coordinator of the Disabilities Studies Program, Dr. Shannon Wooden, will elaborate on how even widely acceptable language reflects pervasive, and not always positive, attitudes toward people with disabilities. Noting that stigma that can be reinforced by certain language choices, Dr. Wooden will also discuss how fear of using the wrong words may silence what should be insightful and productive conversations about disability.

Sponsored by Missouri State University Division for Diversity and Inclusion and Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning

Register through MyLearning Connection
For additional information, contact the FCTL at 836-3059 or fctl@missouristate.edu.
To request disability accommodations, please contact the Office for Institutional Equity and Compliance at (417) 836-4252, toll-free at (877)967-8636 or equity@missouristate.edu.

This post was originally published to the diversity blog.