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Accessibility and ePortfolios

Peter McLellan, PhD (Oxford College of Emory University)

Kevin Kelly, EdD (San Francisco State University)

AAEEBL Digital Ethics Task Force online workshop

25 October 2022, 6 pm Ireland / 1 pm Eastern / 10 am Pacific

26 October 2022, 6 am New Zealand

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Session Overview

Introduction to AAEEBL Digital Ethics Taskforce
ePortfolio Ireland overview
The “Accessibility” principle
Accessibility in practice
Discussion
Strategies for supporting students

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Access materials for today

tiny.cc/A11Y-October2022

Recording: youtu.be/EhQbyK0y6Bg

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Group agreements for a safe session

Everybody is here to learn and challenge their preconceived notions and biases.
Listen without judgement.
Be open to receive feedback.
Discuss an argument, not a person.
Keep details that people share in breakout rooms confidential.

If you prefer, you can change your Zoom handle to remain anonymous.

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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ePortfolio Ireland

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Eportfolio Ireland: Join Us

https://eportfolioireland.wordpress.com/

@eportfolioIrl

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Eportfolio Ireland

7

Dr Orna Farrell�

Karen Buckley�

�

Dr Tom Farrelly�

Dr Laura Costelloe�

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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https://journal.ilta.ie/index.php/telji

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What is the AAEEBL Digital Ethics Task Force?

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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The 2022-2023 Task Force

Megan Mize, PhD

Director for ePortfolios

& Digital Initiatives

Old Dominion University, U.S.A.

Sarah Zurhellen, PhD

Assistant Director of WAC �Appalachian State University, U.S.A.

Kevin Kelly, EdD

Lecturer Faculty

San Francisco State University, U.S.A.

Kristina Hoeppner, MA

Mahara Project Lead

Catalyst IT, Aotearoa New Zealand

S. Morgan Gresham, PhD� Associate Professor & Area Director�University of South Florida St. Petersburg, U.S.A.

J. Elizabeth Clark, PhD

Professor of English, Interim ePortfolio Director�LaGuardia Community College–CUNY, U.S.A.

Christine Slade, PhD�Associate Professor�University of Queensland, Australia

Peter N. McLellan, PhD

Educational Analyst�Oxford College of Emory University, U.S.A.

Theresa Conefrey, PhD�Senior Lecturer, Director Peer Education Program

Santa Clara University

U.S.A.

Michael S. Botis, MA�College Dean�St. Mary’s College of Meycauayan-Bulacan, Philippines

Amy Cicchino, PhD�Associate Director for CTLE, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, U.S.A.

Sheila Mullooly, EdD

Independent Scholar and Artist� U.S.A.

Colin Stapp, MET�Learning Technology Facilitator�Chemeketa Community College, U.S.A.

Jeffrey Yan�Co-Founder and CEO, Digication, U.S.A.

Co-chairs

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Identifying a need in the ePortfolio community

An underdeveloped area of research and scholarship
Digital Ethics: a topic that is rapidly changing with new technologies, laws, and digital practices
An opportunity for an international organization like AAEEBL to advocate for ethically sound ePortfolio practice

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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History of the Task Force

SEP 2019

Call for members goes out

NOV-DEC 2019

Consider our goals and audiences. Add, question, expand peer reviewed materials. Then refine the document.

OCT 2019

Review example documents, identify areas in ePortfolio practice that take up digital ethics, and research those areas in groups

Jan 2020

Refine document and send draft to AAEEBL Board for feedback

FEB-MAR 2020

Major content revisions and ask how to share with community

MAY-JUL 2020

Technical edit, create introduction, build digital text

SUMMER 2020

Call for members for second year and first meeting

FALL 2020

Identify new principles and consider how they fit with the existing principles

SPRINT 2021

Get feedback, revise structure and add new resources

SUMMER 2021

Technical edit and call for new members

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

For general reference of the first two years. Use the short time line instead though as this one here is not kept up to date.

A timeline that reads: Sept 2019, call for members goes out; Oct 2019, First meeting: reviewed example documents, identified areas in ePortfolio practice that take up digital ethics, and researched those areas in groups; Nov-Dec 2019, Considered our goals and audiences for this project. Peer reviewed materials to add, question, expand. Then refined the monster document; Jan 2020, Refined document and brought draft to AAEEBL board for feedback on usability, content, and purpose; Feb-March 2020, Pre-pandemic. Did major content revisions and asked how do we share this document with community; May-July 2020, Technical edit of document, created introduction, and built digital text. Summer 2020 call for members goes out--second year members meet. Fall 2020 Identified new principles to research and create. Considered how new ideas could be folded into existing principles. Spring 2021 Got feedback on whole principle document, revising structure and adding new resources to new and existing parts. Summer 2021 Technical edit of document and built digital text and call for new members

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History of the Task Force

SEP 2019

Call for members goes out

OCT 2019 - JUL 2020

Focus Year 1: Situate the work, develop 10 initial principles

OCT 2020 - JUL 2021

Focus Year 2: Add 3 additional comprehensive principles

OCT 2021 - JUL 2022

Focus Year 3: Review and revise, create resources, connect with community

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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The Principles

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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tiny.cc/digitalethics

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Each principle has...

Statement

Overview

Scenarios

Practice

Resources

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The “Accessibility” Principle

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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The Accessibility Principle

ePortfolios accessible to as large an audience as possible
Accessible for creators
Accessible for educators
Students educated on accessible design

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Strategies for Accessible ePortfolios

Recognize:

Not all tech platforms are accessible to all people
Technology vendors are not always honest brokers

Involve your stakeholders in technology purchasing
Make extensive space for training your educators
Train your students (more later)
Follow local legal and ethical standards

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

For a variety of reasons, not every tech platform will be accessible to everyone–and we can’t rely on technology companies’ assertions regarding the accessibility of their own platforms.

Instead, be sure to always keep campus partners in your conversations around technology purchasing–like, for example, your offices of inclusion or disabilities, or affected students and staff.

All faculty and staff should be trained in accessibility standards for ePortfolios and content creation.

We’ll discuss this more later, but students should also be trained on accessible ePortfolio design.

A great tactic for beginning to think about accessible ePortfolio design is checking in with your local government and ethical standards for accessibility.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD)
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

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Accessibility in Practice

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Different learning needs & accommodations

Needs	Accommodations
Visual impairments	Screen readers, audio descriptions
Hearing impairments	Captions, transcripts for media, sign language interpreter
Speech impairments	Augmentative and Alternative Communication devices
Mobility impairments	Using keyboard only (no mouse)
Cognitive and learning disabilities	User control of content and presentation, �e.g., being able to hide/show content

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Ways to ensure online assessment is accessible

Let students know they can express concerns re accessibility of assessment methods
Support students in choosing & using different assessment methods
Provide sample assessment submissions

Make sure that assessment text and images follow accessibility guidelines
Check your assessments with the campus unit that supports accessibility

(AHEAD Ireland, 2020)

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7 basic accessibility techniques

Text formatting

Use heading styles
Use bulleted or numbered lists

Descriptive text

Descriptive link text
Alternative text for images

Color

Provide sufficient contrast
Use more than color to convey meaning

Tables

Use header rows and columns

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Accessibility in context

Check the content that learners must review to complete an assignment (text, audio, video, media)
Check the instructions for completing an assignment (text, images and/or video)
Check the environments where students will submit or share their drafts and finished work (ePortfolio, Learning Management System)

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Accessibility & equity strategy: �Multiple submission formats

Step 1: Write a draft (answer question prompts)

Step 2: Choose a format to submit (all graded with same rubric)

Text – e.g., essay, blog post, wiki page, webpage
Presentation – e.g., PowerPoint, VoiceThread, Prezi
Audio or Video – e.g., podcast, screencast, YouTube video, Google Voice message, etc.
Multimedia – e.g., infographic, concept map, Pinterest collage, photo journalism
Other – Be creative, but ask the teacher if you are not sure

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Your Context

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Leveling up Your Accessible Practices

Identify an artifact from your ePortfolio work with your institution that could be made more accessible.

Consider: an assignment, ePortfolio support documentation or media, ePortfolio templates, your own ePortfolio.

Alternatively, take a look at other well-used artifact formats (maybe forms or general education documentation) from your institution.

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Leveling up Your Accessible Practices

Interrogate your chosen artifact against the “Accessibility” principle (found at https://bit.ly/eP-accessibility ) – “Plus-one” it!

Where is this artifact inaccessible–for whom and how?

Which of the strategies presented can you deploy? What would that look like?

What are some logistical and/or institutional barriers to your plus-one?

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Discussion

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Students and ePortfolio Accessibility

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Accessibility strategies before engagement - guide

Establish engagement norms that include accessibility
Ask students (anonymously) to share challenges
Ask students to adopt basic accessibility practices
Provide guidance (e.g., working with sign language interpreters in video conference breakouts)

Image: Flipgrid.com

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Accessibility strategies for engagement - forums

Keep students on topic
Require students to create unique titles for threads
Ask students to use descriptive link text

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How do you engage students �around accessibility?

Portfolio: Jennifer Rose Chow-Delgado

Use the chat to share your strategies for engaging students in making assignments and ePortfolio work accessible.

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Next steps

Contact us: aaeebldigitaltaskforce@gmail.com

We’d like your feedback: bit.ly/digitalethicsfeedback

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics

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Where to go for more info or help?

Ireland

AHEAD - an independent non-profit organisation working to create inclusive environments in education and employment for people with disabilities.

North America

CAST - a multifaceted organization with a singular ambition: Bust the barriers to learning that millions of people experience every day.

#AAEEBL #DigitalEthics