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Accessibility

+

Learning

Experience

Design

Please set up your participant notebook by…

Making a copy in Google Drive:

bit.ly/SS24acCopy

or downloading to your device: bit.ly/SS24acDownload

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Thanks for joining us!

To get started, please share a bit with us about your experience with accessibility and LXD so that we can incorporate it into our time together today.

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Master of Arts in

Learning Experience Design

Master of Arts in Educational Technology

  • Brittany Dillman (she/her): Director of Graduate Certificate Programs
  • Liz Boltz (she/her): Director
  • Candace Robertson (she/her): Assistant Director of Student Experience & Outreach

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Agenda

Establish norms, purpose, and goals

Explore shared definitions and key terms

Explore accessible design

Consider challenges (break out rooms)

Continue learning!

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Our Community Engagement Framework

  • We believe that accessibility matters.
  • We are all co-learners
  • This is part of a bigger journey
  • Move up, move back
  • All of us bring expertise
  • Other norms? Share in chat or Q&A!

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  1. Cultivate mindsets for approaching accessibility in learning spaces.
  2. Identify 3 dimensions of inclusive design to apply in your practice.
  3. Deepen your knowledge of strategies for web accessibility.
  4. Identify starting points for developing your accessibility practices.
  5. Learn from others’ experiences and mistakes.
  6. Improve your accessibility workflow.

Our Shared Goals

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Accessible design leads to

  • “Once you know how intentional it can be, it’s jarring and disorienting to experience it another way.”
  • “I really enjoyed the structure of this course and having consistent schedules/deadlines.”
  • “The course was very easy to follow. D2L was very structured and clear.”
  • .

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Accessibility is creating an environment, activity, tool, or resource that can be easily understood and used by everyone.

Accessibility…

  • Reduces barriers
  • Increases sense of belonging
  • Considers representation
  • Supports all learners

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Ableism is a set of stereotypes and practices that devalue and discriminate against people with disabilities. It assumes that the bodies and minds of non-disabled people are the “default,” placing value on them based on society’s perceptions of what’s considered “normal.”

~Disability and Philanthropy Forum, 2024

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Inclusive design is design that considers the full range of human diversity with respect to ability, language, culture, gender, age and other forms of human difference.

~ Inclusive Design Research Centre

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Approaching Accessibility

People first.

Informed practices.

More than a checklist.

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Framing Access: Theoretical perspectives on disability

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People first | Dimensions of Inclusive Design

3 min

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Informed practices | How might we do this?

  • Conduct user research
  • Involve diverse perspectives
  • Prioritize accessibility
  • Design for flexibility
  • Test and iterate

Your Reflection

2 min

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Informed practices | Inclusive Learning Spaces

Physiological

How does your space…

  • accommodate a variety of physical attributes and abilities?
  • make it easy to use for those with a variety of backgrounds, language, and technical skills?
  • meet the social needs of learners?

Cognitive

How does your space…

  • respond to a range of cognitive diversity?
  • support how learners receive and comprehend information?
  • promote engagement with the information?

Cultural

How does your space…

  • honor and reflect a variety of social identities?
  • include environmental cues to increase social belonging (verbal, visual, interaction design)?
  • plan for the intersectionalities of learners?

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Informed practices | Web Accessibility

  • Build your understanding.
  • Review fundamentals.
  • Review your technologies.
  • Explore principles and standards.
  • Start it and get better at it.

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More than a checklist | Treasure Hunt

  1. Go to Accessibility Fundamentals Overview from W3C
  2. Locate a resource that is interesting to you.
  3. Locate the principles on the left menu (or in the text).
  4. Locate the standards on the top menu.
  5. Open the Design and Develop Overview on the top menu.

5 min

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  • Headings
  • Color contrast
  • Text emphasis
  • Descriptive hyperlink text
  • Alt text on images and graphics
  • Reading order of slides
  • Video transcripts and captioning
  • Table design
  • PDF replacement or remediation

More than a checklist | Starting

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More than a checklist | Workflow

What is your current flow?

What are your challenges?

1 min

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More than a checklist | Workflow

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  1. Briefly introduce yourselves
  2. Share challenges you have with the workflow and management of accessibility work
  3. Share any strategies you have that might help!
  4. Document your takeaways in your notebook

Workflow Challenges and Strategies

7

min

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More than a checklist | Layering with LXD

Learning Spaces

Learning Outcomes

Learning Activities

Learning Assessments

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Learning Spaces

Instead of…

“his/her”

Use…

“their”

Instead of…

“There are 7.8 billion

perspectives walking around”

Use…

“There are 7.8 billion perspectives”

Instead of…

inconsistent onboarding

Use…

consistent onboarding and design

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Learning Outcomes

Instead of…

not sharing objectives / goals

Use…

share objectives and goals in clear, student-friendly ways

Instead of…

“Here’s a quick read”

Use…

“Please explore”

Instead of…

“your school”

Use…

“your professional context”

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Learning Activities

Instead of…

Do this assignment.

Use…

Here’s the assignment. Let us know if you need customization.

Instead of…

Use this technology.

Use…

Here are several technologies. Please choose one.

Instead of…

unstructured group work

Use…

roles or purpose of peers

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Instead of…

No policies or rationale.

Use…

Share explicit policies.

Instead of…

unstructured evaluation

Use…

rubrics created and shared before project / assessment

unshared or unnamed beliefs

Instead of…

Use…

name and share philosophies and beliefs

Learning Assessments

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People first | Help Others Start

  • Show them the difference it makes
  • Ground it in equity and social justice, legal and policy ramifications, student success
  • With an understanding that accessibility improves learning for all
  • Something concrete that they use in practice
  • Provide and use templates
  • Co-work

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Challenges: Considerations for Design

  • Name a challenge or ask a question about accessible design
  • Brainstorm considerations for design

(How someone might address the challenge?)

  • Document your takeaways in your notebook

8 min

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What is one of your favorite resources to support your understanding of accessibility and accessible practices?

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Our Goals, Revisited

  • Cultivate mindsets for approaching accessibility in learning spaces.
  • Identify 3 dimensions of inclusive design to apply in your practice.
  • Deepen your knowledge of strategies for web accessibility.
  • Identify starting points for developing your accessibility practices.
  • Learn from others’ experiences and mistakes.
  • Improve your accessibility workflow.

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Resources

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Master of Arts in

Learning Experience Design

Master of Arts in Educational Technology