Mission: Accessible – Demystifying Accessible Course Design

Date & Time

Friday, March 22, 2024 - 1:20 PM PDT  

Location

Orange County 3-4  

Description

Although Northwestern has improved digital accessibility efforts, (ex. developing a policy and purchasing process) course site accessibility was still a concern. To address this, we initiated the Canvas Accessibility Project (CAP), a joint effort between NU IT, AccessibleNU, and the Office of Equity to educate instructors on creating accessible course sites. Faculty typically agree that digital accessibility is necessary, but they don’t know how and/or don’t think they have time. The CAP addressed both issues. We created learning opportunities addressing seven simple, highly impactful core accessibility competencies. To encourage action and address time concerns, we developed the Mission: Accessible challenge, a guided effort to implement the core accessibility components in courses over several weeks, making an impact five minutes at a time. Completing the challenge resulted in the course being posted on the M:A Wall of Fame and triggered an email to the finisher’s Dean and Chair recognizing their work. Adding this community and accountability piece resulted in nearly 70 course sites completing the challenge in Spring 2023, with many more expected in 2023-24. This session will share the design Mission: Accessible, the resources created, the results, roadblocks encountered, and key aspects of the project’s design (automated reminders, progress trackers, personalized touch points, the Wall of Fame, effort recognition, etc.) the contributed to its success as a model for others.

This Presentation Link is provided by the Presenter(s) and not hosted by the Center on Disabilities at CSUN. The Center on Disabilities has confirmed, as of March 11, 2024, content linked is relevant to the presentation, but has not been reviewed for accessibility nor will the Center on Disabilities attempt to remediate any accessibility issues in the linked content. Please contact the Presenter(s) with any accessibility concerns.

 

Audience

• Higher Education
• Information & Communications Technology
• K-12 Education

Audience Level

Intermediate  

Session Summary (Abstract)

Northwestern’s Mission: Accessible Challenge uses automated reminders, progress checkers, personalized support options, and public recognition to help instructors (70+ & counting) implement seven core accessibility components into their course sites.  

Primary Topic

Digital Accessibility  

Secondary Topics

• Design
• Education

 

Session Type

General Track  

Presenter

• Jim Stachowiak
  Northwestern University

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