Accessibility in OER Fall 2022

Rose 1: POUR is clearer to me now. I heard it before, but I wasn't sure what the difference between percievability and readability was. 

Rose 2: I feel confident using the accessibility checker on a Word doc.

Rose 3: I can make changes to tables and charts to improve accessibility, 

Bud 1: I look forward to creating accessible content for screen readers in the OER Commons. 

Bud 2: I am excited to revise my many, many presentations to improve accessibilty. 

Thorn/Question 1: I wonder how the built-in acessibility checker is used in Canvas 

Roses - Remember S.T.R.I.D.E. for accessibility best practices, apply UDL at the beginning, use the accessibility checker in OER Commons 

Buds - Incorporate accessibility during development not just after when using an accessibility checker, encourage districts/schools to check their LMS for accessibility

Thorns - How to get in touch with Google so they'll add an accessbility checker

3 Roses: Using styles to edit a WORD document, using the accessibility tool in WORD, knowing where the navigation tool is located in WORD

2 Buds: Each week I'm learning more tools to improve accessibility, more practice needed to practice accessbility in PPT, TEAMS, EXCEL

1 Question: What other tools can be used if the web browser read aloud function does not work with a classroom ebook?

ROSES: navigation pane in word, accessibility checker in word, using the checker to understand the "why" not just the "what".

BUDS: need more practice with tables, other formats (e.g., ppt.). It turns out I also need to be using a newer version of word so that the accessibilty checker is functional.

THORN: what are strategies for when individuals or groups need to do some retro fitting to bring existing documents to a better place in terms of accessibility?

Roses: Using Command F5 on a Mac for Voiceover; making changes to tables/charts for accessibility; using accessibiity checker. 

Buds: creating documents in Google that improve accessibility; exploring Canvas for accessibility

Thorns: Google not as accessbility friendly as Word!

Roses:

1. Checking your work, when modifying Styles, by viewing the navigation pane in Word.

2. Don't draw a table, insert it!

3. Include a Header Row that is appropriately coded.

Buds:

1. Explaining concepts with confidence so that tips are well understood and actionable!

2. Simply using Microsoft products; I'm really fast in Google but slow in Microsoft programs, where it feels like there are many pathways to accomplish the same task. I know that this flexibility also lends itself to accessibility, so I am working to embrace it.

Thorn:

1. I would really like to have a more in-depth discussion on what to do with materials that weren't designed accessible from the start - where the blueberries were added after, fell off, and yet they are still sold as "blueberry muffins". To Darin's question - and the discussion I added to our group in the Commons - what can we do with available tools to increase accessibility when we can't adopt a new source? 

Amy,

Thanks for sharing these. I found myself nodding my head as I was reading your list. Thanks for encouraging our team to take part in this academy. 

Rose 1: RUN THE CHECKER!

Rose 2: Use tables as they are intended.

Rose 3: Use Alt text for all images, even decorative ones (can't hurt, right?).

Bud 1: Use Headings in the right order. Don't change the hierarchy.

Bud 2: Experiment with ePub (just learned I can download a Google Doc as an ePub).

Thorn: What are examples of free or low-cost closed captioning software programs?

Hey Sue, what do you mean by "low cost" (this can vary by institution and programmatic support).  Our Special Collections uses Otter.ai ($) for closed captioning and it's pretty accurate. 

Kristin, thanks for the suggestion. Apparently, we may have access to Otter.ai as an organization. And I'll be honest with you. I don't know what our budget is for tech tools, so I am just looking for reasonably-priced solutions.

3 Roses: Never imagined I'd be using MS Word over google doc for content creation, tables can be more accessible (previously thought they were a uniformly bad layout for accessible content), Maya Angelou is, as always, so insightful.

2 Buds: Be more specific with faculty in creating accessible content, rather than accepting content and remediate after submission, collaborate with students staff to completely revise library's LibGuides and LibAnswers to be more accessible. 

1 Thorn: Ditto to Dany's thorn (we're migrating to Canvas in the Spring)

TEAM Maine MOOSE Responses

Roses:

• Accessibility checker in Windows for OER and ANY material we create
• Using the blueberry muffin analogy with our teams - super clear for so many people
• Navigation pane in Word for document development and orientation

Buds:

• Making POUR and SLIDE innate parts of our practice and how we look at things
• Creating tables that have a single heading row rather than merged cells - wrapping our heads around how to make complex information display in a simple manner

Thorn: Figuring out how to make Drupal based web content as accessible as possible. Not a question for all of you, just a mechanical issue for ourselves in our team.

3 Roses - Begininng with the end in mind (incorporating accesibility into the design all along), accesibility checker in word, using styles for nagivation in a document. 

2 Buds - UDL strategies, compiling a library of resources for our users/directing them to useful resources. 

1 Thorn - Screen reader tools that function well for adult users who may have experience with them (reading all the extraneous bits like headers and footers and be able to maintain focus) but may not be a good fit for children who are easily distracted and if they are struggling readers to begin with may lose their place or get distracted. 

ROSES - I tend to snap together documents quickly, and they're pretty but oh so not accessible - i plan on making sure my images are appropriately inserted so that they are accessible.  The Word ccesibility checker is not a friendly tool as well, and I am confident that I can look at the hierarchy of headings efficiently.

BUDS - I'm excited to begin working on our learning platform with the new strategies we've learned, and I can't wait to dive into my personal created materials and make them more accesible.

THORN: How do we - three people in a district of over 450 employees - take what we now know to be important and neccesary and convey that importance to our district?

Rose 1: A new acronym to remember as I create content! SLIDE

Rose 2: Loved the creating accessible documents site from Washington U to provide for others to practice!

Rose 3: Just run the checker!  What an easy step!

Bud 1: Will be refining my use of Headings!  

Bud 2: I think I need to explore Screen Readers more and practice using them to get a "user experience"

Thorn: What makes a decorative photo?  Shouldn't we just alt text them all?! Would love to get some tips and tricks for other formats.

I got a tutorial from a teammate on how to add headings in multiple ways and that was really helpful. I'm still figuring out POUR, but this helped me become a little more clear. I want to look into it more and teach it to someone else. 

Rose 1: The concept of POUR was very interesting to learn about, mainly regarding online resources. 

Rose 2: It was good to know how to use accessibility checking in different tools such as Word, Google docs and PowerPoint. 

Rose 3: Charts, tables and slide pages can be changed to improve accessibility, 

Bud 1: I would like to learn how to create accessible content that screen readers can read with ease. 

Bud 2: I would like to learn better to teach how to create this content to other work mates. 

Thorn/Question 1: I would like to have more debates and experience exchange related to previous accessibility activities made by educators in this course. 

Roses: I can now use the accessibility tracker in Microsoft Office, I will now be using headings and other easy features to make assignments more accessible, and I have online resources at my disposal.

Bud: I am continuing to look and learn how to utilize the online tools and I am still learning how to make assignments more accessible for all. 

Thorn: Google needs to step up and get an accessiblilty tracker. What can be used to check Google Docs?

Rose 1 - value of styles in ALL documents, not just OERs

Rose 2- was it this session?  THe Blueberry muffin analogy!! superb

Rose 3 - creation/label of hyperlinks in text

Bud 1 - Alt text 

Bud 2 - actively using POUR and SLIDE
Thorn - understanding how to use the checking tools. I understand Word's but with the web-based resources I need more practice to understand them better.