Accessibility Boosts
The Centre for Teaching and Learning is committed to supporting the design of inclusive learning environments. One of the first steps to inclusion is removing or reducing barriers to participation by ensuring that environments and materials are accessible. We hope to help provide instructors with the knowledge and skills to create more accessible learning environments by offering a series of workshops and resources each focused on a specific accessibility practice that can be implemented in your course and materials design and teaching.
Each workshop session in the series is 30 minutes and will follow roughly the same schedule:
- 10 minutes: Presentation on the topic with demonstrations as applicable
- 10 minutes: Practise or apply the concept through activities
- 10 minutes: Questions, clarification, and discussion
Upcoming Accessibility Boost Workshops
Description
This session will focus on accessible textbooks. From AODA requirements and PSE guidelines to digital accessibility and working with publishers, we will review how to identify inclusive teaching materials and the impact that they have on student accommodation in practice.
Description
This session will introduce participants to common assistive technologies they may be used by our students or colleagues. Demonstrations will include text-speech tools, speech-to-text tools, and custom display tools. Participants will have an opportunity to practice using some of these features in tools available to us in the Western technology ecosystem.
Description
This session will focus on applying accessibility principles to course content page design, specifically looking at the tools and features available in OWL Brightspace. We will explore the authoring tools in Brightspace, review some of the template options, and explore ways of make course content pages more accessible.
Description
This session will focus on the use of colour in course content and materials. We will look at best practices for colour contrast and alternatives to using solely colour to relay key information. We will also look at tools for checking colour contrast and for creating colour blind safe themes.
Description
This session will focus on fonts and text styles in course content and materials. We will talk about different font families (typefaces), spacing, size and other style considerations when choosing fonts and creating content. We will discuss considerations for both visual presentation and the use of assistive devices.
Description
This session will introduce the concept of alternative text, or image descriptions. We will discuss how and when to describe an image and the importance of context and detail. Within this session, we will review examples of alt text and have time to practice writing alt text.
How to Register for an Upcoming eLearning Event in Western Connect:
Registration Instructions
Audience
Limited to instructors
- Login to Western Connect using your Western username and password.
- Go to the Centre for Teaching and Learning section. Select Event Calendar and select the event you wish to register in. Details and a description of the program will appear.
- Select the Register for this Event button. If the event has reached capacity, you may have the option to register on the waitlist.
- You will receive an automated confirmation email to your Western email account.
If you have any questions or problems registering for an event, please consult our FAQs or contact ctl@uwo.ca.
Other Accessibility Boosts include:
Accessible Powerpoints
Workshop run: February 29, 2024
This session will focus specifically on accessible slide design. We will discuss organization of content, the use of colours, images, and other visuals, headings, text density, and other important considerations when creating accessible slides. We will also briefly review the accessibility features offered by Microsoft Powerpoint.
Accessible Language & Simple English
Workshop run: February 15, 2024
This session will focus on the importance of simple and accessible language in content design and teaching. We will discuss barriers that complex language can pose for learners and how to mitigate these challenges in both written text and presentations.
Alt Text
Workshop run: February 1, 2024
This session will introduce the concept of alternative text, or image descriptions. We will discuss how and when to describe an image and the importance of context and detail. Within this session, we will review examples of alt text and have time to practice writing alt text.
Assistive Technologies
Workshop run: January 18, 2024
This session will introduce participants to common assistive technologies they may be used by our students or colleagues. Demonstrations will include text-speech tools, speech-to-text tools, readability tools, and other tools. Participants will have an opportunity to use some of these features in tools available to us in the Western technology ecosystem.
Have a suggestion or request for a future accessibility session or resource?
Let us know at ctl@uwo.ca.
