Accessibility Bites Series (2024-25)

Accessibility Bites is a six-part series hosted by BCcampus on the last Thursday of every month at 12:00 PM PT from August 2024 to February 2025 (not including December). These are the topics that will be covered at each 30-minute session:

• August 29, 2024: Alternative Format Creation
• September 26, 2024: Plain Language
• October 31, 2024: Supporting Students who are Blind or with Low Vision
• November 28, 2024: Supporting Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
• January 30, 2025: PDF Documents
• February 27, 2025: Video Accessibility

Each drop-in session is designed to give you the opportunity to practice and explore a different aspect of digital accessibility that is relevant in an education context. Most sessions will have a short lesson, time to practice on your own (you're welcome to bring your own materials to practice on), and then an opportunity to share and ask questions. Session details are below.

This session will be recorded, archived, and made available publicly on BCcampus.ca. By participating in this session, you acknowledge that your participation in this session will be recorded and the recording will be made available openly.

Click "Register" to sign up for one or all of the sessions in this series.

Session Details:

Session 1: Alternative Format Creation 

August 29, 2024 from 12:00 to 12:30 PM PT

Facilitator: Jennifer Weldon

Join us for a short drop-in session to explore how alternative format textbooks and course materials are provided to students. You will also gain valuable tips on how to improve the accessibility of your classroom materials. 

Session 2: Plain Language 

September 26, 2024 from 12:00 to 12:30 PM PT

Facilitator: Melinda Workfolk

Using plain language means communicating so your audience can understand your message the first time they read or hear it. Plain language makes your message accessible, ensuring people can quickly and easily find and use the information they need. This session will be a brief introduction to the principles of plain language writing and design. It will give an overview of what plain language is, why it is important, and suggest some tools and resources to help participants develop their skills. 

Session 3: Supporting Students who are Blind or with Low Vision 

October 31, 2024 from 12:00 to 12:30 PM PT

Facilitator: Ka Li

This session will provide an overview of alternative techniques, tools, and strategies blind and low vision (B/LV) students use to succeed in their courses. Drawing from his experience as a blind student and the collective knowledge of the B/LV community, the facilitator, Ka Li, will offer practical insights to help make courses more inclusive for B/LV students, with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM).

Session 4: Supporting Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing 

November 28, 2024 from 12:00 to 12:30 PM PT

Facilitator: Jamie Drozda

This short drop-in session will help you understand the importance of designing an inclusive and accessible classroom, whether your classroom is face-to-face, online, or a combination. You will gain helpful tips for delivering content in person and for creating accessible videos and audio files.  

Session 5: PDF Documents 

January 30, 2025 from 12:00 to 12:30 PM PT

Facilitator: Ann Gagné

In this session, we will explore how to create and review PDFs for accessibility. The session will reinforce the importance of ensuring documents are accessible before converting them to PDFs and will cover the remediation process. We will also discuss tools that can review PDFs for accessibility and how PDFs can be a barrier to learners.

Session 6: Video Accessibility

Feb 27, 2025 from 12:00 to 12:30 PM PT

Title: Accessibility Bites: Video Accessibility

Facilitator: Luke McKnight

This is a short session to familiarize you with accessible video content. If you record lectures, make instructional videos or demonstrations, produce social media content, or create any other video content, this session is for you! 

Click "Register" above to sign up for one or all of the sessions in this series.