Presented at 3:30pm in Cotton Creek I on Wednesday, November 15, 2017.
#9200Speaker(s)
- Jess Thompson, Program Administrator, WA State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
- Jess Thompson, Program Administrator, Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
- Zach Lattin, IT Accessibility Specialist, Clark College
Session Details
- Length of Session: 1-hr
- Format: Lecture
- Expertise Level: Beginner
- Type of session: General Conference
Summary
Ally seamlessly integrates into various Learning Management Systems to improve accessibility of digital course content and track progress over time. Ally promotes accessible design at the start by flagging inaccessible content, providing instructions for remediation, in addition to providing alternative formats that meet students’ individual needs.
Abstract
In response to recent state and local policies, the Washington State community and technical college system has been working to improve accessibility in all areas, but specifically in the area of online instruction. To help with this effort, seven schools from the community college system ventured into the land of Oz and piloted Blackboard Ally.
Ally was integrated in Canvas, allowing faculty to scan their courses for accessibility problem areas. Using Ally’s feedback feature, faculty were given the guidance on how to make their materials more accessible. Additionally, Ally enabled faculty and students to download alternative formats for various course materials. From an institutional standpoint, Ally was able to track the improvements and progress made over the time of the pilot.
In this presentation, we’ll put on our ruby slippers in order to demonstrate Ally’s feature set in Canvas and discuss the feedback and experience from faculty, staff, and students involved in the pilot.
Keypoints
- Ally meets the needs of faculty by providing immediate evaluation and guidance on making accessible content.
- Ally meets the needs of students by allowing them to download the alternative format of their choice.
- Ally meets the needs of administration by tracking institutional progress made towards accessibility.
Disability Areas
Cognitive/Learning, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Vision
Topic Areas
Accessible Course Design, Alternate Format, Uncategorized
Speaker Bio(s)
Jess Thompson
Jess Thompson is a Program Administrator in eLearning & Open Education at the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges. Her work focuses on accessibility in online learning and supporting the 34 community and technical colleges in developing policies and practices that support accessibility both in instruction and campus-wide. Jess has been active in exploring and implementing systemwide accessibility solutions, one of which includes a systemwide captioning hub. Jess came to the State Board from one of the state's community colleges where she taught Sociology and Criminology, in addition to serving as faculty lead for the Center for Teaching and Learning.
Jess Thompson
Jess Thompson is a Program Administrator in eLearning & Open Education at the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges. Her work focuses on accessibility in online learning and supporting the 34 community and technical colleges in developing policies and practices that support accessibility both in instruction and campus wide. Jess has be active in exploring and implementing systemwide accessibility solutions, one of which includes a systemwide captioning hub. Jess came to the State Board from one of the state's community colleges where she taught Sociology and Criminology, in addition to serving as faculty lead for the Center for Teaching and Learning. Her goal is to better connect and engage faculty in the process of designing and implementing accessibility initiatives.
Zach Lattin
Zach Lattin is Clark Community College’s IT Accessibility specialist. He trains students in the use of assistive technologies, serves as Clark’s Accessible IT coordinator, and is involved with numerous in-depth campus-wide accessibility testing projects. He brings a user-centered approach to all he does. Zach has a passion for math accessibility in particular; he has taught math and braille Throughout Washington state in various capacities, and spent two years teaching braille and assistive technology in South America. He holds a B.S. in pure mathematics and a B.S. in Spanish language and literature from the University of Washington.
Handout(s)
- Google Slidedeck: https://bit.ly/WA-allypilot
- Alt formats will be created (using Ally) and made available soon!