Considerations for Making Digital Accessibility and Training Really Work

Handouts Media

Scheduled at 11:15 am in Penrose 2 on Thursday, November 14.

Speaker(s)

• Rob Carr, Strategic Accessibility Coordinator, WebAIM

Session Details

• Length of Session: 1-hr
• Format: Lecture
• Expertise Level: Beginner
• Type of session: General Conference

Summary

Digital accessibility skills are a need in every organization and across multiple job roles. Unfortunately, most people in organizations don’t have the skills they need, even after going through many higher education and professional certification programs. So organizations frequently need to develop successful accessibility training programs to fill the gap. In this session, we’ll discuss training audiences, topics, delivery, and measuring efficacy.

Abstract

Digital accessibility presents organizations with a unique challenge in that the people we hire may not have a mature accessibility skillset. Great work is happening to try to fill this gap. However, the current state of things still seems to be that accessibility is best listed as a preferred skill in many roles where it is actually required. Successful professional development and training involve more than scheduling a trainer. Organizations must avoid teaching content that is not relevant to their various audiences. They must also identify ways to motivate participation and practice. Critically, they must support participants after training is over by providing reliable resources and allowing time to turn learning into practice. Many an accessibility training program has failed to meet its goals because organizations schedule training without accounting for these important variables. During this session, we will indeed consider some of the key components that can help training, and therefore people, succeed in improving accessibility. We will begin by setting realistic goals and aligning groups of roles with necessary and helpful accessibility skills. We will consider how much additional work we are asking participants to do and how to actively manage that to keep from running people off. With staff often working in hybrid or remote locations or even just accustomed to Zoom, we will deliberate some of the logistical possibilities. Then, we'll dig into the ongoing support that helps people succeed, including time. And what's the point if only one person shows up when you expect 50? We'll also discuss some ways to motivate participation and engagement. Join me to think through professional development in accessibility in a holistic manner and leave with motivation and ideas about how to initiate and maintain a successful digital accessibility training effort.

Keypoints

1. Identify at least five roles that are often overlooked in digital accessibility training efforts.
2. Specify at least four considerations that help to determine training topics and priorities.
3. Identify and discuss at least five possible measures of a training program’s effectiveness.

Disability Areas

All Areas

Topic Areas

Faculty Development & Support, Other, Uncategorized

Speaker Bio(s)

Rob Carr

Rob Carr is the Strategic Accessibility Coordinator at WebAIM. Rob has been in the digital accessibility space since 2010. He has spent loads of time training, consulting, and learning about digital accessibility topics large and small. Rob has worked with thousands of individuals and dozens of organizations on everything from accessibility in a single PDF to integrating accessibility into organizations’ digital strategies. Rob presents at national conferences, organizes the occasional conference, and tries to be more active and less snarky on LinkedIn.

Handout(s)

• Digital Accessibility Training that Works