What Fit and Flopped: Reflections of Accessibility Initiatives

Handouts Media

Presented at 9:15am in Penrose 2 on Thursday, November 9, 2023.

#38072

Speaker(s)

  • Steven Kolberg, Coordinator, Accessibility and LMS Administration, Florida SouthWestern State College
  • Kevin Price, Assistant Director of Accessible Technology, University of Central Florida

Session Details

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

Summary

Accessibility experts in Higher Education have many opportunities to develop initiatives to adopt assistive technology tools, train faculty and staff on best practices, and even hold contests to improve educational materials. The presenters will reflect on the accessibility initiatives in their experience and provide what fit and what flopped. Participants will also briefly share their initiatives and network.

Abstract

Higher Education institutions offer numerous opportunities to innovate, develop new programs, and experiment with initiatives. In this presentation, as accessibility experts, we will discuss the adoption of assistive technology tools, training of faculty and staff on best practices in electronic authoring, and even contests aimed at improving educational materials. Our focus will be on sharing our experience of successful accessibility initiatives implemented at Florida SouthWestern State College and the University of Central Florida, as well as the ones that did not quite work out. We will discuss what worked and what did not, and encourage participants to share their own institution's accessibility initiatives to facilitate networking and idea sharing. The shared initiatives will be collected and made available to provide feedback and inspire other institutions to implement them for their own communities.

Keypoints

  1. Some accessibility initiatives fail to gain traction due to a lack of buy-in from stakeholders.
  2. Active networking and ongoing education are essential to staying current in the field of accessibility.
  3. It is crucial to continue brainstorming until finding the initiative that fits the needs of your organization.

Disability Areas

All Areas

Topic Areas

Accessible Course Design, Accessible Educational Materials, Administrative/Campus Policy, Alternate Format, Assistive Technology, Faculty Development & Support, Uncategorized, Universal Design for Learning, Web/Media/App Access

Speaker Bio(s)

Steven Kolberg

Steven Kolberg is the Coordinator of Accessibility and LMS Administration serving Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW) from the College's Office of Information Technology (OIT) since August, 2018. He works closely with the Office of ADAptive Services, Teaching and Learning Center, Learning Technologies, and other areas. He holds a MA in Educational Technology from Florida Gulf Coast University and a Bachelors of Applied Science in Supervision and Management from FSW and has been with the College for 15 years. His work centers on web accessibility, eLearning content, Assistive Technologies, and providing resources and guidance to promote increased access. Prior to working for OIT, he served the College’s Library Services as a Library Technology Systems Specialist integrating technologies for improved library services and workflows.

Kevin Price

Kevin Price MSW, is the Assistant Director of Accessible Technology for the University of Central Florida's Student Accessibility Services. He has been working in the field of assistive technology and accessible information technology for people with disabilities for thirty-three years with experience working at the Disability Resource Center and Chair of the Web Accessibility Committee at the University of Illinois in Chicago, at the University of Missouri-Columbia, University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA), California State University, San Bernardino, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has his Masters in Social Work from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He advocates, presents, and trains people on how to make electronic resources accessible for people with disabilities.

Handout(s)