Rachel Thompson, Director, Emerging Technology and Accessibility, University of Alabama
Rick Dowling, Coordinator of Faculty Development, University of Alabama
Disability Area: Topic Area:
Length of Session (in hours): 1-hr
Format: Lecture
Expertise Level: All Levels
Type of session: Not provided
Summary of Session
Explore accessibility strategies and techniques for Blackboard Learn, including technical administrative possibilities that can help meet accessibility needs.
Abstract
Explore accessibility strategies and techniques for Blackboard Learn including demonstrations and sharing information from the University of Alabama’s still-emerging accessibility initiative. Learn about technical administrative possibilities that can help meet accessibility needs and ways campus Blackboard administrators can help with accessibility and accommodation needs. Some specific examples include faculty steps for accessible use of Blackboard and using Blackboard to distribute alt-text files to students. We will also share some results from a course accessibility review and discuss future steps to help UA’s instructional technology use become more inclusive.
Keypoints
Kepoints
How to add captions to Tegrity lectures
Ways Blackboard admins can help with accessiblity and accomodations
Results of a course accessiblity review
Speaker Bio(s)
Rachel Thompson
Dr. Rachel S. Thompson is Director of Emerging Technology and Accessibility at the University of Alabama. While still new to technology accessibility, she has worked with instructional technology since 2007. Her PhD in Applied Linguistics was received in 2004. She has taught college-level linguistics, dialectology, Spanish, composition, and Honors courses. Rachel enjoys cooking, reading, playing with her cats, listening to her better half make music, and writing biographies of herself.
Rick Dowling
Rick Dowling is the University of Alabama's Coordinator of Faculty Development in the Faculty Resource Center. He has also served as Videography Services Manager and teaches university courses in the Telecommunication and Film Department. He enjoys performing stand-up comedy, playing video games, and getting mistaken for Drew Carey.