Accessing Higher Ground-Accessible Media, Web, & Technology Conference

November 18-22, 2019 at the Westin Westminster, Colorado

In Collaboration with AHEAD and ATHEN

Overall Schedule

Monday, November 18

9 am – 5 pm Registration Desk Open

9 am – Noon AM Beverage Break

10:30 am – 1 pm Preconference Sessions

1 – 2:30 pm Lunch (on your own)

2:30 – 5 pm Preconference Sessions*

3:30 – 4 pm PM Beverage break

Tuesday, November 19

8 am – 4:30 pm Registration Desk Open

10:30 – 11 am AM Beverage Break

9 am – Noon Preconference Sessions

Noon – 1:30 pm Lunch (on your own)

1:30 – 4:30 pm Preconference Sessions

3 – 3:30 pm PM Beverage Break

Wednesday, November 20

7 am – 4:30 pm Registration Desk Open

8 – 9 am Breakout Sessions

9 am – 6:30 pm Exhibit Hall Open

9:15 – 10:15 am Breakout Sessions

10:15 – 11:15 am Exhibit Hall Refreshment Break

11:15 am – 12:15 pm Breakout Sessions

12:20 - 2 pm Lunch Meetups (or on your own)

2:15 – 3:15 pm Breakout Sessions

3:30 – 4:30 pm Breakout Sessions

4:30 – 6:30 pm Exhibit Hall Reception

6:30 – 8:30 pm ATHEN Annual Meeting

Thursday, November 21

7:30 am – 5 pm Registration Desk Open

8 – 9 am Breakout Sessions

9 am – 6:30 pm Exhibit Hall Open

9:15 – 10:15 am Breakout Sessions

10:30 – 11:30 am Roundtable Discussions

11:30 am – 12:30 pm Exhibit Hall Refreshment Break

12:30 – 2 pm Lunch Meetups (or on your own)

2 – 3 pm Breakout Sessions

3:15–4:05 Breakout Sessions

4:20 – 5:20 pm Breakout Sessions

5:20 – 6:30 Exhibit Hall Refreshment Break

7 – 8:30 pm Keynote Banquet featuring Dr. Wanda Diaz Merced

Friday, November 22

7:30 am – 3 pm Registration Desk Open

8 – 9 am Breakout Sessions

9:15 – 10:15 am Breakout Sessions

10:30 – 11:30 am Breakout Sessions

11:30 am – 12:45 pm Lunch (On your own)

12:45 – 1:45 pm Breakout Sessions

2 – 3 pm Breakout Sessions

*Creating Accessible Digital Documents in MS Office ends at 5:30 pm

Find conference evaluation forms at accessinghigherground.org/evaluate

#AHG2019

Meeting Space

Image of meeting space

Special Sessions, Receptions, & Meetings 7-8

Preconference Sessions

Monday 11-13

Tuesday 15-18

Breakout Sessions

Wednesday 19-36

Thursday 37-55

Friday 57-67

Exhibitor Presentation Schedule 69

Exhibit Hall Map 70

Exhibitor Directory 71-79

Advertising Index

AbleDocs 3

Rev 6

Monsido 9

popetech 9

Texthelp 10

Vispero 10

College Success@Perkins 14

Equidox by Onix 55

Concourse 56

Adobe 56

3Play Media 67

Accessibility Oz 68

BlueDAG 68

Verbit 79

CommonLook 80

Blackboard 80

Cengage 81

Ai-Media 81

The inclusion of third-party advertisements, samples, displays, sponsorships and/or exhibits does not constitute an endorsement, guarantee, warranty, or recommendation by AHEAD and we make no representations or warranties about any product or service contained therein.

Special Sessions, Receptions, & Meetings

AbleDocs Welcome Reception

Tuesday, November 19, 4:30 - 6 pm

Westminster Ballroom Foyer

AbleDocs makes document accessibility fast, easy, secure, and cost-effective. With best-in-class technology and deep category expertise, AbleDocs offers solutions that are ADA compliant every single time. AbleDocs would like to invite you to join us on Tuesday November 19, 2019 for a Welcome Reception to help start off this year’s Accessing Higher Ground conference with a fun social event that allows attendees to meet, network or just catch up with friends and colleagues.

Roundtables

AHG will have two 1-hour blocks of time - Thursday, Nov. 21 at 10:30 a.m. and Friday, Nov. 22 at 8:00 a.m. - for round-tables and small group meetings. For the specific topics and room locations, visit accessinghigherground.org/roundtables or check at registration desk.

Lunch Meetups

Conference attendees will have 2 hours for lunch on Wednesday, November 20th and 1.5 hours on Thursday, November 21st. For those of you would like a slightly facilitated networking opportunity during your lunch hours, we are offering lunch meetups based on your input from a poll sent out in October. To see the lunch topics and locations visit accessinghigherground.org/lunchmeetups or check at registration desk.

EPUB and Accessible Educational Materials Track

In this main conference track, offered Wednesday – Friday, representatives from the publishing industry, early adopters from DSS offices and representatives from the Standards community will talk about how educational materials has been transformed and accessibility improved by the advent of the EPUB standard and the development of EPUB educational materials. The benefits offered and the challenges still faced by those seeking to adopt EPUB will be discussed with input and questions encouraged from the AHG audience. These sessions are labeled “EPUB” in the session title.

UDUC Mini-Conference on Teaching Accessibility and UD

This series of sessions, offered throughout the main conference (Wednesday - Friday), will focus on topics related to the teaching and application of accessibility and Universal Design in university curriculum. These sessions are labeled “UDUC” in the session title.

Exhibitor Reception

Wednesday, November 20, 4:30 - 6:30 pm

Westminster Ballroom Foyer

Join us in the Exhibit Hall for hors d’oeuvres & refreshments (Cash Bar)

ATHEN Meeting

Wednesday, November 20, 6:30 - 8:30 pm

Westminster Ballroom IV

Stop by the ATHEN Annual Meeting to learn about the Access Technology Higher Education Network and its resources.

Pre-Keynote Reception

Thursday, November 21, 5:20 - 6:30 pm

Westminster Ballroom Foyer

Join us for snacks and drinks before the keynote banquet!

Keynote Presentation & Dinner

Thursday, November 21, 7 - 8:30 pm

Legacy Ballroom

Featuring Dr. Wanda Díaz Merced,

“Human Centered Astronomy”

In this keynote talk Dr. Merced will share the approaches to disability inclusion in the field of astronomy from the perspective of performance, metrics of productivity and Human centred approaches.

Monday, November 18

Full-Day Preconference Sessions

9 am - 5 pm Registration Open, Fountain Greens Foyer

9 am - Noon AM Coffee Break, Standley Foyer

10:30 am - 5 pm Preconference Sessions

1 - 2:30 pm Lunch (on your own)

3:30 - 4 pm Coffee Break, Standley Foyer

Complete session details can be found at accessinghigherground.org

Full-Day Preconference Sessions, 10:30 am - 5 pm

Getting to Grips with EPUB

Richard Orme, DAISY Consortium

Amy Salmon, TechForAll

George Kerscher, DAISY Consortium

Joseph Polizzotto, UC Berkeley

EPUB has become a common file format for academic publications. This workshop will help library, faculty and DSO colleagues get up to speed with this publishing standard and its built-in accessibility features.

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

Managing Accessibility Testing

Gian Wild, AccessibilityOz

Get an introduction to the broad range of testing tools and methods that are currently used in the field. Through hands-on use, learn about a wide range of testing tools, and get interactive demos of common automated accessibility testing tools. Apply testing methods in practice, with scope analysis, and establishing representative test samples.

Westminster I

PDF Remediation with CommonLook PDF

Paul Rayius, CommonLook

In this workshop, you’ll learn to use CommonLook PDF to quickly, accurately, and easily remediate PDFs and verify that they pass against WCAG 2.0AA (or other standards such as PDF/UA or HHS)! Bring a laptop with Adobe Acrobat and CommonLook PDF installed.

Westminster II

Knowbility’s Accessibility Master Class

Becky Gibson, Knowbility

Robert Jolly, Knowbility

The big picture overview for any stage of implementing an accessibility program across an organization. Starting with the institutional evaluation and providing tools and methodology for each stage, our team will take you through what you need to put in place a process to ensure that you reach and maintain your accessibility goals.

Westminster III

PDF Accessibility—Train-the-Trainer (2-Day Session)

Rob Haverty, Adobe

Come learn about creating accessible PDFs & how to teach others. This hands-on lab will cover accessible PDF creation & remediation, advanced PDF topics, and accessible PDF forms. Materials will be given to attendees for use in class & to keep. Attendance at both days & completion of a test are for your Adobe Certified PDF Trainer certificate.

Westminster IV

Wagging the Dog: Secret Macro/Replace Tricks and Tips in Alternate Format Production

Susan Kelmer, University of Colorado Boulder

Robert Beach, Kansas City Kansas Community College

We will cover an array of secret time-saving tips and tricks to using “quick-convert” OCR, and Macros and Find-and-Replace functions in Microsoft Word. This is an intermediate-level lab for those who want to take their Word-editing skills to the next level.

Standley II Lab

Half-Day Preconference Session, 2:30-5:30 pm

Creating Accessible Digital Documents in MS Office (Virtual)

Kristi Elmore, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Robin Ertz, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Chris Johnsen, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Rachel Tendall, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

John Robnett, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

If you use Microsoft Office programs to provide digital content (such as documents that are shared online or via email), then this workshop is for you! The workshop will cover Word, PowerPoint and Excel accessibility features that lead to a document that passes the built-in accessibility checker and a more accessible PDF document.

Cotton Creek I

Tuesday, November 19

Full-Day Preconference Sessions

8 am - 4:30 pm Registration Open, Fountain Greens Foyer

10:30 – 11 am AM Coffee Break, Standley Foyer

9 am – 4:30 Preconference Sessions

Noon – 1:30 pm Lunch (on your own)

3 – 3:30 PM Coffee Break, Standley Foyer

Complete session details can be found at accessinghigherground.org

Full-Day Preconference Sessions, 9 am-4:30 pm

Mobile Site Accessibility Testing

Gian Wild, AccessibilityOz

Learn how to fully test a mobile site so that it can be used by people with disabilities. This session will cover the ICT Mobile Site Testing Methodology and Guidelines with step-by-step instructions.

Westminster I

Creating Accessible PDF Forms Using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

Karen McCall, Open Access Technologies

Participants begin the workshop with an accessible tagged PDF form template with placeholders/questions demonstrating a variety of form controls that can be added to create an accessible PDF form. Learn how to create radio buttons, check boxes and either drop-down or combo boxes. Take away an example of an accessible PDF form.

Westminster II

PDF Accessibility—Train-the-Trainer (2-Day Session)

Rob Haverty, Adobe

Westminster IV

Create Accessible Documents in Word & PowerPoint (WebAIM Certificate)

George Joeckel, Utah State University / WebAIM

Participants in this full-day workshop will review the fundamentals of creating accessible documents in three ubiquitous applications: Microsoft Word & PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat Professional. Participants will also be enrolled in an online, independent-study, video-based course that will cover the workshop materials in greater detail.

Cotton Creek II

Inside EPUB

Richard Orme, DAISY Consortium

George Kerscher, DAISY Consortium

Amy Salmon, TechForAll

Joseph Polizzotto, UC Berkeley

Rachel Comerford, Macmillan Learning

When university staff are familiar with accessible EPUBs, they will want to take it to the next level. Attendees will learn how to evaluate EPUBs for accessibility, use free tools to enhance the files for an even better student experience (such as adding notes, descriptions, additional resources) and understand how faculty can create EPUBs.

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

Introduction to Online Course Accessibility

Joseph Feria-Galicia, UC Berkeley

Luis Perez, National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning (the AEM Center)

This full-day workshop introduces online course accessibility through a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) theoretical lens. Reasons for building and maintaining accessible courses are contextualized, explained and demonstrated from both a student and institutional perspective. Emphasis is given to the use and evaluation of features within an LMS.

Standley II Lab

Understanding the ARIA Authoring Practices and Screen Readers

Jon Gunderson, University of Illinois

In this workshop participants will learn how the Accessible Rich Internet Application (ARIA) requirements can be used to make web resources more accessible and how the use of ARIA changes the user experience for screen reader users. The workshop will provide hands on activities to learn about ARIA and how screen readers work.

Meadowbrook I

Inclusive Design: The Product and the Process

Derek Featherstone, Level Access

There are two types of inclusion that we need to address with our work in the digital space: inclusion that allows people with dis

abilities to effectively use products, and inclusion of people with disabilities in the process of design itself. In this workshop, you’ll get the insights you need to improve both.

Meadowbrook II

Half-Day Preconference Session, 9 am-Noon

Acquiring Accessible IT Products for Your Campus (Virtual)

Cheryl Pruitt, Accessible Technology Initiative, California University Chancellor’s Office

Sue Cullen, Accessible Technology Initiative, California State

University, Chancellor’s Office

Dawn Okinaka, California State University, Chancellor’s Office

Lin Mahoney, McGraw-Hill Education

Acquiring accessible IT products is one of the biggest challenges facing an institution when implementing an accessible technology program. To meet this challenge the CSU has developed a process that integrates accessibility requirements into campus business processes and puts the responsibility on vendors for the accessibility of their product.

Cotton Creek I

Half-Day Preconference Session, 1:30-4:30 pm

YOU CAN Create Accessible Math for Students with Print Disabilities (Virtual)

Susan Kelmer, University of Colorado Boulder

Creating accessible math for students with print disabilities seems to be an insurmountable task, but the truth is, there are some great tools out there to create accessible math and other STEM content. This session will show you how, and the promise is: Yes, YOU can DO THIS!

Cotton Creek I

Wednesday, November 20

Full-Day Preconference Sessions

7 am – 4:30 pm Registration Open, Fountain Greens Foyer

8 – 9 am Breakout Sessions

9 am – 6:30 pm Exhibit Hall Open, WB Foyer

9:15 – 10:15 am Breakout Sessions

10:15 – 11:15 am Exhibit Hall Refreshment Break

11:15 am – 12:15 pm Breakout Sessions

12:20 – 2 pm Lunch Meetups (Or on your own)

2:15 – 3:15 pm Breakout Sessions

3:30 – 4:30 pm Breakout Sessions

4:30 – 6:30 pm Exhibit Hall Reception

6:30 – 8:30 pm ATHEN Annual Meeting, WB IV

Complete session details can be found at accessinghigherground.org

Breakout Sessions, 8-9 am

Using Pattern Lab and Drupal 8 to Stop Reinventing the Accessibility Wheel

Carly Gerard, Western Washington University

In 2018, Western Washington University completed a redesign of their homepage. This time, it was redesigned with accessibility in mind. Learn how Pattern Lab and Drupal 8 together created an elegant yet accessible website, with a reusable pattern library so developers can stop reinventing the wheel of accessibility.

Waverly

Accessibility and Universal Design for Online Courses—Making the Practice Practicable, and a Bit Less Scary (Virtual A)

Carey Hamburg, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

This presentation will detail our approach and practice for bringing our State University online courses into compliance with accessibility requirements through the framework of Universal Design principles. We focus on practical solutions, flexibility, and the time-saving benefits of innovation, broadening the appeal for a once intimidating topic.

Meadowbrook I/II

There are Two Sides to Every Story: VPATs

Kara Zirkle, Essential Accessibility

Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) — are they worth it? This has been a controversial conversation in the past with no real underlining answers. We’ll discuss the lifecycle of the VPAT question from the requestor/customer, 3rd party vendor and an accessibility vendor.

Cotton Creek I

Born Accessible: Ensuring You’re Adopting Accessible Course Materials (EPUB)

Erin Lucas, RedShelf

How can you ensure your campus is adopting the most accessible digital course materials? And if accessible materials are not available, how does RedShelf help support DSOs with accommodations and faculty created materials? During this session we’ll dive into these questions and outline how RedShelf is setting a new standard for end-to-end campus accessibility support.

Cotton Creek II

Introduction to Accessible PDF Documents (Virtual B)

Rob Haverty, Accessibility, Adobe

Making PDF documents and forms accessible can be a daunting task when you don’t know what tools are available and which is the best one to use. In this session, participants will be introduced to the various tools available in Acrobat Pro DC & walk through the workflow to take a document, convert it to a PDF, & fix some of the basic tagging issues. [Double Session]

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

3D Printing Educational Models for All Students (Lecture/Demo)

Jonathan Gorges, College of the Desert

College of the Desert has been using 3D printers in the Disabled Students Programs and Services Department for 3 years creating tactile 3D objects for students to use in the classroom. This session will discuss using 3D Printers to create educational models for all students. 3D models allow students to explore things as small atoms to galaxies in space. [Double Session]

Standley II Lab

We’re All in this Together: Lessons from a Help Desk in Changing Culture

Vanessa Zuroski, University of Minnesota

Using change management and consensus gathering theories used to support customer-first focus at the UMN Technology Help Desk, we will discuss strategies to promote accessibility as one of your organization’s values. Participants will learn vocabulary needed to identify the layers of resistance in their teams, build buy-in, and create change.

Windsor

Future of Accessibility Guidelines for Web and ICT

Jeanne Spellman, Tetralogical

See the progress on next major version of W3C Accessibility Guidelines that will be the successor of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). See the prototypes with improved usability, examples of WCAG guidance written in simple language, and more flexible conformance. Give your feedback on the direction of this major revision.

Westminster I

Tips and Tricks for Inexpensive Accessibility Testing (Videotaped A)

Elizabeth Simister, Blackboard, Inc

The idea of testing applications for accessibility, like PDFs, can seem expensive, time consuming, and overwhelming to many people who are new to the idea of accessibility. This session will provide attendees some simple and inexpensive techniques to better understand the accessibility of the applications at their institutions.

Westminster II

Faculty Learning Community for Inclusive Pedagogy (Videotaped B)

Michelle Jarman, University of Wyoming

Christine Boggs, University of Wyoming

In an effort to increase faculty engagement with inclusive pedagogy, a learning community was established at the University of Wyoming (UW) to implement and evaluate Universal Design for Learning and inclusive practices. Faculty researchers present findings, and discuss potential applications of this model.

Westminster III

Universal Access—Live, Remote Notetaking for the Wider Student Population

Kelly Smyth, Ai-Media

Today’s student body is increasingly diverse. While the Deaf and Hard of Hearing have acknowledged needs, new groups such as those with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), mental health issues, anxiety and depression and those who have English as an additional language also have access needs. New solutions such as Remote Live note taking can provide universal access for all.

Westminster IV

Lessons Learned from Managing a Student Workforce in Creating STEM Alternate Materials

Brian Richwine, Indiana University Bloomington

Mary Stores, Principal Accessibility Consultant, Indiana University Bloomington

An overview of lessons learned in 15+ years of producing alternate formats of STEM materials in higher ed courses for students with low-vision and blindness. Topics covered include selecting student workers, team building and organization, training, alt-formats utilized, tools used, and experiences contracting alt-media from vendors.

Lakehouse

Exhibitor Presentations (South Courtyard Foyer)

9-9:30 am Docsoft–Captioning: Simple-Easy

9:40-10:10 am BlueDAG–Using Technology to Streamline ADA Compliance

Breakout Sessions, 9:15-10:15 am

Inclusive Course Design Requires a Team

Sheryl Ballenger, Georgia Tech-College of Design

Instructors or faculty developing course content must develop using universal design principals from the beginning. Using a team approach with the right people at the table is the answer.

Waverly

Overview of the Microsoft Immersive Reading Tools in Office 365 (Virtual A)

Karen McCall, Open Access Technologies

This session will provide an overview of the Immersive Reading Tools also known as Learning Tools in Microsoft Office 365 applications like Word, Outlook, OneNote and Edge. Although these tools help people with learning, cognitive or print disabilities, they are useful for everyone and Microsoft is always adding new features and tools.

Meadowbrook I/II

Accessible and User-Friendly Drag-and-Drop Questions

Emilie Berglund, McGraw-Hill

Lin Mahoney, McGraw-Hill Education

Drag-and-drop questions are popular but often inaccessible. In an effort to create drag-and-drop questions for all students, in 2018 we updated our Ordering and Matching question types for WCAG

compliance. In 2019, we dedicated ourselves to usability improvements. We will share our progress and lessons learned.

Cotton Creek I

Creating an Inclusive Library Environment

Stephanie Robbins, University of Colorado Denver

Jennifer Maxwell, Community College of Denver

Ryan Turch, Auraria Library

Members of the Library Accessibility Committee at the tri-institutional Auraria Library in Denver, CO discuss how they have collaborated on projects to provide an inclusive environment within the library. Topics will include areas of incorporating assistive technology, accessible physical spaces and digital accessibility projects.

Cotton Creek II

Introduction to Accessible PDF Documents (Virtual B; Continued)

Rob Haverty, Adobe

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

3D Printing Educational Models for All Students (Lecture/Demo; Continued)

Jonathan Gorges, College of the Desert

Standley II Lab

Integrating a11y on your Site and Organization from the Ground Up

Samuel Acuna, Visa

The web is lacking proper accessibility enhancements, and when developers, stakeholders, and designers have to add accessibility features it’s often seen as a painful process. We’ll look at how we’ve alleviated this issue within the Visa Design System as a case study, and what tools you can use to enhance your site for a true accessible experience.

Windsor

UDL and Accessibility Strategies in the Classroom Using Faculty Learning Communities

Scot Atkins, Rochester Institute of Technology

Sara Schley, Rochester Institute of Technology

Stephanie Cawthon, University of Texas

This paper describes strategies resulting from a project on enhancing access, engagement and success of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students in post-secondary courses. Strategies resulted from a process of pairing faculty with DHH student mentors for a semester of observation and reflection, and from participating in faculty learning communities

Westminster I

IT Procurement: Accessibility as a Functional Criterion (Videotaped A)

Hadi Rangin, University of Washington

In this session, we will describe how we address the accessibility of local and third-party applications from RFP to deployment while sharing the story of our collaboration with multiple technology companies.

Westminster II

Trending Tech Tools—2019 Update: What’s New, What’s Improved, & What’s on the Horizon for Assistive Technology & Accessibility Tools (Virtual B)

Rachel Kruzel, University of St. Thomas

The fields of assistive technology and accessibility are in perpetual states of change. Companies are making constant updates to their products. Staying on top of updates is essential for any assistive technology or EIT professional. This session will focus on assistive technology and accessibility updates and changes from major technology companies.

Westminster III

Case Study: SensusAccess LTI at Columbia College— Improving Accessibility to Instructional Material

Lars Ballieu Christensen, Sensus Aps

Tanja Stevns, Sensus Aps

The presentation will highlight the findings of a case study at Columbia College, using the SensusAccess LTI plug in to Canvas to improve accessibility to course material and use real-life examples to illustrate how to support inclusion at a community college setting.

Westminster IV

Design Systems for Accessible Accessibility

Jiatyan Chen, Stanford University

Greg Hanek, Indiana University

Take a look at how universities may make accessibility easier to operationalize and scale using design systems. We will showcase a few open source design systems and discuss how thoughtfully constructed design systems and pattern libraries will minimize accessibility and design issues.

Lakehouse

Exhibit Hall Break, 10:15-11:15 am

Westminster Ballroom Foyer

Exhibitor Presentations (South Courtyard Foyer)

10:55-11:20 am Ai-Media–Audio Description

11:35 am-Noon Concourse Syllabus Management–How Accessible is Your Syllabus?

Breakout Sessions, 11:15 am-12:15 pm

Fusion Assistive Technology: For On and Off the Campus Use

Melinda Colby, The University of Texas at Dallas

Learn about the University of Texas at Dallas’ efforts to acquire, implement and market Fusion. Fusion is assistive technology for blind, visually impaired, and learning disabled individuals that incorporates JAWS and ZoomText.

Waverly

Creating Accessible Comics and Graphic Novels (Virtual A)

Eric Stallard, Pima Community College

This session will teach the basics of creating accessible digital versions (PDF) of comic books and graphic novels for use with Text to Speech readers (Read & Write Gold, etc), using ABBYY Finereader 14 software. This allows readers with disabilities to experience comic books with greater fidelity to the layout of images and text zones.

Meadowbrook I/II

Navigating the Venn Diagram of Video Accessibility Laws (Virtual B)

Elisa Edelberg, 3PlayMedia

With multiple accessibility laws in the US, as well as dozens of lawsuits and DOJ/OCR inquiries related to inaccessible IT, it can be extremely difficult to navigate the legal requirements for video accessibility at your organization. This session will create a Venn diagram of video a11y laws to help you navigate your obligations.

Cotton Creek I

Re-Imagining the Lecture Notetaking Experience to Make Notetaking Accessible for All

Paul Davis, Sonocent

Discover how user research and work within the accessibility community helped to shape Sonocent’s latest cloud-based note taking tool. Paul gives you exclusive access to the new app and how it scaffolds the note-taking process for your students. Explore how usability and accessibility best practice ultimately translates to ‘good design’ for all.

Cotton Creek II

Where Accessibility Lives: Incorporating A11y into Your Process and Team

Derek Featherstone, Level Access

To ensure accessibility as an outcome, we must make sure that accessibility and inclusion is embedded in an organization’s mindset, processes, and tools. Beginning with mindset and then moving into the design and development process, and finally into toolset, we’ll examine the journey to accessibility.

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

Making Audio and Video Media Accessible–WC3/WAI Guidance (Lecture/Demo)

Shawn Henry, W3C WAI / MIT

This session covers creating new media, making existing media accessible, project management (in-house and outsourced), return on investment (ROI) for organizations, and understanding the user experience. It introduces a new free online resource and invites attendees to ask questions, share experiences, and contribute to media accessibility.

Standley II Lab

Global Portraits of Inclusion: An Ethnographic Account of Accessibility in Education

John Scott, Blackboard

During the Blackboard Ally Tour, we visited over 40 colleges, universities, and K12 districts across three continents to learn how they are addressing accessibility challenges and integrating Universal Design for Learning to support students. Through interviews and accessibility data, we share a portrait of inclusive learning from around the globe.

Windsor

Grassroot Successes from Small College Accessible

Deborah Dorsey, Maryland Online

Richard Smith, Instructional Designer, Harford Community College

Mark Bandy, Manager for Digital Communications, Harford

Community College

This is the true story of 5 colleagues picked to attend the 2016 Accessing Higher Ground Conference and have their experiences documented to find out what happens when small colleges face accessibility issues and invested people change the way their institution develops, procures, maintains, and uses electronic and information technology (EIT).

Westminster I

Teaching About Accessibility in Computing Courses (UDUC; Videotaped A)

Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington

Terrill Thompson, University of Washington

Learn how accessible/inclusive/universal design and other proactive design practices can be integrated within computing and IT courses and thus increase the pool of future computing and IT professionals that know how to develop accessible technology.

Westminster II

If You Give an Instructor Usability: The Slippery Slope to Accessibility (Videotaped B)

Christopher Phillips, Utah State University

While most instructors agree with the general concept of accessibility, how can help them move from understanding to actually creating accessible content? Join this session to consider strategies that emphasize usability over accessibility, examine our motivations and help others create more inclusive experiences.

Westminster III

Making an Online Stat Course Accessible Through EPUB (EPUB)

Jinhee Choo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Juliana Garcia, Accessibility Specialist, University of Illinois at

Urbana-Champaign

This session will share our experience to create accessible video lecture transcripts for a Business stat course in EPUB format for MOOC learners. The major elements of EPUB and faculty/staff training during the process will be introduced with EPUB samples. This will lead to further discussion about challenges and adaptation in different contexts.

Westminster IV

Apps for Academic Success!

Shannon Lavey, Colorado State University

Anna Walker, Colorado State University

Allison Kidd, Colorado State University

This session will provide information on recommended apps for common mobile devices to support academic tasks for students with disabilities in higher education. A review of built-in accessibility options will be provided as well. Bring in your own mobile devices and favorite apps!

Lakehouse

Lunch Meetups (or on your own), 12:20-2 pm

Exhibitor Presentations (South Courtyard Foyer)

2:30-2:55 pm Pope Tech–Intro on How to Use WAVE

3:05-3:30 pm Monsido–Web Accessibility & Governance

Breakout Sessions, 2:15-3:15 pm

UDL, Accessibility, and Quality Assurance—Collaborations at the University of Arizona for Online Classes, Take Two

Barbara Lopez, University of Arizona

Tiffany McClelland, University of Arizona

Maintaining a culture of UDL takes active involvement across campus and demands vigilance in evaluating online learning content across the curriculum life cycle. Learn how the University of Arizona’s Office of Digital Learning and Disability Resource Center teamed up to provide pro-active best practices for accessible and inclusive online learning.

Waverly

Authoring Documents with Accessibility in Mind (Virtual A)

Paul Rayius, CommonLook

Taking a proactive approach to document accessibility can save you time, money, and frustration! In this session, we’ll explore

document accessibility from the author’s or creator’s perspective. We’ll explore best practices, “things to consider,” what to do, and what not to do. We’ll also address how WCAG 2.1 affects document creation.

Meadowbrook I/II

“This isn’t Why I Became and Instructor!” Motivating Faculty to Embrace Accessibility (Virtual B)

Dana Haff, University of Alaska Anchorage

Jennifer Pedersen, University of Alaska Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula College

Instructional Design departments within our university system began accessibility initiatives by motivating faculty. You’ll hear faculty perspectives on accessibility, what worked well, and what areas were a struggle. We’ll identify ways to build accessibility into the curriculum and break down barriers at the same time.

Cotton Creek I

The Status of Digital Document Accessibility—Are We Any Closer to Inclusive Education?

Karen McCall, Open Access Technologies

It has been four years since the UN adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, among which is goal 4.5 Inclusive Education. This session provides an overview of the progress made toward the inclusion of people with disabilities in learning opportunities.

Cotton Creek II

Tips and Tricks for Accessible PDFs

Rob Haverty, Accessibility, Adobe

At Adobe we are constantly improving the experience of creating accessible PDFs. However, it remains a sometimes-challenging process. In my time at Adobe and working with our customers I have garnered a lot of information about making PDFs accessible. The goal of this session is to share what I’ve learned to make the process easier for you. [Double Session]

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

Website Accessibility Certification and Logos—What do I Really Need?

Jeffrey Singleton, Cxytera

Ken Nakata, Cyxtera

Site accessibility compliance certifications and logos are becoming common offering from accessibility consultants. What do these certifications and logos really mean and what is required for a website? This session will help separate the myths from the reality of site certifications and logos.

Windsor

Building a Culture of Accessibility Through Innovation

Evan Yamanishi, W. W. Norton & Company

Accessibility is positioned at the center of innovation in the Norton Lab. This presentation will cover the Lab’s born-accessible EPUB platform, a deep look into interactive transcripts, and exciting work around automated color contrast and enhanced image descriptions.

Westminster I

Writing Good Alt Text (Videotaped A)

Gaeir Dietrich, Access Specialist, Consultant

Robert Beach, Kansas City Kansas Community College

Descriptions of graphics in electronic documents are required for accessibility, but what does it mean to write a good alternate text description? We will focus on the purpose of the graphic, what descriptive text to include to fit that purpose, and tips to keep it concise.

Westminster II

Institutional Roadblocks to Accessibility: A Collaborative Session on How to Overcome Organizational Resistance (Videotaped B)

Howard Fooksman, Purdue University

Dean Brusnighan, Purdue University

In this innovative flipped panel, we will present attendees with some common roadblocks that accessibility professionals encounter while promoting their work within their institution. Using the collective wisdom of the AHG community, we will work together to craft solutions for overcoming these roadblocks on a variety of campuses.

Westminster III

An Instructional Design Approach to Accessibility—Lessons Learned

Justin Tumelaire, Cengage Learning

In this collaborative session, we discuss how the Cengage Instructional Design and Delivery team builds accessibility, checks into curriculum development processes, addresses challenges associated with ensuring accessible content, and leverages appropriate resources. The intent is not only to share our experience, but to learn from one another.

Westminster IV

Audio Description—What, Why, and How?

Kelly Smyth, Ai-Media

Audio description, also known as described video or video description, is the narration of the key visual elements in a video to provide access to people who are blind or have low vision. We will review the what? why? and how? of AD/VD.

Lakehouse

Exhibitor Presentations (South Courtyard Foyer)

3:40-4 pm PubCom–Accessible Workflow for Publishers (Word & InDesign)

4:10-4:30 pm Sonocent–The Sonocent Classroom: Get to Grips with Audio Notetaker

Breakout Sessions, 3:30-4:30 pm

Incorporating Student Voices in Accessibility at the Penn State University Libraries

Binky Lush, Manager, Penn State University Libraries

Dawn Amsberry, Penn State University Libraries

Emily Rimland, Penn State University Libraries

The recent interest in student engagement in libraries has led us to expand our efforts to include accessibility and the lived experiences of students with disabilities at Penn State. We’ll talk about the efforts of our graduate assistant for accessibility and how we’ve included student voices into our Libraries’ accessibility initiatives.

Waverly

The Publisher Sent me an EPUB! Now What? (Virtual A)

Susan Kelmer, University of Colorado Boulder

You requested alternate format for a student, and the publisher sent you an EPUB! You aren’t sure if the student can read it with their existing technology, and you’re not sure the EPUB includes all of the required navigation. I will show you how various TTS programs work with EPUBs, and how to turn that EPUB into another format if needed.

Meadowbrook I/II

Toward Universal Design in Online Learning: The Interface Between Technology and Pedagogy (Virtual B)

Mahadeo Sukhai, Canadian National Institute for the Blind

Sambhavi Chandrashekar, D2L Corporation

We will discuss the interface between technology and pedagogy in online learning environments, and the importance of applying inclusive design principles early in curriculum development. Key principles of differentiated instruction and inclusive teaching, and models of universal design, that educators can apply in course development will be shared.

Cotton Creek I

Web Accessibility in Higher Education: An Analysis of Over 4,000 Institutions

Jay Pope, Pope Tech

Pope Tech tested the top-level websites of all US universities and colleges (over 4,000 higher education institutions) using our scanning platform powered by the WAVE engine. This presentation will review interesting findings, including what were the most common errors found.

Cotton Creek II

Tips and Tricks for Accessible PDFs (Continued)

Rob Haverty, Adobe

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

Web Redesign RFP 101

Deborah Dorsey, Maryland Online

Richard Smith, Harford Community College

Mark Bandy, Harford Community College

Harford Community College completed a web redesign Request for Proposal (RFP) process. We will provide information for institutions to consider when developing their own RFP, materials for how to review submissions, and discuss governance process to ensure sites maintain accessibility standards as they grow and mature.

Windsor

Educating Your Web Team: Accessibility for Chummies

Angela Hooker, Microsoft

You’ve been working with your “chummies” for years on accessibility, and they still don’t quite “get it.” You give them rules, an accessibility audit report, deadlines, and standards--but they’re unsure of how to use these resources. Learn how to educate them for success so they can create accessible, usable digital media.

Westminster I

Feel Good About Your Tactile Graphics (Videotaped A)

Gaeir Dietrich, Access Specialist, Consultant

Robert Beach, Kansas City Kansas Community College

Creating tactile graphics can be daunting to the beginner, but it doesn’t have to be that hard. By focusing on “what is important to the graphic,” you will be able to plan and structure your graphic without getting lost in the details. We will discuss planning and creating your graphic, as well as tools and repositories to make your job easier.

Westminster II

Extreme Design: Solve for Extremes to Create Better Designs for Everyone (Videotaped B)

Derek Featherstone, Level Access

When we project extreme needs on to a design problem, our solutions almost always end up making our interfaces much better for everyone. Use these hands-on design techniques to improve not only the accessibility of your interfaces, but also their much broader usability.

Westminster III

How to Juggle: Daily Support and Widespread Accessibility

Kristen Dabney, Tufts University

Like many universities, there is an increased demand for accessibility staff to be involved in policy implementation in addition to the one-on-one support they provide to students with disabilities. This is one person’s lessons learned while balancing both modes of support throughout the academic year.

Westminster IV

Tips for Promoting Accessing IT Campus-Wide within the Context of a Universal Design Framework

Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington

UD has emerged as a paradigm to address diversity, equity and inclusion in the design of a broad range of applications that include IT, physical spaces, instruction, and student services. Engage with the speaker and other participants about how promoting the UD paradigm to all aspects of campus life can influence the expectation of accessible IT.

Lakehouse

Exhibit Hall Reception, 4:30-6:30 pm

Join us in the Westminster Ballroom Foyer for time to interact with exhibitors, other attendees, and enjoy some light food and drink.

ATHEN Annual Meeting, 6:30-8:30

Westminster Ballroom IV

Who is ATHEN? The Access Technology Higher Education Network, or ATHEN, is a professional association. The purpose of ATHEN is to collect and disseminate best practices in access technology in the higher education environment as well as present a collective voice for the professional practice of access technology in higher education. All are welcome to attend the annual meeting! However, only members can vote.

Thursday, November 21

Full-Day Preconference Sessions

7:30 am – 4:30 pm Registration Open, Fountain Greens Foyer

8 – 9 am Breakout Sessions

9 am – 6:30 pm Exhibit Hall Open, WB Foyer

9:15 – 10:15 am Breakout Sessions

10:30 – 11:30 am Roundtable Discussions

11:30 am – 12:30 pm Exhibit Hall Refreshment Break

12:20 – 2 pm Lunch Meetups (Or on your own)

2 – 3 pm Breakout Sessions

3:15 – 4:05 pm Breakout Sessions

4:20 – 5: 20 pm Breakout Sessions

5:20 – 6:30 pm Exhibit Hall Refreshment Break

7 – 8:30 pm Keynote Banquet, Legacy Ballroom

Complete session details can be found at accessinghigherground.org

Breakout Sessions, 8-9 am

A11yFirst Editor Enhancements Module for Drupal 8

Jon Gunderson, University of Illinois

The A11yFirst Editor Enhancements Module for Drupal 8 provides a way to support students, staff and faculty in creating and learning about accessible web documents by modifying the default WYSIWYG editor used by Drupal. Drupal is a popular Content Management System (CMS) used in higher education.

Waverly

Commonly Seen Accessibility Errors (Virtual A)

Becky Gibson, Knowbility

Think you know how to create null alt text, add labels using ARIA, or craft good link text? Unfortunately, some of these accessibility requirements are still not properly used. This presentation will review common accessibility errors surrounding alt text, form labels, link text, structure, and more which I continue to encounter on websites.

Meadowbrook I/II

Getting Past “Yes” to Genuine Action: Using the Dark Arts for Purposes of Good (Virtual B)

Greg Hanek, Indiana University

Most stakeholders will agree that accessibility is important. But what else might you be doing to move things forward to seeing genuine action being performed for improvement at your campus? Using some Dark Arts (social engineering) skills for purposes of good may help gain desired results.

Cotton Creek I

“Access BSC, A Bridge to Success in College”— Developing Your Transition Toolkit

Sumana Silverheels, Buffalo State College

Lisa Fronckowiak, Buffalo State College

Using Access BSC as a model, presenters will discuss how to effectively assist high school students with disabilities in utilizing low cost and free assistive technology, along with other tools to support a successful transition to college.

Cotton Creek II

Creating Accessible PDF Forms

Rob Haverty, Adobe

Making PDF Forms accessible can be a challenging task. Choosing whether to create form fields in a tagged PDF or create them prior to tagging only adds to the confusion. Each has its advantages and challenges. In this session, we will learn how to create accessible PDF Forms using Acrobat Pro DC and explore the differences between the approaches. [Double Session]

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

Training Your Dragon—Creating a Training Guide for Dragon Naturally Speaking (Lecture/Demo)

Wink Harner, The Foreign Type

A practical how to guide on setting up training modules for students and others on Dragon Naturally Speaking from initial training, through dictation practice to program operation by command, creating macros, dictating math, and using voice navigation.

Standley II Lab

FIU’s Personalized Approach: Designing an Accessible Database Management System for Disability Services

Joanna Lindsay, Florida International University

David Wong, David Software Services

This session will focus on the positive effects a fully customizable Database Management System has on disability services in higher education. Removing barriers while providing equal access to education is directly impacted by a DMS, so we will discuss how FIU’s DRC has adopted a new system at FIU while advancing the university strategic plan.

Windsor

Literacy Support with the Added Bonus of Accessibility: Read&Write

Laura Trimble, Texthelp

Gabe Christie, Metropolitan State University of Denver

Read&Write’s range of features supports students with their reading, writing, and studying. This session will detail how the

program supports Word, Google Docs, Websites, PDF, and more. Strategies presented can be used to teach the tools to students, support student acquisition of skills, and successfully implement the program across campus.

Westminster I

Social Media and Accessibility—2019 Update (Videotaped A)

Gian Wild, AccessibilityOz

Every year AccessibilityOz analyzes the accessibility compliance of the seven main social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and LinkedIn and explains what needs to be done to make sure your social media is accessible to all. [Double Session]

Westminster II

Alternative Wayfinding Systems to Assist Blind/Visually Impaired to Independently Navigate College Campuses (Videotaped B)

Jim Kessler, Senior Access Consultant, AHEAD

A discussion looking at positives and negatives of: accessible written directions (wordmaps), ‘sounding’ devices, directional and location beacons, real-time descriptions designed to enhance independent wayfinding for blind/visually impaired on college campuses.

Westminster III

Accessibility Training for IT Vendors: A New Model to Reach Accessibility

Hadi Rangin, University of Washington

University of Washington provides on-site accessibility training to vendors that have demonstrated strong commitment and have an accessibility roadmap. In this session we will share how we structure and perform our trainings.

Westminster IV

Math Made Easy: Conversion, Authoring, and Access with EquatIO!

Paul Brown, Texthelp

Susan Kelmer, University of Colorado Boulder

EquatIO is making math conversion, creation, consumption, collaboration, and compliance easy (and accessible!) on campuses and in school districts across the globe. Instructional Design, Disability Services, and Math Departments explain how this game-changing software is saving them time, money, and frustrations across the board.

Lakehouse

Exhibitor Presentations (South Courtyard Foyer)

9-9:25 am Verbit–Verbit Demo

9:35-10 am PubCom–Accessible Tables–InDesign to PDF

Breakout Sessions, 9:15-10:15 am

Making Career Services More Equitable and Inclusive Through Accessibility and Usability

Rebecca Hall, University of Minnesota

Raquel Anderson, University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota’s Career Services works hard to assure equitable access to opportunities for its students. This work includes looking with a critical eye at the online resources we provide, and engaging key campus partners from Purchasing, to IT, and Disability Resources in efforts to make these resources accessible and user-friendly.

Waverly

Using the Microsoft Accessibility Checkers to Optimize Document Accessibility (Virtual A)

Karen McCall, Open Access Technologies

The rules for the Microsoft Accessibility Checkers are evolving to reflect WCAG 2.x. This session provides an overview of how to effectively use the Microsoft Accessibility Checkers and identifies some of the issues that might arise if different versions of Office applications are used within an organization or collaborative process.

Meadowbrook I/II

EPUB Reading Systems for Students with Learning

Disabilities (EPUB; Virtual B)

Joseph Polizzotto, UC Berkeley

Richard Orme, DAISY Consortium

EPUB reading systems offer rich learning opportunities for students with disabilities, such as dyslexia, traumatic brain injury, and attention deficit disorder. In this session, we will compare and contrast popular EPUB reading systems and their support of the study skills that these students need the most.

Cotton Creek I

How We do Accessible IT at the UW

Terrill Thompson, University of Washington

Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington

Dan Comden, University of Washington

Hadi Rangin, University of Washington

Gaby de Jongh, University of Washington

Bree Callahan, University of Washington

The University of Washington has a long history of leadership in IT accessibility. In this session, team members from UW-IT Accessible Technology Services will discuss their individual roles and how they fit within the campus-wide strategy to empower the broader campus community and develop accessibility expertise throughout the institution.

Cotton Creek II

Creating Accessible PDF Forms (Continued)

Rob Haverty, Adobe

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

Positive Forward Movement: A University’s Digital Accessibility Journey and Strategies

Jen Bethmann, Illinois State University

This session explores “positive forward movements” and strategies for improving digital accessibility efforts across campus. Discover how Illinois State University is leveraging campus partnerships, establishing policy and procedures, and creating a new design system to improve usability and accessibility.

Windsor

Integrating Social Justice in Computer Science Pedagogy (UDUC)

Rua Williams, University of Florida

This presentation will highlight via case studies the essential need for critically conscious pedagogy in computer science coursework.

The presenter will demonstrate practical means of implementing pedagogical strategies for integrating ethics, social justice, and critical theory into learning outcomes to produce more a conscious student body.

Westminster I

Social Media and Accessibility—2019 Update (Videotaped A; Continued)

Gian Wild, AccessibilityOz

Westminster II

Monitoring Your Organization’s Accessibility Effort (Videotaped B)

Justin Stockton, The Paciello Group

Knowing where to begin your accessibility effort and how to monitor its ongoing efforts can be confusing without tooling that fits into your existing workflows. This technical demo of ARC will walk you through the various methods it can integrate into your teams and organization.

Westminster III

Streamlined Accessibility Testing: How a Harmonized Baseline and Quick Test/Fail Techniques Increase Efficiency

Jonathan Avila, Level Access

This presentation will cover how to build a testing methodology based on the ICT Testing baseline, reviewing the evaluation methodologies that are available and the related benefits of each, along with quick test/fail techniques to increase overall efficiency.

Westminster IV

WAI Resources – Putting Accessibility Guidelines and Support Materials to Work

Shawn Lawton Henry, W3C WAI / MIT

Sharron Rush, Knowbility

Explore free online resources from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) that support digital accessibility implementation across your organization. We will present tools, tutorials, training, videos, methodologies, and other material to advance your accessibility efforts from several angles.

Lakehouse

Exhibitor Presentations (South Courtyard Foyer)

10:10-10:35 am CommonLook–Testing PDF Documents Using CommonLook Validator for Accessibility

10:45-11:15 am Concourse Syllabus Management–Designing Syllabi for Everyone

Roundtable Discussions, 10:30-11:30 am

Topics and locations will be determined on site. For updates visit accessinghigherground.org/roundtables or check at the registration desk.

Exhibit Hall Break, 11:30 am-12:30 pm

Lunch Meetups (or on your own), 12:30-2 pm

Exhibitor Presentations (South Courtyard Foyer)

2:25-3 pm Sonocent–Introducing Glean: Sonocent’s Online Note-Taking Tool for Gen Z

3:25-3:50 pm SignGlasses–SignGlasses: Using Smart Glasses Technology in the Classroom

Breakout Sessions, 2-3 pm

Vispero in Education—Affordable Software & Hardware for Entire Campuses

Michael Wood, Vispero

Learn how Vispero partnered with colleges and universities to make JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion affordable so students have the necessary accommodations through their college years. We will also show the latest in hardware to make your campus fully accessible for low vision and blind students, faculty and staff.

Waverly

The Great PDF Purge (Virtual A)

Crystal Tenan, NC State University

We have worked with our campus on reining in inaccessible PDFs, but we still have the wild west of PDFs on our campus websites. That’s where the Great PDF Purge comes in. This inaugural event was geared at working with campus content creators and owners to re-examine each PDF we have on our websites and determine their fate.

Meadowbrook I/II

Able Player 4.0: A Free, Open Source Accessible Media Player (Virtual B)

Terrill Thompson, University of Washington

This session will explore all the features of Able Player 4.0, including support for captions and subtitles, audio description (two ways), chapters, and metadata; plus playlists, YouTube, Vimeo, a WordPress plug-in and a Drupal module. [Double Session]

Cotton Creek I

Words to the Wise: How Typed Transcripts and Video Captions are Boosting Student Outcomes

Nathan Nuñez, Rev

Join Rev as we delve into the research that shows how a simple, low-cost accessibility hack of offering captions and transcriptions can benefit all learners --- and how any university can improve learning experiences greatly, simply by harnessing the power of the written word.

Cotton Creek II

Preparing Accessible Math Documents Using MathJax (Hands-On)

Volker Sorge, Progressive Accessibility Solutions

We instruct on creating accessible math content from a variety of sources using exclusively free available open source tools. We concentrate on the generation of alternative document formats including speech and Braille suitable for web and EPUBs. And we teach how to use assistive technology with the new MathJax version 3 library. [Double Session]

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

Creating and Remediating EPUB (EPUB)

Richard Orme, DAISY Consortium

Sub-optimal EPUBs will benefit from enhancement such as descriptions and improving structure. Furthermore, you may want to add extra resources to even the most accessible files. This session will walk attendees through how to fix or add value to EPUBs using free tools. You will also learn the latest ways to create your own EPUB resources. [Double Session]

Standley II Lab

The Future is Accessible, Starting Now

Kristi Elmore, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Robin Ertz, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Chris Johnsen, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Rachel Tendall, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Ron Nelson, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

John Robnett, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Digital Accessibility can seem like a monumental task to undertake. Where do you even begin? Iowa State University Extension and Outreach staff asked that question nearly 2 years ago. This presentation will focus on the logistics of such a task in a large organization, the financial strategies, and the methods used to create buy-in and support from both leadership and staff. Lessons learned and impacts from a year of successful implementation will also be shared. Join us to learn steps that you can take home to start making incremental changes in your own organization. [Double Session]

Windsor

Universal Design for Learning: Planning for Learner Variability

Bryan Saums, Volunteer State Community College

Universal Design for Learning is a great platform to engage faculty in big ideas like “reaching all learners” while connecting them to practical considerations like accessible text & captioned videos. This interactive session will define Universal Design for Learning, introduce the three principles of UDL, & discuss ways to incorporate UDL into instruction.

Westminster I

Add Accessibility to Your Process the Easy-ish Way (Videotaped A)

James Green, Sr. Visa

We’ll cover the basics of how people with disabilities use technology, what the requirements and laws are, how to sell it to your stakeholders, how to find qualified help (avoid fakers!), tons of red flags to look out for - risks you will want to mitigate up front, how to evaluate your team and build a process they can and will want to adopt. [Double Session]

Westminster II

Neutralizing the Fear Factor: How Perceptions of Ongoing “Risk” Hamper Momentum for Your

Accessibility Program (Videotaped B)

Rick Ferrie, BarrierBreak

Often accessibility programs have their origins linked to negative events: angry students, litigation, reputation damage, etc. As a result, many find implementing solutions tainted from the outset. But by changing your approach, accessibility can stop being an item on a “risk map” and instead become a driver that supports many other opportunities.

Westminster III

OCR’s Year in Review

Mary Lou Mobley, U.S. Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights enforces title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, with respect to educational entities. In this presentation, OCR’s National Disability Expert will cover key enforcement decisions from the past year. [Double Session]

Westminster IV

Providing Tactile Tours to Increase Usability of Tactile Graphics

Brian Richwine, Indiana University Bloomington

Mary Stores, Principal Accessibility Consultant, Indiana University Bloomington

Presenters will introduce a special kind of figure description that we call a “tactile tour” for use in alternate media when tactile graphics are being used. The Tactile Tour description format increases the speed and confidence in which a tactile tour can be consumed by students with blindness by preconditioning and guiding perception.

Lakehouse

Breakout Sessions, 3:15-4:05 pm

Piloting Blackboard Ally: Faculty Perspectives

Christa Miller, Virginia Tech

Blackboard Ally is advertised as a tool capable of technical accessibility checks of ALL content in a learning management system (LMS). Virginia Tech pilot tested Ally to determine if it could support faculty in the design and deployment of accessible course material. This session provides lessons learned, faculty feedback, and future plans.

Waverly

The Blueprint for Student Success: Accessibility Support for Faculty and the Workflow to Make It Happen (Virtual A)

Shawn Jordison, Santa Monica College

Liezl Madrona, CCC Accessibility Center

Faculty are subject matter experts and now that many schools are using Canvas as their learning management system, they have also become website designers! Ideally, Canvas courses should be designed with accessibility in mind. How can an institution provide support for courses in these situations? Join Shawn Jordison and Liezl Madrona to learn how!

Meadowbrook I/II

Able Player 4.0: A Free, Open Source Accessible Media Player (Virtual B; Continued)

Terrill Thompson, University of Washington

Cotton Creek I

Building an Accessibility Team—Hiring the Right Specialists for the Job

Jacqueline Tolisano, Optum

This session discusses tips, tricks, and techniques for hiring qualified accessibility experts to help any organization meet its accessi

bility goals including tips on how to structure an interview process, what questions to ask during interviews, addressing different types of accessibility skills, and how to grow your own accessibility experts.

Cotton Creek II

Preparing Accessible Math Documents Using MathJax (Hands-On; Continued)

Volker Sorge, Progressive Accessibility Solutions

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

Creating and Remediating EPUB (EPUB)

Richard Orme, DAISY Consortium

Standley II Lab

The Future is Accessible, Starting Now (Continued)

Kristi Elmore, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Robin Ertz, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Chris Johnsen, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Rachel Tendall, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Ron Nelson, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

John Robnett, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Digital Accessibility can seem like a monumental task to undertake. Where do you even begin? Iowa State University Extension

and Outreach staff asked that question nearly 2 years ago. This presentation will focus on the logistics of such a task in a large organization, the financial strategies, and the methods used to create buy-in and support from both leadership and staff. Lessons learned and impacts from a year of successful implementation will also be shared. Join us to learn steps that you can take home to start making incremental changes in your own organization.

Windsor

Accessible Design Top 10 List

Marcial Contreras, University of Houston - Clear Lake

Using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 AA, this presentation will inform the audience of ten tips to consider when creating accessible content. These tips are not only vital to creating an accessible document for students with disabilities but can also benefit all individuals through incorporating universal design principles.

Westminster I

Add Accessibility to Your Process the Easy-ish Way (Videotaped A; Continued)

James Green, Visa

Westminster II

WAI Curricula: Build Your Own Accessibility Courses (Videotaped B; UDUC; WAI)

Shadi Abou-Zahra, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

Learn about open curricula that are freely available from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), to help you build your own courses and presentations on web accessibility.

Westminster III

OCR’s Year in Review (Continued)

Mary Lou Mobley, U.S. Department of Education

Westminster IV

A Tactile Image is Worth a Thousand Words

Dave Wilkinson, American Printing House for the Blind

Session attendees will learn about several ways of quickly creating detailed tactile images, maps, and other materials for students

who are blind.

Lakehouse

Exhibitor Presentations (South Courtyard Foyer)

4:10-4:35 pm 3Play Media–Quick Start to Accessible Video

4:50-5:15 pm Rev–Impacts of Caption on Learning

Breakout Sessions, 4:20-5:20 pm

Ed-ICT: Exploring IT Access in Five Countries

Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington

Dorit Olenik - Shemesh, The Open University of Israel (OIU)

Dana Kaspi-Tsahor, The Open University of Israel (OIU)

Learn findings of the Ed-ICT International Network: Disabled students, ICT, post-compulsory education & employment: In search of new solutions. This network, led by the UK, US, Canada, Israel & Germany, has for several years explored ways that these & other countries can increase access to accessible IT, particularly in postsecondary settings.

Waverly

The Velvet Hammer: Accessible Procurement Buy-In and Pushback at Cal State San Bernardino (Virtual A)

Leon McNaught, CSU San Bernardino

Christine Fundell, CSU San Bernardino

Constance Jones, CSU San Bernardino

This presentation will discuss strategies used to achieve buy-in and mitigate resistance to the CSU Accessible Procurement Process at

CSUSB. We will also highlight lessons learned over the past two years.

Meadowbrook I/II

Intro to Audio Description (Virtual B)

Jaclyn Leduc, 3PlayMedia

This session will cover the basics of how to add audio description to online video, legal requirements for audio description, video player compatibility, examples and demos, how to create audio description, and benefits of audio description outside of accessibility.

Cotton Creek I

Progress Made on Accessible STEM (EPUB)

Charles LaPierre, Benetech

George Kerscher, DAISY

Digital Educational publications in STEM can be quite complex to make accessible. Mathematics, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry must be visually correct, and accessible to persons with disabilities. Last year we showcased the leading efforts in making math accessible, this year we will provide an update on math and look at making STEM accessible.

Cotton Creek II

Testing Accessibility Throughout the Software Lifecycle

Justin Stockton, The Paciello Group

Software testing can take on many forms and testing accessibility with the various tools available is just one of these types of tests. Utilizing other methods like unit, integration, and functional testing can make it easier to assert that what is being built is accessible.

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) 2-Way Q&A

Shawn Henry, W3C WAI / MIT

Sharron Rush, Knowbility

Shadi Abou-Zahra, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

Join this question and answer (Q&A) session to learn about the international standards organization W3C, and its Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). You can contribute your ideas on resources such as the in-progress Web Accessibility Curricula, specific training and presentation materials, and resources for making online learning accessible.

Standley II Lab

Website Liability Under U.S. Accessibility Laws

Ken Nakata, Cyxtera

Jeffrey Singleton, Cxytera

Do you understand how disability laws affect websites? This presentation quickly lays the groundwork for understanding website liability. Then the presentation shifts gears to focus on common day-to-day questions—and how they have answered by Federal courts.

Windsor

A Graphic Designer’s Perspective on Universal Design for Learning

Lance Hidy, Northern Essex Community College

This is a case study of a campaign to bring UDL to a small community college. As part of a three-person team, the speaker brought his experience as graphic artist to the project. The result has been a growing interest among faculty and staff in producing more professional-looking documents that are not only accessible, but also user-friendly.

Westminster I

Alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Pro DC: Nuance PowerPDF and Foxit Phantom for Business (Videotaped A)

Karen McCall, Open Access Technologies

There are two alternatives to using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC for creating and remediating accessible tagged PDF documents. Nuance offers PowerPDF Advanced which incorporates a Ribbon in Office applications but is also a stand-alone tool. This session takes a look at the pros and cons of each software.

Westminster II

Scaling Online Course Accessibility (Videotaped B)

Kristin Noppenberger, University of Alabama

Learn how complete accessibility checklists (with all of the required items and step by step instructions) tailored for each program/platform provide a standard of accessibility, job aids/training, on demand accessibility information, and the ability to scale accessibility checks and remediation for all online college courses.

Westminster III

Getting Beyond the Checklist-Culture, Change, and Accessibility

Pat Needles, Onix

Pat Needles will be discussing the importance of moving beyond “checking the boxes” of digital accessibility and technical compliance. While WCAG 2.0 provides a convenient roadmap towards accessibility, it takes cultural change within an organization to make proactive avoidance of accessibility barriers a priority.

Westminster IV

Make Your Classroom Accessible and Inclusive with Microsoft 365

Alison Oberg, Microsoft

Meet Microsoft Accessibility experts to learn how Microsoft products can help create an inclusive learning environment, meeting the needs of all learners. We’ll discuss recently released features, such as live captions and translation built in to PowerPoint and Teams, and creative ways to leverage Seeing AI and the Xbox Adaptive Controller.

Lakehouse

Pre-Keynote Reception, 5:20-6:30 pm

Westminster Ballroom Foyer

Join us for light hor d’oeuvres and appetizers prior to the keynote banquet. Cash bar will be available.

Keynote Banquet Featuring Dr. Wanda Diaz Merced, 7-8:30 pm, Legacy Ballroom

“Human Centered Astronomy”

In this keynote talk Dr. Merced will share the approaches to disability inclusion in

the field of astronomy from the perspective of performance, metrics of productivity and Human centred approaches.

Friday, November 22

Full-Day Preconference Sessions

7:30 am – 3 pm Registration Open, Fountain Greens Foyer

8 – 9 am Roundtable Discussions

9:15 – 10:15 am Breakout Sessions

10:30 – 11:30 am Breakout Sessions

11:30 am – 12:45 pm Lunch (On your own)

12:45 – 1:45 pm Breakout Sessions

2 – 3 pm Breakout Sessions

Complete session details can be found at accessinghigherground.org

Roundtable Discussions, 8-9 am

Sessions and locations to be determined on site. Visit accessinghigherground.org/roundtables for updates or check at the registration desk.

Breakout Sessions, 9:15-10:15 am

Embracing the Workshop Model: A Scalable System for Ongoing Adaptive Technology Support

Michele Bromley, Portland State University

Depending on enrollment and corresponding staff capacity, one-on-one adaptive technology assessment and support may not be an option. This presentation will outline effective means for developing comprehensive adaptive technology assessment, training, and support services through qualitative surveys, regular workshops, and targeted drop-in hours.

Waverly

Building an Accessible Online Course: Best Practices and Principles (Virtual A)

George Joeckel, Utah State University / WebAIM

Participants will receive an overview of best practices for creating accessible online courses delivered through a learning management system. Participants will also review some accessibility principles, and how WebAIM addressed specific challenges when developing an online course for creating accessible documents.

Meadowbrook I

Video Player Accessibility—2019 Update

Gian Wild, AccessibilityOz

AccessibilityOz tests the accessibility compliance of video players every year - come hear the 2019 update and see how video players have improved - or not!

Meadowbrook II

Preparing Accessible Math Documents Using MathJax (Hands-On)

Volker Sorge, Progressive Accessibility Solutions

We instruct on creating accessible math content from a variety of sources using exclusively free available open source tools. We concentrate on the generation of alternative document formats including speech and Braille suitable for web and ePubs. And we teach how to use assistive technology with the new MathJax version 3 library. [Double Session]

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

EPUB Face Off—Publishers Getting it Right or Wrong (Virtual B; EPUB)

George Kerscher, DAISY Consortium

Rachel Comerford, Macmillan Learning

Jonathan Thurston, Pearson

Mary Conzachi, Director Product Management, McGraw-Hill Education

The panel brings together key educational publishers to expose details of the accessibility features consistently present in their digital publications. They will receive a set of questions in advance and will be required to show the accessibility feature in their publication. The moderator will dig deeper to possibly uncover shortcomings.

Cotton Creek I

Leveraging Exceptions: Processes to Drive Accessibility

John Jones, Wichita State University

Wichita State University has developed an exceptions process that is designed to both track the places where our efforts to provide accessible opportunities are not quite there yet, but also as a tool for driving the conversation forward and pushing the institution towards an ever more accessible future.

Standley II Lab

Importance of End-User Testing in Accessible Media Capstone Research (UDUC)

Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Mohawk College

This presentation will explore the importance of end-user and persona testing as part of the Mohawk College’s Accessible Media Production students’ capstone applied research projects on creating accessible media content. The presentation will cover both end-user testing and developing personas as part of the applied research process.

Cotton Creek II

Lessons Learned in the Website Revision Process

Petra Hartman, Harvard University

Grace Moskola, Harvard University

Website updates can be a result of a change in office leadership, staffing, philosophy, or institutional directives. We will be discussing how our office went through a major website overhaul and the steps taken to establish group buy-in, delegation of tasks, and progressive improvement toward a more accessible and user-friendly design.

Westminster I

Accessibility and the 7 Habits

Mark Greenfield, University at Buffalo

Creating a sustainable campus web accessibility program is challenging. Web accessibility is often misunderstood, poorly funded, and implementation is a shared responsibility. This presentation will provide an overview of Covey’s 7 Habits and how these principles can provide the framework for developing a successful web accessibility program.

Westminster II

Joliet Junior College’s 508 Compliance Website Accessibility Journey: From Problem to Partnership

Timothy Roessler, Joliet Junior College

Mindy Diaz, Joliet Junior College

Anglea Sullivan, Joliet Junior College

During Joliet Junior College’s journey from initial 508 accessibility challenges in its redesigned website to solving those challenges, several lessons were learned through a partnership between Disabilities Services, IT, the CIOS Department, and their website governance software provider, resulting in a better website and a new academic program.

Windsor

Breakout Sessions, 10:30-11:30 am

APH in Higher Education

Dave Wilkinson, American Printing House for the Blind

We will look at a number of products specifically aimed at addressing the accessibility needs of students who are blind or visually impaired. These products include simple ways of creating tactile graphics, simple video magnifiers, braille translation software, etc.

Waverly

Bookshare, AccessText, and Alternate Media Centers: Sources to Obtain Alternate Formats (Virtual A; EPUB)

Dawn Evans, Center for Inclusive Design & Innovation

Charles LaPierre, Benetech

The AccessText Network (ATN), Bookshare, and Alternate Media Centers are additional sources for Disability Service Providers and/or individuals with disabilities to obtain alternative formats. We will explain the similarities and differences between Bookshare, ATN, and Alternate Media Centers.

Meadowbrook I

Web Accessibility for Large Organizations: Narrowing the Focus

Kathryn Tipton, CSU Northridge

Learn how one large public university changed our approach to reporting, improving the accessibility of our web presence while reducing the frustration of our web content producers.

Meadowbrook II

Preparing Accessible Math Documents using MathJax (Hands-On; Continued)

Volker Sorge, Progressive Accessibility Solutions

We instruct on creating accessible math content from a variety of sources using exclusively free available open source tools. We concentrate on the generation of alternative document formats including speech and Braille suitable for web and ePubs. And we teach how to use assistive technology with the new MathJax version 3 library.

Standley I (Adobe Lab)

Hey, Siri—Are We There Yet? The State of ASR & Synthesized Speech for Captioning & Description (Virtual B)

Elisa Edelberg, 3PlayMedia

We’ll cover two different speech technologies – ASR and synthesized speech - and where they succeed and fail when it comes to accessible video. We expect to see continuous improvements in ASR for captioning and transcription. However, with current technology, we have a starting point of (about) 80% accuracy, which is not acceptable for captioning.

Cotton Creek I

Learning Process Automation: Bringing Assistive AI to Accessibility

Rajiv Narayana, ansrsource

Artificial intelligence (AI) is in a nascent stage in the learning industry, but that is about to change. ansrsource CEO Rajiv Narayana will demonstrate how ansrsource has leveraged Learning Process Automation for accessibility, achieving dramatic quality, time, and cost improvements.

Standley II Lab

Accessibility: Teaching Skills for the Future (UDUC)

Tracy Christofero, Marshall University

Lori Howard, Marshall University

Ralph McKinney, Marshall University

Brian Morgan, Marshall University

Industry is actively seeking people who can create accessible products, but they cannot find trained talent due to a significant skills gap. MU ACCESS helps students obtain those skills to fill that gap. SMART Devices and a SMART Dorm excite students about innovative problem-solving, foster real-world connections and support future employability.

Cotton Creek II

Faculty Training Success Story: Partnering Around Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Initiatives

Marla Roll, Director, Colorado State University

Craig Spooner, Colorado State University

Shannon Archibeque- Engle, Colorado State University

College campuses are striving to assist & train faculty with creation of accessible course content. The ATRC at Colorado State University has successfully partnered with larger campus diversity and inclusive excellence efforts to build and implement a successful “inclusive technology” training program.

Westminster I

Collaboration Room: Bring Your Accessibility Questions

Robert Beach, Kansas City Kansas Community College

Gaeir Dietrich, Access Specialist, Consultant

Susan Kelmer, University of Colorado Boulder

Terrill Thompson, University of Washington

Joseph Polizzotto, UC Berkeley

Do you have accessibility questions? This is the place for you. A team of experienced and knowledgeable individuals will be available to assist in finding answers to questions on a wide range of accessibility topics. This is not a lecture, presentation or panel discussion. This is a conversation session on the topics you want to know about.

Westminster II

Your Ally in Change Management

Krista Greear, Blackboard

Many schools are trying to make big changes regarding accessibility on their campus. Yet, few of us consider how real change happens. As one who has insight into dozens of school’s strategies regarding improving accessible digital content, I want to share some principles of change management that all can utilize regardless of role.

Windsor

Lunch (On your own), 11:30 am- 12:45 pm

Breakout Sessions, 12:45-1:45 pm

How to Empower Professors to Support Students with Disabilities (Virtual A)

Auston Stamm, Saint Mary’s College

I have presented the past two years at my college to faculty about the importance of incorporating universal design, inclusivity & accessibility in the classroom. The goal of this presentation is to provide you with a guide you can use to inspire faculty to incorporate those principles into their courses and campus policy.

Meadowbrook I

Sticky Access—Giving a Change-Oriented A11y Experience

William Burgess, Middle Tennessee State University

What can we learn from psychology that will help us to convince others of the imperative nature of digital access? How about sticky ideas? I’d like to share a digital accessibility experience that you can implement at your organization to demonstrate common access barriers and how they can be fairly easily fixed.

Meadowbrook II

Different Role, Same Goal: Creating a Culture that Embraces Accessibility (Virtual B)

Jennifer Pedersen, University of Alaska Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula College

Alasha Brito, University of Alaska Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula College

Our institution faced an Office of Civil Rights complaint and the Voluntary Resolution Agreement required all public facing websites to be fully accessible by November 2019. With the mindset of “different role, same goal”, faculty and staff took ownership of creating and distributing accessible digital content.

Cotton Creek I

Teaching Accessibility: Case Studies of Courses that Include Accessibility Topics in their Curricula (UDUC)

Terrill Thompson, University of Washington

Korey Singleton, George Mason University

Shadi Abou-Zahra, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

In this session three speakers will review curricula components that they have used in classes that teach about accessibility in computer science, IT and web design courses. Specific resources that can incorporated into classes will be discussed. The third speaker will discuss curriculum resources developed by the World Wide Web Consortium.

Cotton Creek II

Creating the PSU Tactile Map from One SVG File

Michael Cantino, Portland Community College

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files can be enlarged infinitely, embossed (with ink and texture!), printed on microcapsule (swell touch) paper, laser cut, vinyl cut, 3D printed, and more! Learn how to use one SVG file for a variety of production methods and learn shortcuts for quickly creating an SVG from a source image.

Standley II Lab

Document Accessibility, Avoiding Lawsuits, and Future Proofing—Tools to be in Compliance

Doug Koppenhofer, Crawford Technologies Inc.

Recently, there has been an increasing number of demand letters and lawsuits around Website and Document Accessibility. Education, Governments, and small businesses are not immune. We will consider what tools to use, how should I monitor content and how do I provide the necessary quality assurance to be in compliance for PDF accessibility

Westminster I

From Accommodation to Inclusion: How to Build a Captioning Budget that Benefits All Students

Scott Ready, Verbit

Many institutions are transitioning from the reactionary approach of accommodations for an individual student to a planned approach creating a better learning environment for all students. But this transition often requires a change in institutional mindset and budget. Come, hear how others are succeeding on this journey.

Westminster II

Breakout Sessions, 2-3 pm

Writing Effective Alternative Text for Educational Content: Best Practices for Reducing Cognitive Load (Virtual A)

Valerie Morrison, Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation

Finding the balance between providing too much and too little information in your image description is the key when describing images with educational content. Best practices for reducing cognitive load will help you write alternative text for complex charts, diagrams, and infographics that is effective, clear, and accessible.

Meadowbrook I

Aira, A Tool to Enhance Campus Accessibility for Students and Visitors Who are Blind or Low Vision

Greg Stilson, Aira

This session will explain and demonstrate Aira, a tool which provides access to visual information in realtime, for those who have blind or low vision, using an app on a smartphone or a pair of smart glasses. Attendees will see the service in action on existing campuses and learn how powerful and simple it is to implement.

Meadowbrook II

Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment in 3 Steps (Virtual B)

Liezl Madrona, Butte College

Are you helping faculty with accessibility support on campus? Do you have a faculty professional development team that would benefit from having additional accessibility support resources? Do you want free digital goodies? If your campus uses Canvas, learn effective practices faculty can adopt to help make their courses more inclusive.

Cotton Creek I

Student Benefits and Teaching Resources for Including Accessibility/Inclusive Design Topics in

University Courses

Howard Kramer, AHEAD/University of Colorado Boulder

The session will review the results of a study to measure the student benefits of taking accessibility and Inclusive Design topics in college level courses. Benefits for both career and academic work will be explored. In addition, learn about curriculum resources and strategies for teaching about accessibility.

Cotton Creek II

Take Control! Overriding Publisher Layout for Improved Accessibility in Your eBooks…Including Sideloading!

Rick Johnson, VitalSource Technologies, LLC

While your ebook may have the needed accessibility markup, what you need may be a different layout, color scheme, or font to help improve the readability for dyslexia or other needs. Come learn how the latest VitalSource Bookshelf puts these and other controls into the users hands.

Westminster II

Exhibitor Presentation Schedule

Wednesday, November 20

9 – 9:30 am Docsoft Inc.– Captioning--Simple-Easy, Michael Robichaux

9:40 – 10:10 am BlueDAG– Using Technology to Streamline ADA Compliance, Trent Sunahara

10:55–11:20 am Ai-Media, Inc.– Audio Description – Overview, Kelly Smyth

11:35 am – Noon Concourse Syllabus Management– How Accessible is your Syllabus? George Cook

2:30–2:55 pm Pope Tech– Intro on how to use WAVE, Jay Pope

3:05–3:30 pm Monsido Inc.– Web Accessibility and Governance, Jacob Dornbush

3:40–4 pm PubCom.com–Accessible Workflow for Publishers (Word & InDesign), Bevi Chagnon

4:10–4:30 pm Sonocent–The Sonocent Classroom: Get to Grips with Audio Notetaker, Barry McFadden

Thursday, November 21

9–9:25 am Verbit– Demo, Scott Ready

9:35–10 am PubCom.com–Accessible Tables — InDesign to PDF, Bevi Chagnon

10:10–10:35 am CommonLook– Testing PDF Documents using CommonLook Validator for Accessibility, David Herr

10:45–11:15 am Concourse Syllabus Management–Designing Syllabi for Everyone, George Cook

2:25–3:10 pm Sonocent– Introducing Glean: Sonocent’s Online Note-taking Tool for Gen Z, Paul Davies

3:25–3:50 pm SignGlasses– SignGlasses: Using Smart Glasses Technology in the Classroom, JV Featherstone

4:10–4:35 pm 3Play Media– Quick Start to Accessible Video, Elisa Edelberg

4:50–5:15 pm Rev– Impacts of Caption on Learning, Wendy Mejia

Exhibit Hall Map

Exhibit Hall Layout

1 Automatic Sync Technologies

2 Ansrsource

3 Rev

4 AccessibilityOz

5 Note Taking Express

6 Concourse Syllabus Management

7 Appligent Document Solutions

8 Texthelp

9/10 Vispero

11 Open Access Technologies

12 Aira

13 Ai-Media

14 Sonocent

15 Sensus Aps

16 CommonLook

17 Monsido

18 Blackboard

19 Equidox by Onix

20 BlueDAG

21 PubCom

22 Verbit

23 SignGlasses

24 Kurzweil Education

25 Level Access

26 Docsoft Inc.

27 3Play Media

28 247 Accessible Documents

29 Cyxtera

30 Pope Tech

Conference Sponsors

3Play Media (Gold Sponsor)

Booth #27

www.3playmedia.com

3Play Media is a full-service video accessibility solution you can trust to deliver on quality, turnaround, and support. 3Play Media provides closed captioning, transcription, translation, subtitling, and audio description to more than 2,500 customers in higher education, enterprise, entertainment, and government. 3Play Media simplifies the process of making videos accessible through flexible APIs, integrations with video players and platforms, simple plugins, and a user-friendly online account system.

247 Accessible Documents Pte. Ltd. (Bronze Sponsor)

Booth #28

https://www.247accessibledocuments.com/

247 Accessible Documents is a leading firm in the area of accessibility and section 508 compliance. We offer accessible document remediation services to ensure that your documents, training manuals, user manuals, brochures, learning material, textbooks are compliant as per ADA & Section 508. We partner with translation companies to ensure that the translated documents meet accessibility compliance requirements. Let’s be proactive and make all documents compliant with ADA & Section 508

AccessibilityOz

Booth #4

www.accessibilityoz.com

AccessibilityOz is an accessibility consultancy based in the U.S. and Australia. We work with clients to ensure they meet their accessibility requirements by providing assistance during audits, as well as instructional information through our products OzWiki (accessibility error/solution database), OzART (automated accessibility testing tool) and OzPlayer (accessible video player).

Adobe (Computer Lab Sponsor)

Adobe.com

Adobe gives you everything you need to design and deliver exceptional digital experiences. We’re passionate about empowering

people to create beautiful and powerful images, videos, and apps across every screen

Ai-Media (Lanyard Sponsor)

Booth #13

https://www.ai-media.tv/

Ai-Media offers a range of accessibility services, including remote live captioning for lectures, events and live streams, as well as closed captions, transcription and described video. We deliver thousands of hours of live, pre-recorded captioning and transcription services to a range of education, corporate, government and broadcast clients globally.

Ansrsource (Bronze Sponsor)

Booth #2

www.continualengine.com – accessibility tools and platforms

www.ansrsource.com – accessibility content services

Continual Engine and ansrsource bring together decades of educational content experience with artificial-intelligence-enabled, scalable learning automation solutions. Our Invicta platform uses workflow optimization and automated alternate text and remediation tools to make content accessibility simpler, faster, of more consistent quality, and less costly.

Appligent Document Solutions (Bronze Sponsor)

Booth #7

appligent.com/services/pdf-accessibility-services/

Appligent Document Solutions provides high quality Accessibility Services and Remediation of PDF documents. Our Education customers rely on us for excellent advice and service in providing accessible content.

Blackboard Inc. (Gold Sponsor)

Booth #18

http://ally.ac/

Blackboard Ally focuses on making digital course content more accessible and integrates seamlessly into the learning management system. Using inclusivity, sustainability and automation as its key pillars, Blackboard Ally helps you understand and tackle accessibility in a way that benefits all students. For more information, visit our website and connect with us.

BlueDAG (Silver Sponsor)

Booth #20

www.bluedag.com

BlueDAG is a cloud-based software suite that enables end-to-end management of ADA evaluations and compliance initiatives.

BlueDAG’s integrated suite of tools simplifies and streamlines the ADA compliance tasks of both public and private colleges and universities by allowing users to: • Perform evaluations for programs and services, classroom and facilities, and public right-of-ways using desktop and mobile devices • Manage grievances, student accommodation requests, and public communication from start to finish • Save up to 60% of user time with automated report and plan development.

Cengage (Gold Sponsor)

http://www.cengage.com

Cengage is an education and technology company serving the higher education, K-12, professional, library and workforce training markets worldwide. Cengage creates learning experiences that build confidence and momentum for students.

CommonLook (Silver Sponsor)

Booth #16

https://commonlook.com/

PDF Accessibility: Problem Solved

CommonLook® is a world-leading provider of software products and professional services enabling government agencies, educational institutions and corporations to meet their obligations for electronic document accessibility.

Concourse Syllabus Management (Bronze Sponsor)

Booth #6

www.intellidemia.com

Superior Syllabus Management

Concourse. Superior Syllabus Management since 2007. Our leading, fully accessible, cloud-based platform allows you to manage syllabus templates, achieve consistency, run reports, expand access, ensure compliance, and streamline workflow.

Equidox by Onix (Gold Sponsor)

Booth #19

https://equidox.co/

Equidox empowers your organization to meet the digital accessibility needs of your clients, students, and employees with our PDF Conversion Software and Services. Our professional Digital Accessibility Services include web accessibility testing, web accessibility training and accessibility consulting, as well as VPAT completion. Use Equidox by Onix™ software to convert inaccessible PDF documents in-house. Outsource PDF remediation projects to Equidox consultants using our PDF Conversion Services. Employ our Digital Accessibility Services to ensure that your organization can reach everyone.

Monsido Inc. (Silver Sponsor)

Booth #17

www.monsido.com

Monsido is a web governance platform that specializes in web accessibility (ADA), Quality Assurance and Analytics. Our time-saving auditing tool provides accurate and insightful information that helps organizations work with confidence to identify accessibility and quality assurance issues where ADA Compliance is mandatory. For more information, please visit

Pope Tech (Bag Sponsor)

Booth #30

https://pope.tech/

Pope Tech gives you enterprise level accessibility reporting powered by WAVE. We are built for higher ed. Results in Pope Tech are categorized just as they are in WAVE, making them easy to understand. Along with your accessibility data, you’ll get explanations in plain English—what each issue means, an assessment of its impact on users, and suggestions for remediation.

Rev (Platinum Sponsor)

Booth #3

www.rev.com

Fast. Affordable. Accurate.

Rev provides fast, high quality, and on-demand services for transcription, video captions, foreign language subtitles, and document translation. Starting at just $1 per minute with a 24-hour turnaround, Rev is disrupting the transcription and caption markets by providing institutions with an easy way to make content accessible to all audiences. Rev offers solutions for institutions of all sizes through ADA-compliance, customizable APIs, integrations with major platforms and video players, and an easy-to-use interface.

Sonocent (Bronze Sponsor)

Booth #14

www.sonocent.com

Come and meet the Sonocent team! We’ll discuss how we help students achieve more with note-taking technology. Sonocent software and web app enables students who struggle with note taking to create their own notes. Instead of writing, students record classes and highlight key parts with color, combining annotations, audio, text, images and presentation slides all into a single workspace.

Texthelp Inc. (Bronze Sponsor)

Booth #8

www.texthelp.com

Hello we’re Texthelp. We believe that literacy is every individual’s passport to academic, social and professional success. It’s our genuine desire to help students and professionals understand, learn and express themselves. We create user-friendly literacy and learning solutions that provide the support everyone needs; through reading, writing, STEM, and research.

Vispero (Gold Sponsor)

Booth #9 and 10

www.vispero.com

Vispero is the world’s largest assistive technology provider for the visually impaired. Our brands Freedom Scientific, Enhanced Vision, Optelec, and The Paciello Group develop and deliver innovative solutions that enable blind and low vision individuals to reach their full potential – to gain an education, obtain employment, succeed in professional careers, and live independently throughout their lives.

Exhibitors

Aira

Booth #12

www.aira.io

Visual Interpreter on Demand

Aira is a free, easy-to-use tool for anyone who is blind or low vision. Using the free app, a student or campus visitor can connect with real, highly-trained agents who can see their surroundings through a phone’s camera. From enhancing daily living skills to finding campus buildings or classrooms, Aira provides information on demand that increases independence, enhances efficiency, and empowers students to complete tasks on their own terms.

Download the Aira app for free at www.aira.io/app.

Automatic Sync Technologies

Booth #1

https://www.automaticsync.com/

Your video accessibility partner.

CaptionSync by AST was developed 15 years ago, in collaboration with expert advisers from higher education and with funding from the U.S. Department of Education. We’re known for our stellar support and for providing the most complete suite of video accessibility services available, including audio description and live captioning.

Cyxtera

Booth #29

www.compliancesheriff.com

Compliance Sheriff, a Cyxtera business, delivers web accessibility software and a comprehensive framework for web accessibility

built upon extensive research and decades of global industry experience. With a flexible and customizable automated accessibility testing solution and well-known expertise in the industry, Compliance Sheriff has helped shape many global organization’s accessibility policies and practices.

Docsoft Inc.

Booth #26

www.docsoft.com

Liberating Speech

Docsoft Inc., is a software development company that allows users to do in house transcriptions, time coding and close captioning to meet the needs of the ADA and Sections 504/508.

Kurzweil Education

Booth #24

www.kurzweiledu.com

Kurzweil Education’s assistive technologies provide accessible learning and parity across devices, offering a simpler experience that engages students. Explore the possibilities today!

Level Access

Booth #25

https://www.levelaccess.com/

With 20+ years of digital accessibility experience working with thousands of public- and private-sector organizations large and small, Level Access helps customers address the full scope of regulations such as the ADA, WCAG, and Section 508 with cutting edge software, consulting and training solutions for effective, long-term accessibility programs.

Note Taking Express Inc.

Booth #5

www.notetakingexpress.com

Students should have the choice of how they engage with information. This is what Note Taking Express provides.

Open Access Technologies, Inc.

Booth #11

www.openaccesstech.com

Universal Accessibility is our Goal Document accessibility can be complicated. Making sure an accessible document is actually usable by those with vision or cognitive disabilities can be even more complex. You need a trusted partner to help you navigate the sea of document accessibility requirements and regulations. Open Access Technologies (OAT) understands there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to making a digital document accessible and usable for everyone. You can trust the OAT team to ensure your entire document library serves the needs of your customers while ensuring compliance with WCAG 2.1, PDF/UA, Section 508 and other state and federal standards.

PubCom.com

Booth #21

www.PubCom.com

Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing

Sensus Aps

Booth #15

https://www.sensus.dk/en/digital-accessibility

Alternate media made easy

Sensus ApS SensusAccess® is a conversion service for accessible documents and alternate media. SensusAccess® automates the conversion of documents into a wide range of alternative formats including Braille, MP3, DAISY, DAISY math and e-books in 30+ languages. SensusAccess® also converts inaccessible documents into more accessible formats and can be integrated with popular LMSs.

SignGlasses

Booth #23

www.signglasses.com

SignGlasses is an innovative technology that is aimed at improving the educational experience for all deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the classroom. Our technology allows us to broadcast live sign language interpretation from a remote location to a student in the classroom via smart glasses. These students no longer have to try to focus on two places at once. We also offer a suite of online tools that allow schools to source high-level interpreters, provides for enhanced scheduling and provides for cutting edge lecture capture technology for the students.

Verbit

Booth #22

https://verbit.ai/

Transcription Just Got a Lot Smarter

Verbit harnesses the power of artificial and human intelligence to provide a smart transcription and captioning solution. Built on adaptive algorithms, it is the only technology that generates the most detailed speech-to-text files to provide over 99% accuracy, delivered at record-breaking speed. Smart AI technology supports on-demand CART services for real-time results. Verbit’s customized solution helps organizations maximize the potential of their audio and video files by making information searchable, accessible and actionable.

Accessing Higher Ground-Accessible Media, Web, & Technology Conference

Overall Schedule

Monday, November 18

Tuesday, November 19

Wednesday, November 20

Thursday, November 21

Friday, November 22

Meeting Space

Table of Contents

Special Sessions, Receptions, & Meetings

AbleDocs Welcome Reception

Roundtables

Lunch Meetups

EPUB and Accessible Educational Materials Track

UDUC Mini-Conference on Teaching Accessibility and UD

Exhibitor Reception

ATHEN Meeting

Pre-Keynote Reception

Keynote Presentation & Dinner

Monday, November 18

Full-Day Preconference Sessions

Full-Day Preconference Sessions, 10:30 am - 5 pm

Getting to Grips with EPUB

Managing Accessibility Testing

PDF Remediation with CommonLook PDF

Knowbility’s Accessibility Master Class

PDF Accessibility—Train-the-Trainer (2-Day Session)

Wagging the Dog: Secret Macro/Replace Tricks and Tips in Alternate Format Production

Half-Day Preconference Session, 2:30-5:30 pm

Creating Accessible Digital Documents in MS Office (Virtual)

Tuesday, November 19

Full-Day Preconference Sessions

Full-Day Preconference Sessions, 9 am-4:30 pm

Mobile Site Accessibility Testing

Creating Accessible PDF Forms Using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

PDF Accessibility—Train-the-Trainer (2-Day Session)

Create Accessible Documents in Word & PowerPoint (WebAIM Certificate)

Inside EPUB

Introduction to Online Course Accessibility

Understanding the ARIA Authoring Practices and Screen Readers

Inclusive Design: The Product and the Process

Half-Day Preconference Session, 9 am-Noon

Acquiring Accessible IT Products for Your Campus (Virtual)

Half-Day Preconference Session, 1:30-4:30 pm

YOU CAN Create Accessible Math for Students with Print Disabilities (Virtual)

Wednesday, November 20

Full-Day Preconference Sessions

Breakout Sessions, 8-9 am

Using Pattern Lab and Drupal 8 to Stop Reinventing the Accessibility Wheel

Accessibility and Universal Design for Online Courses—Making the Practice Practicable, and a Bit Less Scary (Virtual A)

There are Two Sides to Every Story: VPATs

Born Accessible: Ensuring You’re Adopting Accessible Course Materials (EPUB)

Introduction to Accessible PDF Documents (Virtual B)

3D Printing Educational Models for All Students (Lecture/Demo)

We’re All in this Together: Lessons from a Help Desk in Changing Culture

Future of Accessibility Guidelines for Web and ICT

Tips and Tricks for Inexpensive Accessibility Testing (Videotaped A)

Faculty Learning Community for Inclusive Pedagogy (Videotaped B)

Universal Access—Live, Remote Notetaking for the Wider Student Population

Lessons Learned from Managing a Student Workforce in Creating STEM Alternate Materials

Exhibitor Presentations (South Courtyard Foyer)

Breakout Sessions, 9:15-10:15 am

Inclusive Course Design Requires a Team

Overview of the Microsoft Immersive Reading Tools in Office 365 (Virtual A)

Accessible and User-Friendly Drag-and-Drop Questions

Creating an Inclusive Library Environment

Introduction to Accessible PDF Documents (Virtual B; Continued)

3D Printing Educational Models for All Students (Lecture/Demo; Continued)

Integrating a11y on your Site and Organization from the Ground Up

UDL and Accessibility Strategies in the Classroom Using Faculty Learning Communities

IT Procurement: Accessibility as a Functional Criterion (Videotaped A)

Trending Tech Tools—2019 Update: What’s New, What’s Improved, & What’s on the Horizon for Assistive Technology & Accessibility Tools (Virtual B)

Case Study: SensusAccess LTI at Columbia College— Improving Accessibility to Instructional Material

Design Systems for Accessible Accessibility

Exhibit Hall Break, 10:15-11:15 am

Exhibitor Presentations (South Courtyard Foyer)

Breakout Sessions, 11:15 am-12:15 pm

Fusion Assistive Technology: For On and Off the Campus Use

Creating Accessible Comics and Graphic Novels (Virtual A)

Navigating the Venn Diagram of Video Accessibility Laws (Virtual B)