Summary
Attend University accessibility events where you can learn more about making digital resources accessible, discuss related topics, and advocate for inclusion.

Upcoming Events
Working With Cancer: the Impacts of Accessibility & Inclusion
Fifty percent of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lives, and emerging research suggests that a supportive work environment improves health outcomes for people dealing with a serious illness or condition. Drawing on her personal experience with a stage IV cancer diagnosis in 2022, Phoebe Johnson will discuss the impacts an inclusive, equitable, and accessible work environment has had on her health and treatment journey.
Johnson, a senior director of information technology at the University of Minnesota, was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer in August 2022. She is interested in the ways an intentionally inclusive and accessible workplace can make a difference in the well-being and health of employees.
Date and Time
Presenters
- PhoebeJohnsonOffice of Information Technology
Sponsors
Registration
Registration for this session is required. Let us know if you are attending. By default, we enable auto-captioning in the webinar. Please let us know what additional accommodations we can provide. Two weeks notice (October 12) will help us to better fulfill requests. This session will be recorded, captioned, and shared with the Google Group.
Event Recordings
Displaying 21 - 30 of 50
Captioning
Videos and teleconferencing are part of everyone’s daily life in a (nearly!) post-pandemic world. But videos by themselves often leave a large gap for those who do not rely on hearing to communicate, or who otherwise have difficulty interpreting speech. This month we welcome back accessibility ambassador Amanda Ryan, academic technologist at the Institute on Community Integration, to share her knowledge of captioning.
Presenters
- AmandaRyanInstitute on Community Integration
Sponsors
Accessibility Ambassadors
Content Formats
- Meetings and Events
Creating Accessible Tables on the Web
Presenters
- KimDobersteinRed Hat
Sponsors
Related Badging Program Courses
- Canvas Course Sites Course
- Web Content Course
Content Formats
- All Digital Content
Designing Accessible Maps for All!
Presenters
- AmyEllisonMinnesota Department of Natural Resources
- RuthMacDonaldMinnesota Department of Natural Resources
- KittyHurleyMN IT Services
Sponsors
Content Formats
- Documents and PDFs
- Websites and Applications
Student Panel on Accessibility
When discussing accessibility, digital or otherwise, there are a lot of things to consider—legal compliance, technical needs, standards, etc. However, at its very core, accessibility is about people. The reason that accessibility is important is because of the people who are affected by inaccessible content.
On April 29, we were very fortunate to have a group of University of Minnesota students who identify as people with disabilities who were willing to discuss their experiences and share how inaccessibility affects them in their lives, careers, and education.
Presenters
- RyanMachtmesGraduate Student, University of Minnesota
- KateJirikGraduate Student, University of Minnesota
- LucasNadolskisStudent, University of Minnesota
- NathanStenbergGraduate Student, University of Minnesota
Sponsors
Recording
Content Formats
- All Digital Content
- Course Activities and Materials
Future of Library Text Accessibility: The Promises and Potentials in EPUB
Much of what makes documents accessible to people with disabilities and their assistive technologies boils down to the file format. Every format comes with benefits and drawbacks when it comes to accessibility. Which format or formats should libraries choose to best benefit their patrons and the needs of archives and discovery? While our current efforts focus mostly on the long-in-the-tooth PDF format, innovations in newer formats, such as EPUB3, have great promise for improved reader experience and accessibility.
Presenters
- KateDeibelInclusion & Accessibility Librarian at Syracuse University Libraries
Sponsors
Related Badging Program Courses
- Canvas Course Sites Course
Content Formats
- Course Activities and Materials
Universal Design
This presentation will introduce how ableist behaviors and attitudes are the roots of an inaccessible society for people with various abilities. It will outline how elements of Universal Design, Universal Design For Learning, and Inclusive Design provide pathways to inequity in higher education.
Presenters
- JohnO’NeillUniversity of Minnesota Duluth
Sponsors
Related Badging Program Courses
- Canvas Course Sites Course
Content Formats
- Course Activities and Materials
Make ARIA Sing
ARIA is an important accessibility component that ensures complex web applications will work well with screen-reading software. However, when used incorrectly it can actually make accessibility worse.
Whether you are a soloist or part of a large group, learning the who, what, when, where, why, and how of ARIA can be daunting. Jenn Czeck will be your conductor, leading your site from a cacophony of sound to a harmonious melody. GIFs included.
Jenn is a former UMN employee. She currently works at US Bank as an accessibility consultant.
Presenters
- JennCzeckFreelance Developer and Accessibility Advocate
Sponsors
Content Formats
- Websites and Applications
Creating an Accessibility Testing Plan
Once we know the basics of accessibility, it can be a daunting task to actually ensure that our work is accessible. In this session, Jen Sanders will go over the lessons she’s learned in her time as an accessibility-focused developer, things to watch out for, and how to make an effective testing strategy that works for your team. This is the same material as Jen’s presentation at DrupalCon Global 2020, but the content is not exclusive to Drupal. This presentation will be useful for anyone involved in creating accessibility plans—whether they be content creators or developers.
Presenters
- JennSandersOffice of Information Technology
Sponsors
Content Formats
- Websites and Applications
Folwell Web Theme Accessibility
When the Folwell Web Theme was created, component accessibility was considered every step of the way. Kathy and Dimitri will talk about the up-front research done for each component, the methods used to properly configure components to be accessible, the testing done for each component during and after development, and the ongoing updates being made to keep Folwell accessible.
Presenters
- KathyJensenUniversity Relations
- DimitriTadegeUniversity Relations
Sponsors
Related Badging Program Courses
- Web Content Course
Content Formats
- Websites and Applications
Introduction to Cognitive Accessibility
When discussing digital accessibility, physical disabilities like visual impairments and limited mobility are well documented. However, cognitive accessibility (often shortened to COGA), for those with cognitive or learning disabilities, is a large part of accessibility that experts are now researching in order to understand how we can provide better online experiences.
In this presentation, Amy will give an introduction to the existing standards for cognitive accessibility.
Presenters
- AmyDrayerUniversity Libraries
Sponsors
Related Badging Program Courses
- Foundations Course
Content Formats
- All Digital Content