Hosted by the National Federation of the Blind and the USM Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation

Background

Digital accessibility refers to the intentional design of electronic technologies and materials so that they are usable by all people, including people with disabilities. In the case of our increasingly technology-enhanced courses, digital accessibility means equitable access to educational opportunity.

In Fall 2022, the Kirwan Center and NFB hosted a USM digital accessibility convening with campus teams consisting of individuals who support faculty in digital accessibility -- instructional designers and technologists, teaching and learning center directors and staff, librarians, and accessibility and disability support services specialists. Sessions addressed supports for faculty to evaluate and create curricular materials, facilitating culture change, and laws/legal obligations and standards. Teams had time to reflect on the day’s learnings and to plan their next steps.

The Fall 2023 event was designed to be highly experiential, where participants had the opportunity to move through a series of immersive activities – cane travel, the use of Braille, and the use of access technology – designed to recalibrate participant expectations related to the abilities of individuals who are blind or low vision and expose them to tools that promote independence and inclusion. The second half of the seminar focused on answering the question, “now what?” by engaging teams in sessions featuring tools and strategies to build toward greater digital accessibility in courses and programs.

 Resources from the event can be found under the Program tab.