Training
Introduction
We have an exciting line-up of training events for Semester One 2023. The first event is to mark the end of our Accessibility Allies project, all of the training series and workshops that follow were designed based on the project findings. For example, as PDFs were a common issue with the 'accessibility scores' in Ally during our project, we are running a series on how to make these more manageable for staff and students. Our QUAD series creates a focussed look at four simple fixes. The remaining two workshops also replicate some of the common issues that were tackled.
A special thanks to our interns Grace Arnold, David Power, Conor Stout and Donagh Sugrue for all your discoveries!
Making Accessible PDFs
Every Tuesday in September @11am | Blended
One of the most common accessibility issues with academic and administrative content pertains to PDFs. For example, scanned, untagged, and non-text-readable documents cannot be read by students using assistive technologies. The terms ‘tagging’ and ‘text-readable’ are completely new to many people, so we are here to explain why these elements can cause issues and how to remediate them in a few simple steps. Making a PDF accessible does not require advanced technical skills. This series is open to all admin, technical, and academic staff who wish to make their content more accessible to all students.
For more information see our flyer below. A breakdown of each session can be found here.
Use this form to register for 'Making Accessible PDFs'
QUAD Series
Every Tuesday in October @11am | Online
This mini-series includes four short sessions on the following accessibility requirements:
- Q – Quality Heading Styles
- U – Unique Descriptive Links
- A – Alt Text on Images
- D – Design with Colour Contrast
The QUAD acronym is to help you remember these four principles when creating content in any desktop application or online tool. For example: Word, PowerPoint, Canvas or Adobe.
Use this form to register for the QUAD Series
Writing Alt Text for Graphs and Charts
15 November 2022 @11am | Áine Hyland Room, The Hub
It is easy to write a sentence to describe a simple image in our content, such as an icon or photograph. What do we do when this image contains complex information, such as a data chart or graph? This session will show you a structure for writing Alternative Text for graphs, so that vision impaired users will not be excluded from important information in their learning content.
Use this form to register for 'Writing Alt Text'
Creating Accessible Videos
29 November 2022 @11am | Brookfield R242
Videos are a great resource for conveying visual information to students, which they can play in their own time and repeat as often as they need. The Panopto recorder, which is available to all UCC staff, has several features that can assist with accessible. For example, automatic captions, audio descriptions of images, section titles, and transcript generation. These tools are simple to use and will benefit a wide variety of students, including those with vision impairments, language barriers, and cognitive disabilities.