Re: Teaching Accessibility

Hi all

TPG is involved in the Teaching Accessibility initiative, and the focus should be of great interest to members of this group. 

On the one hand, major industry names are making a public statement to increased value of accessibility as a core professional skill of their current and future employees. On the other hand, academic institutions are committing to increase focus on supporting students gain knowledge and skills in digital accessibility to meet the demands of industry. 

This second focus should mean more and better integration of accessibility into curricula (and hopefully not just computing science but wider digital literacy programmes), but it should also in parallel encourage greater focus on accessibility *of* online learning environments.

The announcement coinciding with the ADA 25th anniversary is just the start of things—and we’ll be happy to report back here on progress. But if anyone would like to know more about the initiative, feel free to ask questions on this thread, or directly to either Sarah or me.

Dave

David Sloan

UX Research Lead
The Paciello Group
dsloan@paciellogroup.com



On 26 Jul 2015, at 15:08, Laura Carlson <lcarlson@d.umn.edu> wrote:

> Hi All,
> 
> The Washington Post Announcement:
> "This small change could make a big difference for accessible
> technology" by Hayley Tsukayama.
> "Tech firms such as Yahoo, Facebook, Dropbox and LinkedIn announced
> Thursday that they will develop standard language that lets applicants
> know that having accessibility knowledge is "preferred" to land a job.
> The move is part of a larger program called "Teaching Accessibility":
> a joint effort between disability advocates, schools and the tech
> industry to make all technology accessible from the start..."
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/07/23/this-small-change-could-make-a-big-difference-for-accessible-technology/
> 
> The Site: Teaching Accessibility
> By teachingaccessibility.com.
> "All technology companies that have worked on accessibility have faced
> a similar challenge of preparing designers, engineers and researchers
> to think and build inclusively. Similarly, academic programs in
> design, engineering and HCI are seeking ways to better prepare
> students to address the needs of diverse populations. Given this
> shared challenge, industry, academia and advocacy have now come
> together to create models for teaching and training students of
> technology to create accessible experiences. If you’re interested in
> working with us, please contact teachingaccessibility@gmail.com and
> @teachaccess."
> http://teachingaccessibility.com/
> 
> Best Regards,
> Laura
> -- 
> Laura L. Carlson
> Information Technology Systems and Services
> University of Minnesota Duluth
> Duluth, MN U.S.A. 55812-3009
> http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/
>

Received on Sunday, 26 July 2015 22:18:53 UTC