IDEAS Group to Offer Online Accessibility Seminar on Technology and Human Insight

The Instructional Design, Engagement and Support (IDEAS) group invites faculty members, instructional designers and learning technology specialists to attend its next online seminar, "How Technology & Human Insight Can Support All Learners," on Tuesday, Sept. 23 from 2-3:30 p.m.

Accessible course design enables efficient learning, rather than making students decode materials - or miss out entirely. While technology can help, true accessibility depends on instructors' subject-matter expertise and empathy for the learner experience.

In this seminar, presenters will discuss how accessibility benefits everyone, demonstrate ways to combine technology tools and human knowledge to achieve this aim and show how individuals can make meaningful improvements right away.

Key discussion topics will include:

• What is one change instructors can make today that can significantly improve accessibility in their courses?
• What are common accessibility pitfalls and how can instructors avoid them?
• What happens to student engagement when we add accessibility measures?

Presenters during the seminar will include: Sarah C. Mercier, CEO of Build Capable; Ashley Woodman, Developmental Disabilities and Human Services Specialization program director at UMass Amherst; Erica Foley, instructional designer for IDEAS; and Luis Pérez, director of disability & accessibility at CAST.

This seminar will be live-streamed on the day of the event and advance registration is required.

For more information and to register for the seminar, visit the IDEAs website.