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Accessibility News

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Do You Buy Tech?

February 21, 2024

The University Library

The way the campus purchases technology is changing, and you’re invited to come to one of our live question-and-answer sessions to learn more.

https://www.csun.edu/universal-design-center/ict-request-topdesk

One of the ways we ensure that students and the rest of the CSUN community have access to campus technology and digital information is by checking for accessibility compliance during the purchasing process. Submitting the Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI) Information and Communication Technology (ICT) form prompts an accessibility assessment by the Universal Design Center (UDC). Read More About Do You Buy Tech?

 

 

Captioning Instructional Videos

January 30, 2024

a hand holding up video screens

Did you know that CSUN will caption your instructional videos at no cost to your department? Many films and videos are already captioned, so check the video you want to present. If it is not captioned – or if the captions are poor quality - you can submit your videos to the NCOD: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services to have them professionally captioned. Read More About Captioning Instructional Videos

 

 

Course Accessibility Report

December 21, 2023

A laptop with a green check on the screen

What’s one simple step you can take to improve the accessibility of your course(s) before the next semester starts? Review your Course Accessibility Report.

Your Course Accessibility Report is specific to each course you teach using Canvas, and it is viewable only* by you. The report gives you a measure of the accessibility status of your course, a list of all of your course content and the accessibility of each file, and a list of the accessibility challenges that Canvas Ally found in your course. Read More About Course Accessibility Report 

 

 

Alternative Testing Accommodations for Final Exams

November 16, 2023

graphic of a student sitting at a desk with a laptop and three books

Alternative testing accommodations, such as extended time for testing, are provided to ensure that a student's performance is representative of their mastery of the subject and not their disability. 

DRES and/or NCOD student(s) must request their accommodations each semester in SAAS and faculty are able to review the student eligible accommodations.

Read More About Alternative Testing Accommodations for Final Exams

 

 

This PDF is Scanned

October 19, 2023

computer with a PDF on the screen

Your PDF in Canvas has a bright red dial, a score of 0%, and the message “This PDF is scanned.” What do you do?

Step 1: Can you make another copy?

Do you have access to the original book, article, etc.? Can you find it again online or in the University Library? Read More About This PDF is Scanned

 

 

AI & Accessibility

September 21, 2023

computer processor that says AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is making the digital world more accessible. Paradoxically, some AI tools are themselves not accessible. If you want to use AI in your class this Fall, offer an alternate way to complete those assignments and/or check with the Universal Design Center (UDC) about the accessibility of the tool you’ve chosen. Read more about AI & Accessibility

 

 

 Joint Dear Colleague Letter from the DOJ and DOE

May 19, 2023

Today, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a letter regarding the Departments' ongoing efforts to address barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating in online services, programs, and activities that colleges, universities, and other postsecondary institutions make available to students and the public. The letter can be found at OCR's Digital Accessibility webpage and DOJ's Disability Rights Cases page. Read Joint Dear Colleague Letter from the DOJ and DOE.

Early Bird Accessibility

May 18, 2023

bird holding a sign that reads early bird accessibility

A few steps over the summer will mean a smoother start to the Fall semester for many of your students. Read More About Early Bird Accessibility

 

  

 Alternative Testing Accommodations for Final Exams

graphic of a student sitting at a desk with a laptop and three books

Alternative testing accommodations, such as extended time for testing, are provided to ensure that a student's performance is representative of their mastery of the subject and not their disability. 

DRES and/or NCOD student(s) must request their accommodations each semester in SAAS and faculty are able to review the student eligible accommodations.

Read More About Alternative Testing Accommodations for Final Exams
 

New Procurement Accessibility Canvas Course

March 29, 2023

a computer on a shopping site with a receipt

If you are a frequent “CSUN shopper” you may have been told to complete an ICT Form prior to your purchase being approved. Information Communication Technology (ICT) purchases at CSUN must undergo the Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI) Procurement Procedure. Knowing when, what and how to submit required documentations to Universal Design Center (UDC) and the Purchasing & Contract Administration will help both departments expedite your request. Read More About New Procurement Accessibility Canvas Course

What Does a11y Mean?

February 23, 2023

accessibility symbol the word accessible under it numbers 1 through 10 and a11y

“a11y” stands for “accessibility.” A numeronym is a number-based word with 11 for the number of letters between the letters a and y. A11y often appears on social media platforms like Twitter because space is limited and every character counts #a11y. It is always good practice to spell the word and any abbreviations or make a reference to your abbreviation when used for the first time. Read More About What Does a11y Mean?

 

5 Accessibility Tips to Help You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

January 19, 2023

notebook with new year's resolutions on table with glasses pen and phone

Whether it is a document, webpage, Canvas, flyer, infographic, email, or social media, content creators should always consider the five most common accessibility tips to create accessible and user-friendly content for everyone. Read More About 5 Accessibility Tips to Help You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

 

Accessibility Tip - Student and Faculty Training

December 22, 2022

The University Library

In 2021-22, the Universal Design Center (UDC) conducted a pilot with select departments to train their student employees in making documents accessible. The pilot was a success, so for 2022-23 we are pleased to offer this program to all CSUN departments. 

The Universal Design Center (UDC) will train your department’s student employees to help make documents and other course materials accessible. This new session starts in February 10th, and there are only 34 seats left. Sign your department’s student employees up today! Read More About Accessibility Tip - Student and Faculty Training

 

Accessibility Tip on Dashes and Hyphens

November 17, 2022

The Mysterious Dash or Hyphen preparing your content for Screen Readers

A screen reader is an assistive technology that helps people with vision impairment to access and interact with websites or applications through touch or audio. However, there are some limitations with screen readers. For example, screen readers do not know what the – symbol represents, whether it is a minus sign, hyphen, en dash or em dash, and will not read it. So, when you are creating content for your courses, it is always a good practice to spell out the word and any abbreviations or make a reference to your abbreviation when used for the first time.  Read More About Accessibility Tip on Dashes and Hyphens

 

Accessibility Tip - Share Notes, Share Knowledge

October 20, 2022

student taking notes in class

In my dual role as an instructor and an accessibility analyst at the Universal Design Center, I often try to weave accessibility practices into my teaching strategies. They are mostly easy to implement and benefit all students. There may be students who do not self-identify as individuals who need certain accommodations to participate in class activities and meet the learning objectives. Read More About Accessibility Tip - Share Notes, Share Knowledge

 

 Accessibility Tip - Recycling Old Files

Accessibility logo

Want to know a common object you’ll find in any classroom or office that’s a secret weapon when it comes to accessibility? It’s your computer’s Trash or Recycle Bin! Going through your content and getting rid of unused files helps you focus on the accessibility of the remaining materials. And it is often more time efficient to find or make a new, more accessible copy than it is to try and fix an older file.

If you need storage for files that you’re not using this semester, but that you don’t want to necessarily delete forever, you can always store them in myCSUNbox until you’re ready to make them accessible and use them again! Accessibility Tip - Recycling Old Files

 

Accessibility Training for Student Employees

stylized graphic of a student using a laptop with books and plants nearby

The Universal Design Center (UDC) will be training student employees to help make documents and other materials accessible. This new session starts up on Sept. 30th, and there are only 18 seats left. Sign your department’s student employees up todayRead more about Accessibility Training for Student Employees

 

Early Bird Accessibility

Early Bird on sticky note with marker and clock

A few steps over the summer will mean a smoother start to the Fall semester for many of your students. Read More About Early Bird Accessibility

  

 

Join the "Moving the Needle" Challenge

March 24, 2022

Accessibility logo with half a pie graph with four sections from red to green.

This April 4th to 8th, each CSU will compete to see which campus can show the greatest improvement to the accessibility of our course materials. We need your help! Read CSUN's approach to this challenge

 

 

Where to Start with Accessibility?

person standing in front of a question mark and scratching their head

Not sure where to begin when it comes to accessibility in your course? No problem! We have three steps that will help you get your course off to a great start. Read more about Where to Start with Accessibility?

 

 

What Does “Accessible” Mean?

Street sign that says accessible

What does it mean for something to be "accessible"? If your course materials pass these three checks, then you have addressed many common issues. Read more about What Does “Accessible” Mean?

 

 

Accessibility for Scanned PDFs

person scanning document

When you're working with scanned PDFs, Canvas Ally says “the document is scanned but not OCRed.” What can you do? Sometimes fixing a file is not the first answer. Read more about Accessibility for Scanned PDFs

 

Tidy Your Way to a Better Report

March 24, 2022

Canvas AllyThe Course Accessibility Report is a new feature of Canvas Ally that gives you a picture of the accessibility of the course as a whole. Read more about Canvas Ally Report

 

 

Just One Thing: Descriptive Text

March 24, 2022

Just One ThingHave time for just one accessibility step? Add descriptive text! Descriptions for images, links, and more can help all of your students navigate and access your content. Read more about Just One Thing

 

 

Faculty Resources for SAAS Student Accommodation

accessibility logo

If you have a student in the Student Access and Accommodation System (SAAS) receiving services through NCOD: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, please brush up on the tips on their Virtual Learning page.

If you have a student in SAAS receiving services through Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES), please review their Accommodating Students page and consider how virtual instruction may intersect with your student(s) accommodation(s).

If you have any other questions about accessibility, please  /bookings/">make an appointment with the Universal Design Center (UDC). Read more about Faculty Resources for SAAS Student Accommodation

 

Winter Accessibility Bootcamp

Universal Design Center

Ensure your Spring syllabus is accessible and earn a stipend through this four-day workshop Jan. 11-14th, 10-11:30am each day. The Accessibility Bootcamp covers best practices, tips, and the core tools and campus resources available to make documents, videos, and other course materials more accessible. Featured tools include Canvas Ally, which aids in identifying accessibility challenges in your course materials in Canvas. Read more about Winter Accessibility Bootcamp

 

How Do Students Use Canvas Ally?

Canvas Ally with microsoft word powerpoint and adobe acrobat logos

In 2020-2021, students downloaded 57,704 PDF versions of Word and PowerPoint course materials. Students have several alternative file formats to choose from, and Ally will convert a variety of files. However, Word and PowerPoint to PDF was by far the most popular. What does this mean for faculty? Read more about How do students use Canvas Ally?

  

Winter Online Accessibility Training

Webaim web accessibility in mind

The CSU Chancellor's Office now offers an online independent-study document accessibility course covering Word, PowerPoint and PDF. The course covers creating, evaluating, and optimizing content and structure in documents. There's also a bonus module on accessibility in Excel. Read more about Winter Online Accessibility Training

 

New Canvas Course Accessibility Report Feature Available

accessibility logo

New for 2021-22! The Course Accessibility Report is powered by Canvas Ally and is available in the navigation menu for each of your Canvas courses. The Course Accessibility Report gives you an overview of the accessibility of your course, including guidance like “easiest issues to fix” and “fix low scoring content." The Course Accessibility Report also lists all of the content within that course and displays the Canvas Ally dial for each item. Read more about New Canvas Course Accessibility Report Feature Available

 

Early Bird Accessibility

icon of a bird next to a clock

Taking a few Universal Design steps over the summer will mean a smoother start to the Fall semester for many of the students in your courses. Read more about Early Bird Accessibility

 

 

Captioning Course Content

April 30, 2021

CaptioningCaptioning is part of the Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI) because videos have become an integral way to share information with students, faculty, staff... Read more about Captioning

 

 

Purchasing Information and Communication Technology

April 30, 2021

Purchasing

Another way CSUN incorporates accessibility is through our purchasing process. Per CSU policy, all of our Information and Communication Technology (ICT) purchases undergo the Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI) Procurement Procedure to measure the impact on accessibility. Read more about Purchasing ICT

 

 New UDC Training Videos and Resources

April 30, 2021

UDC Training video and resourcesCurious how to create accessible course materials that reach more students? The UDC offers Accessibility Training Videos and Resources, and virtual training throughout the year. Our Accessibility Training Events are open to all faculty, staff, and student assistants. Email us at udc@csun.edu. Visit UDC Training Video and Resources

  

Can You Read This? Using Color Contrast in Universal Design

March 23, 2021

laptop against white background with waves of color coming out of the screen

Color can be a potent way to grab attention and convey information – and a few simple techniques can make it even more effective for the widest possible audience. Read more about Can You Read This? Using Color Contrast in Universal Design

 

Making STEM Content Accessible with EquatIO

Equatio logo at top with handwritten equation in the EquatIO mobile app translated into an accessible digital format in the desktop or browser version

EquatIO is software to help both faculty and students create, share, and study accessible equations and formulas. EquatIO can generate images with accurate alternate text descriptions, or “use LaTeX to create accessible math expressions and add them directly into digital documents.” Read more about Making STEM Content Accessible with EquatIO

  

New Zoom Feature - Live Automated Captioning

Zoom logo with white camera icon above

CSUN Academic Technology is excited to announce that live automated captioning in Zoom is now available campus-wide. Read more about New Zoom Feature - Live Automated Captioning

 

 

Canvas Ally Feature: BeeLine Reader

BeeLine Reader logo

Ally, the accessibility service within Canvas, makes it easier for students (and you!) to read on computer, tablet, or mobile device screens. Read more about Canvas Ally Feature: BeeLine Reader

 

  

Captioning Videos

CC, closed captioning.

Funding is available to help faculty generate captions and transcripts for instructional media.  Read more about captioning videos.