Day: March 13, 2020

Accessible Remote Work and Covid-19

Some links for organising remote work, like remote meetings, video presentations, online teaching, and web content accessibility

Remote Meetings

Here are couple of suggestions collected from a variety of sources and personal experience (see detailed suggestions from University of Washington on accessible online meetings here)

  • Encourage participants state their name and institution each time they speak. 
  • Ask participants limit the background noise as much as possible and mute themselves when not speaking.
  • When URLs or other resources are mentioned, have someone designated to type them into the chat window – or follow up with participants after the meeting.
  • Allow folks to ask questions either by (1) using a hand raising function and asking verbally or (2) by typing in the chat. 
  • Encourage folks to look at their name in the participant list and change it to their First Last if it defaulted to something else.
  • When possible, have someone manage the chat and another person lead the meeting. Depending on the size of the meeting, it can be challenging to do both.

Best practices for common video technology

Captioning Services

Remote Video Presentation

A Remote Video Presentation Guideline

Online Teaching

Accessible Online Teaching Guidelines (Aimi Hamraie’s step-by-step guide)

Preparing to Teach During an Outbreak

Moving Your Course or Resource Online

20 Tips for Teaching an Accessible Online Course

30 Web Accessibility Tips

Distance Learning Blog Posts

Accessibility 101

Country-Specific Accessibility Laws

Disability and COVID-19

A compilation of resources on disability and COVID-19:

5 Things To Know About Coronavirus and People with Disabilitiesby Andrew Pulrang (Forbes)

‘Real people won’t die’: Rhetoric around who is at risk of coronavirus infection sparks debate over ageism, ableism
by Julia Mastroianni (Globe and Mail) 

Disability and COVID-19 
by Cam Tait (Edmonton Sun)

Coronavirus hits ill and disabled people hardest, so why is society writing us off?
by Frances Ryan (The Guardian)

World Institute on Disability: COVID-19 Calls to ActionHERE

3/26 1-2pm ET How to Survive Your (Hurried) Switch to Online Delivery Using UDL

Webinar that may be of interest


How to Survive Your (Hurried) Switch to Online Delivery Using UDLDate: March 26, 2020 – 01:00pm – 02:00pm (ET)

Converting your on-ground course to an online course can be a challenge under normal circumstances but converting to an online course in an emergency is a whole different matter. In this webinar, we will discuss how to survive this process and even improve the course by applying the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL is an educational framework that seeks to remove barriers by providing multiple means of engagement, representation and action and expression.

Speaker Bio: 
Tom Thibodeau, Assistant Provost at the New England Institute of Technology
Tom Thibodeau has served as assistant provost at the New England Institute of Technology in East Greenwich, RI. As assistant provost, he serves as the division chair for seven academic departments with 18 degree programs (AS, BS, MS and PPD) and over 1,200 students. He also leads faculty development, outcomes assessment and attendance tracking through a team-based approach. As a facilitator of new faculty orientation, Thibodeau stresses the use of UDL, active learning, problem-based learning and technology-enhanced teaching and learning. He managed development of NEIT’s first online degree program in Information Technology in 1998 and implemented a new curriculum mapping process. Thibodeau started at NEIT in 1990 as an adjunct instructor in video production and then an assistant professor, department chair and director of the Center for Distributed Learning and the Faculty Resource Center. Tom is the co-author of “UDL in the Cloud” with Dr. Katie Novak.