Texas Tech University

For Faculty

Accessibility Training Available at TTU

By Kirsten Morris, Instructional Designer/Accessibility

Creating accessible online content for your courses can be difficult to figure out but Texas Tech has several ways of supporting faculty through this important process. The first is through the Online Accessibility Lab located in the eLearning & Academic Partnerships department. The OAL offers training for faculty in the form of webinars several times each semester and are also available to provide customized training for colleges or departments upon request. We will come to you and teach your faculty the basics of creating accessible documents and videos for online courses.

Upcoming Webinars Offered by the OAL

Online Accessibility for Instructors

On May 17th, 2-3pm CST, there will be a webinar focused on helping online instructors become acquainted with the expectations for accessibility in online courses. In this webinar, we will discuss the need for accessibility in online instructions as well as the resources provided at Texas Tech to assist instructors in making their online content fully accessible to all students. Register for the webinar today and learn how to make online courses accessible. 

Making Accessible Documents

On June 5th from 10am-12pm CST, there will be a free webinar about creating accessible documents, focusing on Word and PDF. This workshop will introduce you to the simple steps needed to make documents accessible to those who utilize assistive technology like screen readers. You will receive instruction and designated time to ask questions and practice the new skills on your own documents. Please bring a syllabus or another document to revise and make accessible during the webinar. Register for the webinar today and learn how to create accessible documents.

 


 

Lynda.com Training

Another source for training offered at TTU is Lynda.com. Lynda.com has several courses relating to accessibility and they are free to access at your convenience. However, Lynda.com will be phased out in Fall 2018, so take advantage of the following resources as soon as possible! 

Creating Accessible Documents in Microsoft Office

This brief 25-minute Lynda.com course walks you through accessibility basics for Word, Excel and PowerPoint. This course precisely teaches the learner what they can do to make their documents compliant with ADA standards. While it will not answer detailed questions you might have, its contents will cover most accessibility concerns.

Acrobat DC: Creating Accessible PDFs (2015)

This is a deep dive into accessible PDF creation and remediation. Whether you choose to watch it from beginning to end or select the topics of interest to you, this course provides clear instructions about how to make PDFs fully accessible. There is even a follow up course for answering more advanced questions about PDF accessibility.

Accessibility for Web Design

This 2-hour course is an introduction to everything from color contrast to keyboard interaction. For those interested in creating websites that are accessible to people with disabilities, this course will provide information that you need to get started.

If you have any questions about these trainings or would like to set up a training with your department, contact Kirsten Morris at elearning.oa@ttu.edu.