Barriers in digital information can prevent people with disabilities from participating as full members of society. It’s surprising that digital accessibility practices are still rarely taught as part of formal education. Digital accessibility is integral to enabling all learners in today’s information society. Teaching digital accessibility as part of college and university curriculum is important.
    
To fill the gap, Ryerson University has created five practical online courses and corresponding interactive, modular, and open textbooks aimed at raising awareness of digital accessibility globally.

Whether you are a serial poster, super scroller or logical lurker, there are opportunities for everyone to think about how to get more from social media.  This session will help you think about your academic identity online, providing opportunities to think about the way you network and what your social media is capable of doing for you.   Sarah will be sharing practical strategies and approaches that have been tried and tested, whether you want to engage students in sessions, reach a larger network with your research or want to connect with a wider community. 

At this session we will provide information and support to CMALT assessors, providing an overview of the assessment criteria, advice on how to complete an assessment, and an opportunity to see how the assessment process works.

There will also be time for individual questions at the end of the session.

The Board of Trustees of ALT is the Association's overall governing body and meets three times a year face to face and monthly online. 

You can find out more about the Trustees on our governance pages. You can read the minutes from previous meetings on the committee minutes page. 

The Board of Trustees of ALT is the Association's overall governing body and meets three times a year face to face and monthly online. 

You can find out more about the Trustees on our governance pages. You can read the minutes from previous meetings on the committee minutes page. 

Covering issues of privilege, equity, precarity, power relations and public interest, OER20 will put the spotlight on both the value and limitations of care in open education. 
 
Care is a means for social transformation when it is rooted in actual practices and mechanisms that guarantee its redistribution towards a lasting social reorganisation (ZEMOS98, 2019). But in the age of data surveillance and significant risk on the open web, how can we map out and give visibility to the critical component of care practices? How can we build sustainable communities, participatory practices, and civic engagement for the public good and a healthier democracy?  

OER20 Conference Committee: This year we are offering all volunteers an opportunity to sign up for what you are particularly interested in helping with in the run-up to and during OER20. We would like the conference to reflect the diverse and growing OER20 community across the UK and beyond. The work of the Committee will start in late September 2019 as the Call for Proposals is issued and continues up to the conference in April 2019. If you would like to apply to join the OER20 Committee please complete this form.
 
We are particularly keen to hear from people who have an interest in the following indicative areas of practice:

• Openness in the age of surveillance
• Sustainable open education communities
• Open education for civic engagement and democracy 
• Criticality and care in open education 

The Call for Proposals will open in September 2019. 
 

In this Myshowcase.me live webinar we'll be discussing ePortfolios, how they encourage lifelong learning and the different approaches educators can take to support their learners. We'll also introduce our own ePortfolio, Myshowcase.me, a tool which provides staff with the tools to empower learners and enhance engagement and feedback. Find out more and register.

This webinar is organised by ALT as part of our work with the Further Higher Education Digital AccessibilityWorking Group (FHEDAWG).

The webinar will be accessible from one hour before the start time at the following link: https://eu.bbcollab.com/invite/96398ed3f5984441ae2e8934534a5368

Session Summary

On 23 September 2018, the government brought the EU Web Accessibility Directive into law with a statutory instrument. Policy Connect and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Assistive Technology produced to report to shape the implementation of the regulations to promote inclusive teaching in FE and HE. Since the report’s publication Robert and his team have continued to engage with the Cabinet Office, the Office for Students and Department for Education, and we are beginning to see some of the recommendations adopted. The FE and HE sectors have also responded to the recommendations in the report, by forming a Digital Accessibility Working Group, of which Robert is a co-chair. This webinar will explore what the new regulations and implementation efforts mean for universities and disabled students.

Biography

Robert McLaren is the Head of Industry, Technology & Innovation at Policy Connect, a cross-party not for profit think tank. His work covers data, design, manufacturing and assistive technology policy. Robert is a co-chair of the FE/HE Digital Accessible Working Group, a member of the DfE Assistive Technology Expert Group, and a member of the Bournemouth University External Advisory Board on Assistive Technologies (Research) and co-founder of the AT Officers’ Network (HE). Robert is dyslexic and was first introduced to assistive technology when he received a Disabled Student's Allowance as an undergraduate.

Technical Support

The webinar will run in Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, and we will issue joining instructions approximately three days prior to the event. Even if you are familiar with Blackboard, it is important that you check in advance that your system and connection are capable of handling a session. More support on using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is available from https://help.blackboard.com/Collaborate/Ultra/Participant, and refer to the guidance at https://www.alt.ac.uk/events/webinar-faqs.