In Their Own Words (Part 1): Key Takeaways From Presenters at the University of Guelph’s 2021 Virtual Accessibility Conference
In May, I had a chance to participate in a virtual accessibility conference hosted by the University of Guelph. I had learned about the event from another member of the Sakai community, Shawn, who is one of the key people responsible for overseeing our Jira triage ticketing process and the Sakai UX (usability) group. I had initially reached out to him a few months ago about conducting interactive test sessions over Zoom to take a closer look at different accessibility issues encountered during my testing of Sakai each week. While I had originally pitched these weekly sessions as a sort of pre-Jira triage meeting, thinking that these sessions could help to make the whole process of creating accessibility-related Jira tickets go more smoothly, these weekly interactions with Shawn go well beyond just streamlining some process or workflow; they serve as a virtual meeting space for the two of us to learn from one another, exchange ideas and work through problems, and ultimately improve our unique community approach to understanding and addressing the accessibility and usability needs of the Sakai LMS.
Plus, these weekly Zoom sessions are always a good chance to get caught up or even share a few laughs, and I can honestly say that Shawn and I have formed a genuine, albeit entirely virtual, friendship over these past few months of regularly meeting to work through a variety of accessibility-related issues.
For the above reasons, it just made sense that both of us would likely benefit from attending the University of Guelph’s virtual 2021 Annual Accessibility Conference, and it is why we decided to collaborate on this series of blog posts as a practical way to share with others within the Sakai community all this great information we learned about different accessibility best practices.
The 2021 Annual Accessibility Conference featured 30 concurrent sessions, bonus workshops, plenary panel discussions, and a keynote presentation over three information-packed days. The conference organizers went to great lengths to share information about all of the presenters and sessions, including releasing the recordings and transcripts of the sessions after the conference, which gave attendees the opportunity to watch those sessions they were unable to attend in-person. Following the event, Shawn and I recapped our respective experiences at the conference, taking turns to list out what sessions we attended, what our key takeaways were, and our thoughts on each. So, we thought it would be cool to use a similar format for this conference recap, which we’ll present in four parts due to the large volume of information we will be covering.
Again, it’s worth repeating that this recap doesn’t cover every aspect of the 2021 Annual Accessibility Conference, mainly just those parts that Shawn and/or I were able to experience first-hand, and subsequently want to highlight by including a few of the key points, quotes, and other excerpts from the presenters/sessions that really stood out to us.
The following is a compilation of key takeaways from each of those sessions, based on our combined notes. We’ve resisted trying to editorialize or paraphrase the presenters’ comments, and are instead presenting the information “as is”, as a series of transcribed sound bites so you too can experience some of the knowledge and expertise conveyed by the various subject-matter experts, in their own words. Enjoy!
Welcome and Opening Remarks
The event began with opening remarks from conference co-chairs Michelle Fach (Executive Director of Open Learning & Education Support) and Athol Gow (Manager of Library Accessibility Services) both from the University of Guelph. Their presentation set the tone for the variety of sessions and topics to come.
Michelle: “The theme of the conference and the various sessions will encourage participants to examine how we design our environments, our tools, our resources and our approaches to make a more inclusive experience. We are confident that the future of work and learning will not be discrete entities, but rather one that is more fluid with individuals seeking opportunities to expand their skills and knowledge at a time and place that meets their needs.”
Michelle: “Learning will not be restricted to the walls of the classroom, but rather we will see learning places and learning spaces. And as the world of work and learning becomes far more digital, we must intentionally consider these experiences of all who want and choose to engage. Your work? To consider how we ensure these experiences are more inclusive and more equitable and more open to diverse learners, all learners, is critical to the process.”
Michelle: “The topics that we will cover over the next few days include policy, technology, research, approaches, design, service, support, advocacy, and inspiration. And these conversations will challenge us, or challenge our assumptions, and encourage us to be more authentic in our commitment to accessibility and valuing diversity.”
Key Takeaways:
#excitedToStart
#readyToLearn
AODA Compliance Strategies in a Large Organization
Presenters Lucille Berlinguette-Saumure (Program Manager for Accessibility) and Logan Trafford (Web Accessibility Coordinator) from the City of Ottawa described the strategies the city has implemented to address AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act). They covered a number of topics including, establishing procedures and policies, getting people involved in WCAG working groups, obtaining buy-in from city council and other stakeholders, integrating accessibility into the procurement process, holding vendors accountable for accessible products, improving tools to promote accessible content creation, involving experts and testers, and monitoring continuously. The presenters discussed what has or has not worked, and described the remaining challenges the City of Ottawa still faces.
Lucille: “…we would like to see more youth coming out of educational institutions better prepared to work specifically with WCAG and making websites and apps more accessible.”
Lucille: “A properly formatted and tagged document is just as important for internal staff as it is for public consumption. So, if you haven't already begun working on internal processes and sites, I would suggest that you start to build that into your current plan. It's really good for everyone, it's not just good for your consumer. And there are probably more employees with invisible disabilities in your organization than you realize. So, everything you can do to assist them in being successful is always a great step in the right direction. I think sometimes great tools and ideas get overlooked when they're labeled as accessibility tools. Things like Read Aloud feature within Office 365 is amazing. I use it all the time. And I consider it an efficiency tool, not just an accessibility tool. The same way that a delivery person or mother with a stroller can use the automatic door opener on a building. There are many tools that were built for accessibility but help everyone.”
Lucille: “I've often compared implementing accessibility into websites to implementing accessibility into the built environment, because I work in both. Designers of websites and designers of public spaces don't always get to see how people of all abilities are interacting with their product, or get input from the users while they're doing their work. I believe that both the design of the built environment and the design of websites would be vastly improved if they involve people with disabilities in the construction of them. They would see that an untagged submit button on a form is the same as not having an automatic door opener on a client service center. And that you are unintentionally excluding people from accessing your service by doing so. And even if it's built accessible, we must also maintain both the built environment and the web content. We can always build a nice sidewalk, but if we clutter it up with flowerpots and bicycles and sandwich boards every 20 feet, then it's no longer an accessible sidewalk and your clear path isn't there anymore. Same goes for websites. We can make a great framework, but if we fill it with content that doesn't have proper headers and bulleted lists and so on and so forth, and inaccessible PDFs, then it's no longer accessible.”
Logan: “Compliance is not the end. Achieving compliance doesn't mean the process is over. And some organizations fail in their quest to offer accessible content, because they feel that once they've achieved compliance, they no longer have to deal with it. It's done, it's compliant, okay, we can move on to something else. Conformance to WCAG is a snapshot in time only. That's all it is. Content is updated regularly, new features are added all the time, you have a dynamic website like ours. As Lucille mentioned, it changes every day. And therefore a website needs constant monitoring and a full plan of attack.”
Logan: “The weight of accessibility should not rest on one person's shoulders. And this is evidenced by my little image of Atlas holding the world on his shoulders. Within a large organization, there should be a team. It doesn't necessarily mean all resources are housed in one office, but at least they're connected through some kind of a common goal.”
Pictured is an image of Atlas holding the world on his shoulders to illustrate the point that Logan Trafford (Web Accessibility Coordinator for the City of Ottawa) made during his presentation, that “the weight of accessibility should not rest on one person’s shoulders.”
Photo courtesy of ThoughtCo.com.
Logan: “Accessibility is not something that you simply just add to somebody else's already overwhelming workload, and just have them fit it in when they can amongst their other priorities. Dedicated resources are an absolute necessity within a large organization. And you can't simply rely on external vendors to come in and fix all of your problems for you. You have to take charge of your own staff, and make sure that you have that staff in-house. You need to have staff who have an understanding of what is required.”
Logan: “Web accessibility is not simply about HTML code compliance to WCAG. Something can actually be technically compliant with WCAG and actually not be totally usable. So, keep that in mind. Make sure you're invoking users with disabilities in your process. Reach out to the local community, ask for feedback on your website, utilize companies or organizations that provide testing services, and utilize willing staff as well. Just be respectful, don't force it with them and also be aware of what their actual job duties are.”
Logan: “Staffing is key. So as mentioned, more than just myself, we needed to make sure that we had others that were engaged in doing accessibility. So, some functions are 100% of some staff roles like mine. Others have that responsibility defined as part of their job descriptions, but accessibility is mandated into their daily duties. We also now have a formal accessibility QA group within ITS that was formed about two years ago. And we have a digital services network which meets on a quarterly basis to decide or discuss various things about the web, and accessibility is always prime on the discussion list.”
Logan: “We have a digital standards toolkit that we run that we've been producing. And basically, what it does is that it standardizes not only look and feel, and font sizes, and color schemes, and all that sort of thing, but we also go further and we define things like form standards. So, what do field labels look like? What are the actual text labels on those input fields? Headings, code patterns, error messages, how they're delivered, what they say, that sort of thing. We document all of that ahead of time. As I mentioned, we have the digital services network. We meet together, talk about accessibility, and accessibility is actually built into the HR job description. And then we have lots of trainer and user guides in place as well.”
Logan: “One of the key things we're doing now in our group is a user-centered design process. And this slide contains a visual flow chart of that six-step process. Accessibility is built into every phase of this process. So, for example, under the vision stage, we review a concept with the client, identify any potential pitfalls. Discovery, what are the users challenges? Any specific reliance? Is it going to be reliant on mobile device keyboard? In design, we integrate users with disabilities and seniors into the process. We do user testing on wireframes. In the build phase, we're looking at bulkhead code checks, screen reader testing is performed. Launch, we're relying on feedback and live testing. And then in the tweak phase, we're adjusting any shortcomings we find through other things.”
Key Takeaways:
#marathonNotASprint
#ifYouAreNotKeepingScoreThanYouAreOnlyPracticing
#accessibilityIsAGroupEffort
#WCAGAvengers
Plenary Panel - Accessibility, Inclusion, and the Future of Learning and Work
Conference co-chair Michelle Fach moderated a distinguished panel of Jutta Treviranus (Inclusive Design Institute, OCAD University), Deborah Stienstra (Live Work Well Research Centre, University of Guelph), and Dr. Mahadeo A. Sukhai, PhD. (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) who examined challenges and opportunities impacting the future of inclusive learning and work.
Michelle: “We do not know definitely how the world of work and education will change after the pandemic, but there is little doubt that they will. In one-year COVID 19 and the requirements for social distancing has brought about a digital transformation of learning and work, that otherwise would have been decades in the making. Companies have discovered that a large compliment of their staff can work from home without a loss of productivity. Schools have successfully delivered instruction, both synchronously and asynchronously, and teachers have developed innovative, novel, engaging ways to deliver their curriculum to a remote learner. People with disabilities have benefited from some aspects of remote work and learning. Working from home has meant individuals with visual impairments have been spared a tiring and potentially dangerous commute. Students who have physical limitations have missed fewer classes due to winter storms. But the experience has not all been wholly positive. People with visual and cognitive disabilities have struggled more frequently with inaccessible documents. Virtual meeting software such as Zoom can be challenging. It can be a challenging interface with people who are neuro-diverse or experience anxiety. And those with hearing impairments have to deal with poor audio quality or a lagging ASL interpretation. So, if we are moving to a world where more remote or hybrid or blended learning and working is inevitable, how do we ensure that this is a new world, that this new world is inclusive and accessible, free from barriers for individuals with disabilities, as far as we can make it? How can we design it to leverage the largely untapped potential of people with disabilities as a source of talent? Ideas? How do we do this in the face of compounding challenges, such as a lack of access to high-speed internet or the impacts of poverty or gender on the ability to work from home? Is the challenge of inclusion simply a matter of tweaking our technology and making accessible documents or is it more complicated? These are the questions that our panelists are eager to address today.”
Deborah: “We also found that work from home did not work for people who worked in industries or in positions that are not suitable for home-based work, who didn't have adequate access to technology or the internet or familiarity with the technology. We've all gotten to know how to use Zoom but it still provides a lot of challenges for people who may interface with the technology differently or who may not have access to the technologies. And as I said, a lot of people don't have the necessary workplace accommodations at home.”
Deborah: “So, what can we learn from this overview around COVID-19? First of all, work from home is not an adequate solution. It is a solution for some people but it's not a universal panacea. It doesn't work for lots of people and it's not going to be able to address the employment impacts for all people with disabilities. Work from home needs to be accompanied by measures to address ongoing systemic barriers for people with disabilities. But we also learned that with the right accessible technology and workplace accommodations, as well as inclusive employment policies, people with disabilities will be able to obtain and sustain employment during and post COVID-19.”
Mahadeo: “There's a fundamental premise that I'm going to drop on the virtual table for conversation. That is that what we consider to be effective virtual work and learning environments has been all about mimicking in-person work and learning environments. And there's a cartoon of a person sitting at a desk, surrounded by plants, using a Mac and wearing a head set. And that's basically what virtual work and virtual learning has become, but it's become that, in order to, as I say, mimic that in-person setting. And all of the solutions that you find that are out there around virtual work and virtual learning, and a lot of these were published in the early stages of the pandemic, and my team at CNIB certainly published a number of them, we talked about setting up discrete workplaces at home, discrete environments, discreet routines, in terms of scheduling and habits, even how we dressed, and metaphorically walking in the front door to go to work. There's a lot of talk and chatter around video on meetings. A lot of people have fostered device connectedness to simulate being available to colleagues during the work day, which is Zoom fatigue. And a lot of environmental solutions such as plants, natural light, pets, food and beverage. But what's missing from all of this, what's missing is the spontaneity, the water cooler chats, the spontaneous discussions at class, at work, hallway conversations and other spontaneous discussions. We're also missing emotional connectedness. 93% of how we communicate is non-verbal. Multisensory engagement through touch, tone, whole body language and overhearing others conversations are missing. The synergy of being near other people is missing and there's reduced capacity for empathy, resilience, diversity and diversity retention. And what's also missing is flexibility because in order for us to mimic the in-person environment, we have to schedule a lot more. And so, that leads us to a hypothesis, that the physical work and learning environments and our virtual work solutions are based on ablest principles.”
Mahadeo: “Disability is nothing more and nothing less than differences in the ways that we take in or interact with information, that we process information or that we communicate with information.”
Mahadeo: “When we think about in-person environments, and we think about virtual environments, we're thinking about the notion of sensory input, shared experiences, real-time interaction, but let's think about this through the lens of disability, through the lens of different information processing, through the lens of different communication. What we realize is that when we try to get that virtual work environment to mimic the in-person work environment, we're really trying to push sensory input and shared experiences in real time interaction. But those are things persons with disabilities are going to start from a different conceptual place with any way. So, then we think about what we want out of that physical workplace. We think about what we're trying to mimic with it. And we come to the notion that what we're actually really trying to do is mimic an ablest construct.”
Mahadeo: “What I want us to get to is this idea of our foundational metaphor. It's the concept of equality versus equity versus universal access and universal design, and how things have changed in the context of the pandemic, and how coming out on the other side, we're not going to escape the fact that things have irrevocably changed. The way we think about the world has changed, and the way we actually do our work and our learning has changed. Has it changed to the point where we really need to confront some of those very deeply hidden preconceptions in everything we do?”
Jutta: “We frequently speak about catching up as people with disabilities. During the pandemic we've been speaking about kids falling behind, and what are we going to do about returning to the status quo? And my contention is that I think we should stop trying to catch up, which is, stop trying to do or get access to exactly what everyone else has access to. And I believe that there is an amazing opportunity that is closing, a window that is closing quite quickly, but hopefully we can take advantage of it because we are in a moment of disruption where a lot of things are possible that were not possible before. People are aware that those ‘this is the way we always do things,’ is not the appropriate attitude towards how we are going to do things when we get out of this pandemic.”
Jutta: “So I would say if we're trying to catch up, it's likely not to work, it'll be a very pessimistic journey. But why do I think that our community can in fact leapfrog? I'm going to go back to something that I've talked about a bit, which is this data set that I collected, that I represent, and it's a large dataset of all of the needs of a given population. When I try to represent it, I have to plot it in a multi-variate scatterplot. It looks like a human Starburst. And one of the things to note is that in the middle are 80% of those needs. They are clustered in 20% of the space. They're very close together. That means they're very similar and out at the outer edge are all of those needs that are unlike the average. And they're very far apart and they're very different. So out there is diversity, in the middle is homogeneity, and things that are similar. And unfortunately, because of the patterns that have happened to date, design that works for the middle is difficult to use as you move away from the middle, or away from the average. And if you're out at that periphery, then design, most designs don't work. And it doesn't matter whether it's product, services, policies, etc. The middle predictions are highly accurate, but as you move away from the middle they're inaccurate, and they're wrong as you get out to that outer edge, but how can we break this pattern which affects everything that we encounter? […] And so, it's out at that outer edge where most people with disabilities who have different needs from the average are, but that's also where we find innovation and weak signals. And if we design with and for, and by, individuals out of that outer edge, the individuals in the middle have room for growth and for change. Think about all of the things that were done for inclusion that now benefit everyone. So, the unexplored terrain out there is where, and if you can imagine for a minute, what would happen if our systems of employment, our employment ecosystems, our schools, our learning was designed primarily for, and by, people with disabilities, how much better they would be for everyone. So, whether it's student differentiation, not standardization within our schools. Work optimization by workers for workers, collaboration and complimentary skills, rather than competitive fitting a particular formula for a replaceable worker, fitting the job to the worker, not the worker to the job. This is in part what we're attempting to do with Inclusive Design. And we're not trying to find a winning solution or the best fit, what we're doing is we're trying to create a system that iterates to include more and more needs and individuals, and watch out for the Cobra effects of linear thinking, the rut of mono-causality.”
Jutta: “We talk about the fear that technology is adapting exponentially, and people are adapting linearly, but all of our technology is reinforcing that. Our recommender engines only introduce us to people like us, or things that people like us like. We have Twitter, which allows a very, very shallow form of communication. I mean, I can go on and on. In our social life, or life outside of work, in our work, in our education, everything is leading to this conformant monoculture, which is going to lead to, I mean, mono-cultures are slayed by a single act. It doesn't prepare us for the next crisis. So, I think we need to stop, hit pause, use this disruption to really think about where we're going with education and with work.”
Mahadeo: “And so here we are now at this point in time where it's absolutely worth it saying, ‘that doesn't work anymore.’ […] I think what we need to do, is we need to sit down, and we need to recognize that the policies come from practice, practice comes from past experience. What we need to do is we need to imagine forward. And every time we write a policy, we're actually imagining backward, right? And so, we need to get to this collective space where we are thinking about things that we don't know are actually going to happen. And then we have to start being inclusive as we think about those future paths, those, I guess, contingencies would be a word for it. And so, then we're actually not imagining, based on previous experience, we're imagining based on speculative fiction, basically. […] what's schooling going to look like? What's work going to look like? What's the difference between school and work and why should there be a difference? How do we build an environment that is useful for everybody, not just useful for people who are actually building the environment? And those are deep, rich, powerful questions. And I think with the advent of something like the Accessible Canada Act, we get to tackle some of them at the national level.”
Jutta: “Accommodations are an expensive band aid. The only reason people need accommodations is because the system is designed the wrong way. I mean, it's designed in such a way that in order to receive the service you should be getting, you have to ask for an exception or some specialized service. We should be trying to design all of our systems in such a way that the student or the employee doesn't need to ask for a special exception, that there are sufficient choices within the system that everybody has access to those particular services and you don't need to identify yourself, ‘Oh, I'm special. I need an exception’…as schools, as employment systems, we should use the record of what people have needed accommodations for and figure out how to then integrate that as a common choice for everyone.”
Key Takeaways:
#accessibilityRequiresDisruption
#accommodationsAreBandAids
#timeForChange
…Stay tuned for parts 2, 3 & 4 of the conference recap!