2023 Sessions

• 9:00am Central
• Corbb O'Connor
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Most Accessibility Learning is Broken: Let's Fix It Together

Download Corbb's Slides (PPT).

Whether built internally or purchased externally, most accessibility training isn't resulting in behavioral change. Adult learning theory tells us that adults learn best when we're engaged, surprised, guided, and measured. Nonetheless, most digital accessibility training is built as if we're teaching school kids.

Our attention spans have precipitously dropped, now to as low as eight seconds. Statistically, only 28 percent of you will read this entire description and, for those who do, you'll forget nearly half of these words in 20 minutes.

The solution is to tackle training with an approach that incorporates the way adults learn best with modern learning methods that have proven to beat the "Forgetting Curve" and overcome the hurdle of prior knowledge, ultimately driving real behavior change in a way that isn't disruptive to your team members' day-to-day work.

Despite a record rise in lawsuits, many of which require companies to send their teams through training, WebAIM measured that the accessibility of the top million home pages increased by only one percentage point in three years. Building more courses on the same topics isn't the answer if the people who need the education aren't taking them; the best courses have marketing campaigns that drive interest and engagement. Furthermore, most course development activities focus on the design of content and implementation of what's happening in the course, while we should focus on the knowledge transfer to learners' day-to-day work.

Gamification and competition work to help my son get ready for bed quickly, and the strategies can work just as well with adults. In addition, we need choice in how we learn. When content is presented in many formats — audio, video, tactile, and even movement — we'll naturally choose the ones that work best for us on that day. The one-size-fits-all method may work for neckties (well, does it really?) but it doesn't work for training; the days of bringing an entire team together to sit taking copious notes have been replaced by doing the same over Zoom; sure, it's cheaper…but we are learning even less. On the other hand, if we offer self-paced pre-learning, reinforce it with in-person activities, and follow it all up with micro-learning that's within reach for everyone, we can beat the forgetting curve.

As with so many discussions of accessibility, leaders want to know the return-on-investment of training. Most tools offer an assessment that learners take at the end of each course, but—as anyone who's heard Malcolm Gladwell's research about the law school entrance exam—multiple choice tests don't demonstrate someone's ability to implement what they've learned.

Join us for a lively discussion about the application of the latest research on adult learning to our work in accessibility that will result in more accessible experiences.

• 10:00am Central
• Kate DeForest
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Small Shifts to Improve Digital Accessibility

Download Kate's Slides (PPT) or view Kate's Handout (Google Docs).

Our brains are wired to repeat habits. The things we do every day become habits that we continue. Sometimes we form habits without even realizing it! But did you know that shifting our actions by just 1% can lead to big changes? In the book "Atomic Habits," James Clear discusses ways to minimally shift our environment, our actions, and our mindset to create systems that help encourage and support good habits.

The four laws of Atomic Habits—Make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying—can be implemented in any area of our lives. While reading this book, Kate DeForest, Digital Content Coordinator for the State University of New York at Oswego, realized that very similar principles were already being used on her campus to help improve digital accessibility. She believes these small shifts can help push the digital accessibility culture forward.

Inspired by the techniques Mr. Clear describes, Kate will discuss how to help shift the digital accessibility culture using small, actionable steps people can incorporate into their everyday habits and workflows.

• 11:00am Central
• Jessica Plitt & Judith Risch
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How the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights Resolves Web Accessibility Investigations

Session will not be recorded! Please be sure to attend live.

OCR National Digital Access Team members will discuss the types of allegations they handle under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, how they identify barriers to access for people with disabilities, resolution strategies, and how they work with vendors. Learn how they view and resolve hundreds of post-secondary technology accessibility allegations each year. Get tips on how to stay in compliance and learn promising practices.