What is Digital Accessibility?
Digital accessibility means making your Canvas course and other online content accessible to everyone, regardless of their needs and abilities or the device they are using. Often, simple changes can improve access to digital content for all of your students.
How We Can Support You
Our services are available to all instructors at UNO, including full-time faculty, part-time faculty, and graduate teaching assistants. We recognize the diverse needs of our teaching community and are here to support everyone in creating accessible, engaging course content.
These resources, including faculty development courses, offer ongoing guidance and practical strategies for incorporating accessible content into course design, ensuring an inclusive and impactful learning experience for all students. Our goal is to partner with you to improve accessibility, making sure all learners can fully engage with your content. We’re here to support you every step of the way through the professional development course, workshops, and consultation opportunities detailed below.
Digital Accessibility Professional Development Opportunities
ILCI provides a range of professional development opportunities designed to support you
Improving the Accessibility of Your Canvas Course | Humanizing Online Series
This course is open to all teaching roles at UNO, including adjunct faculty and graduate teaching assistants, to ensure everyone can develop skills in creating accessible course content.
This course helps participants understand the most important criteria for creating an accessible Canvas course, why each step matters, and how to test your efforts. Why is creating accessible Canvas sites critical? What areas should I consider when it comes to Canvas accessibility? What steps should I take to make my Canvas course accessible? How do I test if my Canvas site is accessible? In this course, you learn answers to all these questions—and more.
This six-week asynchronous course is offered online using the Canvas LMS. The course has a rolling start date but is not self-paced, and you should plan to spend about 3-5 hours per week on it. Participants receive a $300 stipend for successfully completing all discussions and assignments.
Register Here for the Improving the Accessibility of Your Canvas Course
Digital Accessibility Workshop Series
The Digital Learning team is excited to present our Digital Accessibility Workshop Series—an engaging opportunity to build practical skills and deepen your understanding of accessibility best practices. We welcome participants from all teaching roles at UNO, including adjunct faculty and graduate teaching assistants, to join these workshops and gain valuable skills in accessibility.
All workshops will take place this Spring on Wednesdays from 2-3 P.M. or this Summer on Wednesdays from 10-11 A.M. on Zoom. Participants who attend at least 5 of the workshops will earn a Digital Accessibility Champion Badge, acknowledging your commitment to fostering an accessible learning environment.
Digital Accessibility Workshop Series Schedule
| Workshop | Description | Date |
| Introduction to Accessibility | Start your accessibility journey with this foundational workshop. Learn what digital accessibility means and discover how implementing accessibility in your courses benefits all students. This session will cover key accessibility principles and include an overview of Panorama to help evaluate and improve accessibility in your courses. |
Wed, June 4, 10-11 A.M. |
| Microsoft Word Accessibility | Join us for an interactive workshop that equips participants with practical skills to create accessible Microsoft Word documents. In this session, you’ll explore accessibility guidelines and learn how to quickly spot and fix issues using YuJa Panorama and the built-in accessibility tool in Word. As you follow along with the facilitator, you’ll learn exactly how to improve your Word document and practice implementing your newly gained skills in your own documents. By the end, you’ll walk away with hands-on experience and confidence to create accessible Word documents! |
Wed, June 11, 10-11 A.M. |
| Canvas Accessibility | This hands-on workshop equips participants with the skills to create accessible pages in Canvas. Guided by the facilitator, attendees will explore and apply accessibility features and strategies on their own computers. |
Wed, June 18, 10-11 A.M. |
| PowerPoint Accessibility | Join us for an engaging, hands-on workshop where you'll uncover the steps to making your PowerPoint presentations fully accessible! In this session, you'll explore accessibility guidelines and learn how to quickly spot and fix issues using YuJa Panorama and the built-in accessibility tool in PowerPoint. As you follow along with the facilitator, you'll learn exactly how to improve your slides and practice implementing your newly gained skills in your own documents. By the end, you'll walk away with the confidence and skills to create accessible presentations! |
Wed, June 25, 10-11 A.M. |
| Accessible Audio and Video | This hands-on session teaches participants how to make audio and video content accessible. The facilitator will demonstrate key strategies and features, which participants will practice on their own computers. |
Wed, July 9, 10-11 A.M. |
| PDF Accessibility | Join us for an engaging, hands-on workshop where you’ll learn the steps to making your PDF documents accessible! In this session, you’ll explore accessibility guidelines and learn how to spot and fix issues using YuJa Panorama and the built-in accessibility tool in Adobe Acrobat. As you follow along with the facilitator, you’ll learn exactly how to improve your PDF and practice implementing your newly gained skills in your own documents. By the end, you’ll walk away with the confidence and skills to create accessible PDF documents! |
Wed, July 16, 10-11 A.M. |
| Universal Design for Learning | Expand your accessibility efforts with Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework that goes beyond accessibility to enhance learning for all students. This session introduces UDL principles and provides actionable strategies to incorporate flexibility and inclusivity into your course design. Learn how small changes can make a big difference in student engagement and success. |
Wed, July 23, 10-11 A.M. |
Accessibility Quick Check
If you’d like to conduct a review of a course for digital accessibility, an Accessibility Quick Check is the perfect place to start. An instructional designer reviews a course of your choosing, that utilizes the Canvas LMS, according to an adapted version of the accessibility component of the SUNY Online Course Quality Review Rubric (OSCQR).
This service is available to all instructors teaching at UNO, ensuring everyone has access to expert support in creating accessible content, no matter their role. FacultyIndividuals can request a review by filling out the Accessibility Quick Review Request Form. If you would like a more comprehensive review of your course we recommend participating in a complete Course Design Review, please see our Course Design Review information.
Digital Learning Drop-In & One-On-One Meetings
Want to reach us quickly? Rest assured, our popular virtual drop-in hours are available via Zoom 9 A.M. - 4 P.M. Monday to Friday. Remember to wait in the room a few moments to allow a team member to connect with you. Want to see us in person? On-campus drop-in hours are available 9 A.M. - 4 P.M. Monday to Friday in 320 Criss Library.
Full-time, part-time and graduate teaching assistants can also book a meeting with one of our instructional designers for advice and guidance in meeting accessibility standards in their courses. We are here to assist you in creating a more inclusive and accessible learning environment.
Online Course Development Grant
If you believe you’d like to redevelop one of your online or hybrid courses, the ILCI Division offers Online Course Grants that support faculty in reviewing, updating, and creating quality online courses that aim to assist with UNO strategic goals. We can take you from start to finish as well as offer you funding for your additional efforts.
This process utilizes Digital Learning's Online Course Quality Review Rubric (adapted version of the SUNY OSCQR) as an instrument for collaboration between faculty and Instructional Designers in quality online course design. For more information see our Online Course Development Grant webpage.
Digital Accessibility Guides & Resources
A collection of step-by-step guides is available here for quick and ongoing access to frequently utilized accessibility strategies, including: