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Your source for all things teaching and learning at the JIBC.​

March 2023 Vol.2 Issue 7

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Introduction to Accessibility

Dave Smulders, Program Manager, Faculty Development

Let me tell you how we try to do things at CTLI, especially in the context of putting this Learning Hub together. If you are coming to the Learning Hub and reading this, that suggests you are interested in learning more about teaching and learning maybe with a particular interest in our work at the Justice Institute. So I want to talk a little bit about our process, for interest’s sake, for transparency, and may be to help encourage people from this readership to become part of that process. 

 

One of the things about working for a teaching and learning center — and I think this applies well beyond JIBC — is that as members of that centre we operate on the principles of relationship-building and leadership-of-influence. Because we are a service of this institute, we rely on the practice of people coming to us for work to be completed as well as for ideas, planning, guidance, troubleshooting, and anything in between. So yes, with the kind of work we do, whether that is course design or a faculty development event or a big research-based project, we want customers and partners. But even more than that we want repeat customers and returning partners.  While we do the work, we develop the relationships, and the best jobs are the ones where the product speaks for itself and the relationships have grown and deepened. Hopefully, there has been food and drink along the way.  

 

So let’s take this issue of Accessibility as a case in point. Accessibility has been gaining profile for the past few years in post secondary environments as yet another aspect of learning design that curriculum developers and instructors need to pay attention to. (News Flash: Instructional design is not just about matching your learning outcomes to your assessments….) Accessibility can mean many different things to different people and it is intentionally inclusive in its breath of definition. We may have seen it in other forms, such as in conversations about Universal Design for Learning (UDL) or Open Education or in Indigenization or Equity and Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in addition to redressing the oversights of ableist thinking. All those topics, important in their own right, relate in some way to Accessibility because they address the challenge of making education accessible and available to all, not just those who fit a dominant demographic or profile.  

 

So at CTLI and the editorial braintrust of the Learning Hub (which is pretty much the same people), we feel it is our professional obligation to be informed about such issues — and not just informed but as much as we can we want to acquire some expertise or practical knowledge so that we can in turn communicate and help embed improved practices in our work. Leading by influence, in other words. 

 

With the Learning Hub, we strive to put out an issue once per quarter on a theme that we consider to be important not only to us but to those who are involved with educational development at JIBC. That is, instructors, course developers, program staff, administrators…anyone who has a stake in helping our students. A few months ago we found ourselves talking about accessibility. This is partly in response to the BC legislation on accessibility and AccessibleBC: BC’s Accessibility Plan for 2022-2025. This plan outlines the priorities of our provincial government around accessibility and there are clearly implications for those of us in the training and post secondary environments. So we felt this was a good opportunity for us to learn more. After all, as post-secondary educators, we have a responsibility to our learners to be able to provide high-quality learning experiences to those who take our training and courses. This includes everyone and emphasizes perhaps those we have not considered as much as we should.  

 

This brings us to this issue, where you will find a range of perspectives on the topic of accessibility. I encourage you to spend some time going through all the pieces, which come in a variety of formats, including text, audio, interactive infographic, and video. We also point you to some valuable resources that you can use in your work when you are creating and developing your courses, or for instructors who want to be mindful of accessibility in their classrooms and the way they teach. This isn’t the final word on accessibility from us. As you will see from these contributions, there is a lot of work yet to be done. But consider this a reference point, somewhere to jump off from in your journey to knowing more, and applying, best practices for accessibility in your work. In this way, we hope you find this issue to be relevant and helpful. 

 

Back to us at the Learning Hub, so now you know how we generate these issues. We welcome input from anyone who is part of our community and, in fact, we depend upon it. As an institute, it is critical that we are part of the big conversations around Education – that is our job – and so we welcome anyone who wants to join us. We’re grateful to those who have contributed to this and past issues, we want to be able to involve even more contributors. So if you are ever interested in being part of one of our issues, please get in touch with us and let’s talk. 

Please take your time and enjoy this issue of the Learning Hub!

Black and white image of the JIBC NW campus

Land Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge that we work from the New Westminister campus which is located on unceded traditional territories of the Qiqéyt (Qayqayt), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and Coast Salish Peoples. This is a land where the river meets the great sea and the mountains overlook the vast and fertile valleys. This is a land of confluence and crossovers, connecting people, cultures, and ideas. We are grateful to learn about the history of these lands and to join in new traditions.

EVERY FRIDAY

Coffee with Dave! 

Let’s talk about all things teaching and learning and faculty development. 

 

Fridays on demand. Let me know you’re coming and I will open the door!  

Workshop: Taking the First Step, Create Easy and Engaging Videos All Learners Will Want to Watch.

Join Robin Leung, our presenter from KPU, for a 1 hour online workshop dedicated to instructors and program staff who want to add low-cost, low-production videos to their online courses.

Futureproof Learning Design: The Integration of Digital Literacy, Inclusive Tech, and AI

Educational Technology Users Group’s (ETUG) Spring Workshop call for proposals is out! 

Celebrating Strong Women

This issue of the Learning Hub also coincides with Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (March 8). With each issue, we include a Land Acknowledgement at the top of the page. As an extension of our Land Acknowledgement we would like to express our admiration for the Indigenous women throughout history who have been instrumental in showing us different pathways to reconciliation and awareness. Closer to home and the present day, we at JIBC are fortunate to be in the company of strong women like Elder Caroline Buckshot from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation of the Algonquin Nation, Chief Rhonda Larrabee of the Qayqayt First Nation, and Justice Marion Buller, of the Mistawasis Nehiyawak, a Cree First Nation in Saskatchewan, just to name a few, who have been leaders in the public safety and justice communities.  

 

There are many other Indigenous women whose lives inspire us to be better citizens, friends, family members, and human beings. You can read about some of them on the following pages: 

Goodies from CTLI

This month we curated our playlist with celebrating International Women’s Day in mind. Please enjoy the musical stylings of CTLI!

Featured Articles

Podcasts

Episode 3: Listen to Dave’s interview with Sam Matychuk, Senior Manager, Student Learning Support & Disability Services, of JIBC. In this interview we discuss the meaning of Accessibility in educational contexts and consider the influence of the BC Accessibility Act on our practice as course designers, instructors, and administrators. Sam offers helpful advice about how to adopt a mindset that incorporates accessibility concerns into one’s work.

Accessibility and Indigenous Students

by Nicole Mate

Nicole Mate is the Program Planner for JIBC’s Office of Indigenization. Contact Nicole if you want to talk further about Accessibility and Indigenous Students.

Creating Open and Accessible Learning Materials

For the past few years, we have been using Articulate Rise as a content holder for many of our courses at JIBC. Articulate Rise, a private and proprietary platform, has increased significantly in popularity as a course authoring tool across multiple areas at JIBC.

Jen reading a line of text on a 40-cell/40-characters refreshable braille display for one of her classes

Videos and Images – Accessibility tips and tricks

Jen McEachen is a part-time student in the Emergency & Security Management Studies (BESMS) program. She is severely vision and hearing impaired. In her article she talks about what is needed to create accessible video and images.

Voices

This month we asked our JIBC community for their thoughts, insights and knowledge around Accessibility using the following two guiding questions:

    1. What is a barrier to learning that you have experienced and you wished you’d had better access?

    2. What is something you’ve done in your work (as an instructor, course developer, administrator, etc.) to improve accessibility in your area?

ABEED BHIMJI

Round profile picture of Abeed BhimjiOne obstacle I have seen at my time with the JIBC, is that we take for granted …

BOBBI MAND

Profile picture of Bobbi BandFrom an instructor’s perspective, a barrier I have faced is understanding …

DAVE SPENSER

Profile picture of Dave SpencerOne barrier to learning that I have observed in my day to day routine over the …

DANIEL BROMLEY

Profile picture of Dan Bromley.From a young age, I internalized an erroneous belief that anything …

DAWN URSULIAK

Round portrait image of Dawn Ursuliak.No text to audio option. My son is taking a first aid and CPR course for his job…

JEN McEACHEN

Round profile picture Jen McEachen and Parmesan.The JIBC has been phenomenal in making my educational journey a …

KAVITA GEORGE

Round profile picture of Kavita George.While my heart, spirit, and soul live young, my vision cannot keep up with my … 

MATT HARTY

Profile picture of Matt Harty.One significant barrier to learning growing up was income. Coming from a …

MELANIE CHERNOFF

Profile picture of Melanie Chernoff.Years ago I learned from a student that the word “test” and “exam” caused such …

Sharing is Caring

Accessibility Tools

Your students have diverse learning abilities. Making your course content more accessible and helping them choose the format that works best for them will increase your course usability and improve the overall class scores. To learn more about Ally and why you need to use it check out the Ally Quick Start developed by our EdTech Manager, Dennis Yip 

  

We also have a comprehensive new training section on Blackboard Ally added to our JIBC Blackboard Help for Instructors. Learn about what Ally is, how to create alternative formats, how to improve accessibility score and so much more. 

Resources (What’s Happening)

If you need more information on Accessibility or you just want to build up your resource library in this area, we have a few recommendations for you.

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Disability by Icons8

@ JIBC

Developed by CTLI staffers

Takacs, S., Zhang, J., Lee, H., Truong, L., Smulders, D. (2022). A comprehensive guide to applying Universal Design for Learning. Justice Institute of BC.  

 

Right from our house! UDL is a framework for designing curriculum. It can also be thought of as a disposition or lens that you can take on creating inclusive learning activities. It seeks to include the maximum number of learners in instruction by offering multiple paths to get to the same learning outcomes.

A Comprehensive Guide to Applying Universal Design for Learning

Library Recommendations

Miller, S. (2021). Designing accessible learning content: A practical guide to applying best-practice accessibility standards to L&D resources (1st Edition). Kogan Page.

The library has plenty of good resources to draw upon, but let’s focus on one good book here that will help you do your work.

Snapshot of the book cover by Miller, S.Designing accessible learning content: A practical guide to applying best-practice accessibility standards to L&D resources.

JIBC and Partners

Supporting Students with Diverse Needs


A collaborative project involving JIBC, Camosun College, Selkirk College and Vancouver Community College. “This website and course provides practical information and easy-to-use strategies to help you support the diverse learning needs of students in your classrooms and on your campuses. If you have a role in supporting students at a post-secondary institution, this resource is for you.”

graphic of the Supporting Students with Diverse Learning Needs banner.

@ elsewhere

BCcampus

BCcampus does a wonderful job of bringing thoughtful people together to do great work. Here are a couple of examples relating to Accessibility.

Grey, J. (2021).  Disability-Informed Open Pedagogy with Arley Cruthers and Samantha Walsh. Open Knowledge Spectrums Podcast: Exploring Epistemic Justice in Open Education.

Coolidge, A., Doner, S., Robertson, T., Grey, J. (2018). Accessibility Toolkit. (2nd Edition).

Graphic of Open Knowledge Spectrums Podcast

The mandate of BCcampus is to provide teaching, learning, educational technology, and open educationsupport to the post-secondary system of British Columbia, and do they ever deliver! They have many professional development events that are free or low-cost to attend! Check them out at bccampus.ca 

Graphic of the BCcampus Accessibility Toolkit Textbook.

The Province of BC Government

BC Accessibility Hub: A website dedicated to providing resources for organizations within BC to support the process in creating accessibility plans by the dates outlines in the Accessible British Columbia (ABC) Act.

Accessible British Columbia (ABC) Act: The purpose of this new legislation is to ensure the province is more accessible, diverse and inclusive, including for persons with disabilities. The BC government released the first regulation under the Act, identifying public sector organizations who must comply with the Act’s accessibility requirements. (Note: The deadline for compliance is September 1, 2023.)

BC Accessibility Hub graphic logo

Screenshot of the Legislative Assembly website with the ABC Act.

Announcements and Shout Outs

Invitation: JIBC Teaching & Learning Collaborative (TLC)

Photo of Dave Smulders being an ID during a course planning session in the CTLI meeting room. Writing on a whiteboard filled with post-its.

Seriously, this guy really needs some company. Join the TLC and let’s fill this room with awesome people!

Are you an educator working at JIBC or someone interested in educational issues? Would you like to be part of a community of practice relating to teaching and learning at JIBC and in public safety education? Then why not join the Teaching and Learning Collaborative? This is a group of individuals at JIBC who are interested in becoming better, more informed educators. Join our Teams group, get access to teaching and learning resources, and take part in ongoing conversations that are of importance to our work here.  

 

To sign up, send us a note to ctli@jibc.ca with your name, position and program/dept, and we will take care of the rest!  

 

We had our first meeting last month to discuss Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Education, and we are planning our next one, so don’t miss it!  

 

Check out our CTLI blog for updates.

SAVE THE DATE

Captivate Your Audience: The Art of Making Engaging Educational Videos

Join Robin Leung, Educational Media Strategist at KPU, for a one-hour online workshop for instructors and program staff who want to add low-cost, low-production videos to their online courses. 

Futureproof Learning Design: The Integration of Digital Literacy, Inclusive Tech, and AI

Educational Technology Users Group’s (ETUG) Spring Workshop will showcase how instructors, education developers, and education technologists are approaching design.

Call for contributors:

Do you enjoy reading the Learning Hub? Do you have any great ideas or advice for our upcoming issues? Reach out to our team, we’d love to hear from you and maybe you could be featured in a future Hub!

The Learning Hub is a production of the good folks at the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation. We welcome ideas and suggestions for edition themes and ideas for articles. Contact us at ctli@jibc.ca.

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Wanna talk?

Contact us at ctli@jibc.ca