Digital Accessibility

Making an online course accessible…

Louisa: I’ve been struggling to make my materials Smiley-face compliance I like it. I even took that asynchronous course, “How to Make Your Course Look Like It Cares.” Useful.

Gavin: Really? I must’ve missed that announcement. Probably lost under another reminder about “cross-platform inclusivity in tertiary ecosystems.”

Louisa: New accreditation review. The committee is serious about accessibility, clear design, and diversity. Digital kindness, I guess.

Gavin: Digital kindness? My course pages are more like a cluttered attic.

Louisa: That’s why they want this done. It’s like campus buildings: ramps, wider doors, automatic doors. If physical spaces are accessible, online spaces should be too.

Gavin: Fair point. My old slides aren’t exactly user-friendly.

Louisa: The training helps. Takes a bit of time to get 100% green smileys but if you take the course it makes it a bit quicker to tag images, organize headings, and write alt-text.

Voice-over
If twenty percent of all students suffer from some disability it is fair to make course materials accessible to them. The wheelchair ramp is a good analogy. But make sure the easement goes all the way.

deaf vs Deaf

Discussing deafness…
Jane: I have a cousin who is very hard of hearing and wants to learn sign language.
Dr Starr: Does your cousin use any hearing assisted device?
Jane: She has a hearing aid, yes, but wants to engage more with other people through sign language.
Dr Starr: So she might identify as a “deaf person” but wants to engage with the “Deaf” community. Referred to as “Deaf” with a capital D.
Jane: Interesting distinction. Are there other disadvantaged groups who distinguish their members like this?
Dr Starr: Oh yes. "Autistic" with a capital "A" usually refers to people who identify with the Autistic community and culture, while "autistic" with a lowercase "a" refers to the medical condition. I have a friend who proudly identifies as Autistic and is very active in the community, advocating for better understanding and acceptance.

Jane: How can we personally support such communities?
Dr. Starr: There are several ways. Learn about disability rights and legislation. I started by reading books and attending seminars. Challenge stereotypes by promoting inclusive language and challenging stereotypes. For example, I once had a conversation with a friend who used outdated terminology, and I gently explained why it was important to use more respectful language. Lots of other ways.
__________
Voice-over
Dr Starr goes on to suggest volunteering to help out at fundraisers for local disability rights groups and feeling a strong sense of community and purpose. One of his favorite organizations is the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN). He finishes by suggesting participating in advocacy events and using social media.

Sugiura Keiko

Keeping on keeping on...

Aprés the Paralympics…

Aya: So who was the Japanese who moved you the most?

Naomi: That’s hard. There were so many inspiring stories. But maybe Sugiura.

Aya: Because you are a cyclist too?

Naomi: Two gold medals. At age 50. The oldest Japanese gold medalist.

Aya: She got over a lot of adversities.

_________

Voice-over

A pharmacist, with two children, who used to cycle as a hobby. Fell off at age 45, multiple fractures, brain damage, had to learn to read again. Took up Paralympic cycling. Games were postponed by a year and almost gave up. But stuck at the training  to win a gold medal in a time trial event and another in the road race. Mix with people who tell you, “Don’t give up.”

Blind man in a scented garden

In a plum garden...

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Hearing can be seeing

Son: This is a white blossom. Smell it?

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Blind father: The fragrance has a purple tinge.

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Son: A pink blossom. Touch it.

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Blind father: Soft, like a young cheek.

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Son: And the concert is beginning.

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Blind father: Ah. I hear a koto. Tastes like spring water.

_________

Voice-over

With age the senses fade. Sometimes one sense disappears completely. The other senses, and memory, assist.

...

Ears

Beatrice hears her new friend Anna wants to specialize in medicine.

...

Beatrice: It’s hard, getting to be a doctor.

Anna: I can do it.

Beatrice: I know you can study. But the hours, the crises, the commitment… What kind of a doctor?

Anna: Ears.

Beatrice: Hearing?

Anna: It goes back to my childhood. I’m deaf in my left ear.

Beatrice: No. You never said.

Anna: What’s there to say? I sit so people are on my right. I do fine.

_________

Voiceover

Simple wh- questions can yield surprise answers. At times, exposing some disability.

Yet hardship can be undervalued. Anna has a workaround for her left ear deafness. And it acts as a springboard to a decent career.

I had a friend who consistently pulled only average grades first two years in high school. Then his father died. Six months later my friend was getting top marks in all subjects, and was captain of the school tennis team. He went on to become a doctor, like his father. It was as if the torch had been passed.

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