Accessibility and Universal Design in Learning

To help make higher education available to as many students as possible, CUNY SPS supports course design that upholds the principles of accessibility and Universal Design in Learning (UDL).

See the links, quick guides, and video tutorials below for steps can you take to ensure that your Blackboard course site and the course materials you post there are accessible to all.

WORD	Creating Accessible Word Docs (PDF) Checklist Word (PDF)	VIDEO TUTORIALS Part 1 & Part 2
EXCEL	Creating Accessible Excel Docs (PDF) Checklist Excel (PDF)	VIDEO TUTORIAL
POWERPOINT	Creating Accessible PPT Docs (PDF) Checklist PPT (PDF)	VIDEO TUTORIAL
PDF	Creating Accessible PDFs (PDF)
BLACKBOARD	Accessibility in Blackboard (PDF) Checklist for Course Sites (PDF)	VIDEO TUTORIAL: BB Accessibility VIDEO TUTORIAL: Adding Exceptions to Blackboard Tests
VIDEOS	Captioning Videos on YouTube (PDF)	VIDEO TUTORIAL

CUNY-wide Resources

CUNY’s Accessibility Website (with links for faculty, students, and staff on the left)
CUNY’s Accessibility in Distance Learning site
Reasonable Accommodations: A Faculty Guide to Teaching College Students with Disabilities

Also, browse our Accessibility in Higher Ed series on the SPS Community Blog introducing the principles of Universal Design as they apply to teaching and learning.

(This site is continuous work in progress. Please check back for updates soon!)

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.

	October 2020
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
				1	2 Faculty Discussion: … Faculty Discussion: Trauma Informed Pedagogy October 2, 2020 12:45 PM - 2:00 PM Faculty Discussion: Trauma Informed Pedagogy How are teaching and learning affected by the circumstances we are collectively experiencing during the coronavirus pandemic? How are the virus, the economic crisis, and the current political climate affecting our students and their learning? How are they affecting us? How can we create an experience of teaching and learning that accommodates these realities and fosters resilience? As in past faculty discussions, we’ll distribute some readings and open a collaborative document to pose further questions for discussion- more details to come. Join us for a discussion of the principles and strategies of Trauma-Informed Pedagogy. Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, 12:45 to 2 pm Registration Link See more details •	3
4	5	6	7 Ensemble Video: an I… Ensemble Video: an Information Session October 7, 2020 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM Ensemble Video: an Information Session SPS instructors have access to a robust video hosting platform called Ensemble Video. Think of Ensemble as an SPS-owned platform like YouTube, but designed with education rather than social media in mind. When compared to YouTube, Ensemble Video has several advantages for faculty in terms of streamlining, securing, and engaging students with video. In this session, we will introduce the tool’s most salient features, including student viewing data, the Blackboard integration, and streamlined professional captioning. Auto-publishing, in-video quizzes, and student video submissions will also be discussed. You can learn more here: Ensemble Video for SPS Faculty Weds. Oct. 7 at 3:30 - 4:30 pm Registration Link See more details •	8	9 Screencast-o-matic L… Screencast-o-matic Level 1 October 9, 2020 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Screencast-o-matic Level 1 This session will cover the basics of how to create and edit audio/video lectures (screencasts) for your course using Screencast-o-matic Pro, an online tool offered by SPS. The session will demonstrate a production workflow including set up, recording, and post-production (editing). Finally, we will discuss options for captioning your newly created video. Friday Oct. 9 at 10:00 - 11:00 am Registration Link See more details A Cut Above: Making … A Cut Above: Making Your Videos More Professional October 9, 2020 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM A Cut Above: Making Your Videos More Professional Learn simple steps to create engaging media for your class. Many of us are finding ourselves in front of a camera for synchronous virtual meetings or recording content for our online courses. Having your students see and hear you can create a sense of connection, build rapport and spark excitement for learning through seeing your passion for the discipline. No matter if you’re trying this for the first time or have been creating media for a while, this session we’ll give you tools to make your videos look more professional. Friday Oct. 9 at 2:00 - 3:00 pm Registration Link See more details • •	10
11	12	13	14 Screencast-o-matic L… Screencast-o-matic Level 1 October 14, 2020 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Screencast-o-matic Level 1 This session will cover the basics of how to create and edit audio/video lectures (screencasts) for your course using Screencast-o-matic Pro, an online tool offered by SPS. The session will demonstrate a production workflow including set up, recording, and post-production (editing). Finally, we will discuss options for captioning your newly created video. Wed. Oct 14 at 3:00 - 4:00 pm Registration Link See more details •	15 A Cut Above: Making … A Cut Above: Making Your Videos More Professional October 15, 2020 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM A Cut Above: Making Your Videos More Professional Learn simple steps to create engaging media for your class. Many of us are finding ourselves in front of a camera for synchronous virtual meetings or recording content for our online courses. Having your students see and hear you can create a sense of connection, build rapport and spark excitement for learning through seeing your passion for the discipline. No matter if you’re trying this for the first time or have been creating media for a while, this session we’ll give you tools to make your videos look more professional. Thurs. Oct 15 at 2:00 - 300 pm Registration Link See more details •	16	17
18	19 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online workshop October 19, 2020 - November 1, 2020 See more details Blackboard on a Mobi… Blackboard on a Mobile Device October 19, 2020 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Blackboard on a Mobile Device Over half of participants in SPS’ New Student Orientation plan to use mobile devices as a part of their online learning experience – will your online courses transfer well into this interface? In this session, we will explore the Blackboard Mobile application and gain an understanding of how students experience learning on the go. We will also discuss the major interface differences between Blackboard Mobile and Blackboard for Desktops and best practices for online course design for mobile devices. Monday Oct. 19 at 9:30 -10:30 am Registration Link See more details • •	20 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online workshop October 19, 2020 - November 1, 2020 See more details VoiceThread for SPS … VoiceThread for SPS Faculty October 20, 2020 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM VoiceThread for SPS Faculty This training will introduce VoiceThread, a collaborative, multimedia program that allows faculty (or students) to upload various media like slides, images, or video and engage the class in an enhanced discussion. You and your students can add commentary by means of microphone, webcam, keyboard, or phone. In this session, SPS faculty will learn how to create a VoiceThread and how to integrate it into their Blackboard course. Tues. Oct. 20 at 3:00 - 4:00 pm Registration Link See more details • •	21 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online workshop October 19, 2020 - November 1, 2020 See more details Faculty Meetups Faculty Meetups October 21, 2020 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM Faculty Meetups OFDIT will host faculty meetups for SPS faculty to check in with each other. These informal meetings won’t have an agenda set in stone. Faculty can join their colleagues to ask questions, see what others are up to or just to chat. Bring your lunch, a drink, or just yourself and join in. For the Fall 2020 term, let’s meet the third Wednesday of the month. Weds. Oct. 21 at 12:30-1:30 Registration Link See more details • •	22 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online workshop October 19, 2020 - November 1, 2020 See more details Student Engagement i… Student Engagement in Online Learning October 22, 2020 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM Student Engagement in Online Learning Join us for a discussion of best practices for generating and sustaining student engagement in the virtual classroom. This training will review approaches to enhance student engagement and instructor feedback in online courses, including different ways to present content and provide feedback, activities to promote student interaction, active learning approaches, and connecting your course content to the real world. You’ll have an opportunity to discuss challenges and successes you’ve experienced and share strategies with colleagues. Thursday, Oct 22 10:30-11:30 am Registration Link See more details • •	23 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online workshop October 19, 2020 - November 1, 2020 See more details •	24 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online workshop October 19, 2020 - November 1, 2020 See more details •
25 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online workshop October 19, 2020 - November 1, 2020 See more details •	26 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online workshop October 19, 2020 - November 1, 2020 See more details •	27 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online workshop October 19, 2020 - November 1, 2020 See more details •	28 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online workshop October 19, 2020 - November 1, 2020 See more details •	29 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online workshop October 19, 2020 - November 1, 2020 See more details •	30 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online workshop October 19, 2020 - November 1, 2020 See more details Blackboard on a Mobi… Blackboard on a Mobile Device October 30, 2020 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Blackboard on a Mobile Device Over half of participants in SPS’ New Student Orientation plan to use mobile devices as a part of their online learning experience – will your online courses transfer well into this interface? In this session, we will explore the Blackboard Mobile application and gain an understanding of how students experience learning on the go. We will also discuss the major interface differences between Blackboard Mobile and Blackboard for Desktops and best practices for online course design for mobile devices. Friday Oct. 30 at 3:00 - 4:00 pm Registration Link See more details • •	31 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online workshop October 19, 2020 - November 1, 2020 See more details •