Accessibility and Universal Design for 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!)

	October 2021
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
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3	4 Using Blackboard Gro… Using Blackboard Groups October 4, 2021 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Wondering how to set up student group work in your courses? In this session, you will learn how to use the Blackboard groups tool effectively, including how to create groups and how to create group assignments. The training will also cover how to grade group work. Monday, October 4th 9:30am (Registration Link) See more details •	5 A Cut Above: Making … A Cut Above: Making Your Videos More Professional October 5, 2021 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM 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. Tuesday, Oct. 5th 6:00pm – 7:00pm (Registration Link) See more details •	6	7	8	9
10	11	12 A Cut Above: Making … A Cut Above: Making Your Videos More Professional October 12, 2021 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM 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. Tuesday, Oct 12th 10:00am – 11:00am (Registration Link) See more details •	13 Introduction to Blac… Introduction to Blackboard Tests October 13, 2021 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM In addition to covering the basics such as creating tests and pools, this training answers some common questions: how do I import/export a test? How do I grant an exception? What are all those options on the Grade Details page? And what do all these feedback option settings actually mean? Join us as we answer your questions on Blackboard Tests. Wed, October 13th, 10am (Registration Link) See more details •	14 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details •	15 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details Trauma-Informed Peda… Trauma-Informed Pedagogy October 15, 2021 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Estimates of the percentage of the general population that had experienced trauma before the Covid-19 pandemic were in the 80% range. Since Spring 2020, the relevance of Trauma-Informed Pedagogy has become clearer, but what is trauma? How does it affect learning? What can educators do about it? Please join us for a discussion of the principles of Trauma-Informed Pedagogy and of strategies for implementing these in a practical way that supports both you and your students. Friday, Oct 15, 12-1 pm (Registration Link) See more details • •	16 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details •
17 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details •	18 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details Screencast-o-matic P… Screencast-o-matic Pro: Level 1 October 18, 2021 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM This session will cover the basics of how to create and edit audio/video 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 and sharing your newly created video. Monday, Oct. 18th 4pm – 5pm (Registration Link) See more details • •	19 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details •	20 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details •	21 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details Screencast-o-matic P… Screencast-o-matic Pro: Level 1 October 21, 2021 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM This session will cover the basics of how to create and edit audio/video 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 and sharing your newly created video. Thurs. Oct 21st 5pm – 6pm (Registration Link) See more details • •	22 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details •	23 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details •
24 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details •	25 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details Introduction to BB M… Introduction to BB Mobile October 25, 2021 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Over half of participants in SPS’s 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 Desktop and best practices for online course design for mobile devices. Monday, October 25, 12pm (Registration Link) See more details VoiceThread for SPS … VoiceThread for SPS Faculty October 25, 2021 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM 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. Monday, Oct. 25th 4pm – 5pm (Registration Link) See more details • • •	26 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details VoiceThread for SPS … VoiceThread for SPS Faculty October 26, 2021 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM 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. Tuesday Oct. 26th 10am-11am (Registration Link) See more details • •	27 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details •	28 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details •	29 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details •	30 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details •
31 Preparation for Teac… Preparation for Teaching Online Workshop October 14, 2021 - October 31, 2021 See more details •