The Building an Accessible Future for the Humanities Project facilitated four two-day long workshops where humanists, librarians, information scientists, and cultural heritage professionals learned about technologies, design standards, and accessibility issues associated with the use of digital technologies. This important project was a partnership with the BrailleSC.org project, the Northeastern University Center for Digital Humanities, the Emory University Libraries Digital Commons (DiSC), the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities (CDRH) at the University of Nebraska (UNL), and the College of Information at the University of Texas at Austin (UT).

While scholars who offer courses have been able to turn to their University-level instructional technologies staff for accessibility, scholars who are designing, building, and implementing digital products outside of the classroom (as most humanities-research projects do) have been unable to get the help or guidance that they need. These types of research and the issues of accessibility that they raise with are not the same accessibility issues usually addressed by disability support services offices on university campuses. These campus resources generally concentrate on students and their engagement with course materials (exams and textbooks) or the physical environment (assistive devices). As a result, humanists, librarians, and others looking for assistance in building, designing, and implementing digital projects for assisted users have been largely ignored. Accessible Future will engage those working in digital humanities, information studies, librarianship, and cultural heritage work with resources, training, and a community of people that can assist them with accessibility issues in their own research, training, and teaching.

Workshop 1

Fri, Nov 15, 2013 – Sat, Nov 16, 2013
Northeastern University, Boston, MA

Workshop 2

Fri, Feb 28, 2014 – Sat, Mar 1, 2014
University of Texas, Austin, TX

DAY 1

8:30 – 9:00 am

  • Registration and Coffee

9:00 – 9:15 am

  • Welcome

Session 1: Led by Dr. Tina Herzberg

9:15 – 9:45 am

9:45 – 10:15 am

  • Group Activity: Defining Accessibility for oneself. What is your personal definition?

10:15 – 10:30 am

  • Discussion

10:30 – 10:45 am

  • Break

10:45 – 11:30 am

  • Kessler Foundation and National Organization on Disability, “The ADA 20 Years Later: An Executive Summary,” July 2010. Available here
  • Demonstrating how blind and deaf users use digital resources.
  • Demonstration of accessibility tools.

Session 2a: Led by Dr. George Williams

11:30 – 12:30ish pm

  • George H. Williams, “Disability, Universal Design, and the Digital Humanities,” Debates in Digital Humanities. University of Minnesota Press. Available here

12:30 – 1:30 pm

  • Lunch

Session 3: Led by Dr. George Williams

2:00 – 3:00 pm

  • “How People with Disabilities Use the Web,” Web Accessibility Initiative. Available here
  • “Considering the User Perspective: A Summary of Design Issues,” Web Accessibility InitiativeWebAIM
  • Discussion of readings.

Session 4: Led by Dr. George Williams

3:00 – 4:00 pm
Either use the WAVE web page interface, or download and install the WAVE Toolbar for Firefox.

  • The WAVE Firefox toolbar provides a mechanism for running WAVE accessibility reports directly within Firefox.

(See also “Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools: Overview.”)

Evaluation and discussion of a number of online resources, including the following:

4:00-4:15 pm

  • Break

Session 6: Led by Dr. George Williams

4:15 – 5:00 pm

  • Information density and non-visual issues in accessibility

Day 2

Registration and Coffee
8:30 – 9:00 am

Session 5: Jeremy Boggs (HTML/CSS)
9:00 – 11:30 am

Break
11:30 – 11:45 am

Session 6: Dr. George Williams (WordPress)
11:45 am – 12:45 pm

Lunch
12:45 – 2:00 pm

Session 7: Cory Bohon (Omeka)
2:00 – 2:45 pm

Break
2:45 – 3:15 pm

Session 8: Dr. Jennifer Guiliano
3:15 – 4:30 pm

Wrap Up
4:30 – 5:00 pm

Workshop 3

Fri, Nov 14, 2014 – Sat, Nov 15, 2014
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE

DAY 1

8:30 – 9:00 am

  • Registration and Coffee

9:00 – 9:15 am

  • Welcome

Session 1: Led by Dr. Tina Herzberg

9:15 – 9:45 am

9:45 – 10:15 am

  • Group Activity: Defining Accessibility for oneself. What is your personal definition?

10:15 – 10:30 am

  • Discussion

10:30 – 10:45 am

  • Break

10:45 – 11:30 am

  • Kessler Foundation and National Organization on Disability, “The ADA 20 Years Later: An Executive Summary,” July 2010. Available here
  • Demonstrating how blind and deaf users use digital resources.
  • Demonstration of accessibility tools.

Session 2a: Led by Dr. George Williams

11:30 – 12:30ish pm

  • George H. Williams, “Disability, Universal Design, and the Digital Humanities,” Debates in Digital Humanities. University of Minnesota Press. Available here

12:30 – 1:30 pm

  • Lunch

Session 3: Led by Dr. George Williams

2:00 – 3:00 pm

  • “How People with Disabilities Use the Web,” Web Accessibility Initiative. Available here
  • “Considering the User Perspective: A Summary of Design Issues,” Web Accessibility InitiativeWebAIM
  • Discussion of readings.

Session 4: Led by Dr. George Williams

3:00 – 4:00 pm
Either use the WAVE web page interface, or download and install the WAVE Toolbar for Firefox.

  • The WAVE Firefox toolbar provides a mechanism for running WAVE accessibility reports directly within Firefox.

(See also “Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools: Overview.”)

Evaluation and discussion of a number of online resources, including the following:

4:00-4:15 pm

  • Break

Session 6: Led by Dr. George Williams

4:15 – 5:00 pm

  • Information density and non-visual issues in accessibility

Day 2

Registration and Coffee
8:30 – 9:00 am

Session 5: Jeremy Boggs (HTML/CSS)
9:00 – 11:30 am

Break
11:30 – 11:45 am

Session 6: Dr. George Williams (WordPress)
11:45 am – 12:45 pm

Lunch
12:45 – 2:00 pm

Session 7: Cory Bohon (Omeka)
2:00 – 2:45 pm

Break
2:45 – 3:15 pm

Session 8: Dr. Jennifer Guiliano
3:15 – 4:30 pm

Wrap Up
4:30 – 5:00 pm

Workshop 4

Fri, Apr 10, 2015 – Sat, Apr 11, 2015
Emory University, Atlanta, GA

AF Emory Agenda (revised February 19)

Location: Jones Room, Woodruff Library

DAY 1

8:30 – 9:00 am

  • Registration and Coffee

9:00 – 9:15 am

  • Welcome

Session 1: Led by Dr. Tina Herzberg

9:15 – 9:45 am: Lecture

9:45 – 10:15 am

  • Group Activity: Defining Accessibility for oneself. What is your personal definition?

Session 2: Led by Dan Brown, Humanware

10:15 – Noon: Demonstration: Accessible Hardware for Disabled Users

  • Kessler Foundation and National Organization on Disability, “The ADA 20 Years Later: An Executive Summary,” July 2010. Available here

Noon- 12:45 pm: Lunch

Session 3: Led by Dr. George Williams

12:45 – 1:45 pm: Lecture and Discussion

  • George H. Williams, “Disability, Universal Design, and the Digital Humanities,” Debates in Digital Humanities. University of Minnesota Press. Available here

1:45-2 pm: Break

Session 4: Led by Dr. Jennifer Guiliano

2:00 – 2:30 pm: Cognitive Disabilities and the Web

The presentation on cognitive disabilities and the web is available in PDF form. Cognitive Lecture Accessible Future

2:30 – 3:00 pm: Deafness, deafness, and accessibility

The presentation on Deafness, deafness, and accessibility is available in PDF form. Deafness and Accessibility

Session 5: Led by Dr. George Williams and Jeremy Boggs

3:00 – 4:30 pm: Evaluating Web Accessibility

Either use the WAVE web page interface, or download and install the WAVE Toolbar for Firefox.

  • The WAVE Firefox toolbar provides a mechanism for running WAVE accessibility reports directly within Firefox.

(See also “Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools: Overview.”)

Please also explore Pa11y, the automated accessibility testing system (http://pa11y.org/) and HTML_Codesniffer: http://squizlabs.github.io/HTML_CodeSniffer/

Small Group activity: Evaluation and discussion of a number of online resources, including the following:

Session 6: Led by Jeremy Boggs

4:30-5 pm: Integrating accessibility testing into the workflow of projects and workplaces

Day 2

Please note the doors to the library do not open until 9 am.

9:15-9:30 am  Coffee

Session 7: Led by Jeremy Boggs

9:30-10:30 am: HTML and CSS Concepts

View the session information: http://clioweb.github.io/accessiblefuture/

Session 8: Led by Jeremy Boggs and James Smith

10:30-11:30 am: Hands On with HTML and CSS to Address Accessibility Issues

11:30-11:45 am: Break

12:50-1:30: Continuing with HTML and CSS this time talking about responsive design

Session 9: Led by James Smith

1:30-2:30 pm: WordPress

Session 10: Led by George Williams and Tina Herzberg

2:30-3:15 pm: Encouraging/soliciting feedback from users with accessibility concerns

3:15-3:30 pm break

Session 11: Led by Jennifer Guiliano

3:30- 4 pm: Advocating for Accessibility on your campus by creating an Accessibility Statement

Workshop 5

Thu, Sep 10, 2015 – Fri, Sep 11, 2015
University of California, Los Angeles

Accessible Future Los Angeles Agenda 

Both days of this workshop will take place in the same location: Rolfe Hall, Center for Digital Humanities Learning Lab, Room 2118.

The closest parking structure to this location is Parking Structure 5, 302 Charles E. Young Drive, North 90095. This is a pay by space garage.

DAY 1

8:30 – 9:00 am

  • Registration and Coffee/Continental Breakfast

9:00 – 9:15 am

  • Welcome

Session 1: Led by Dr. Tina Herzberg

9:15 – 9:45 am: Lecture

9:45 – 10:15 am

  • Group Activity: Defining Accessibility for oneself. What is your personal definition?

Session 2: Demonstrations of Accessibility Hardware for Disabled Users led by Clay Jeffcoat

10:15 – 11 am: Demonstration: Accessible Hardware for Disabled Users

Session 3: Led by Dr. George Williams

11- noon: Lecture and Discussion

Noon- 12:45 pm: Lunch

Session 4:

12:45 – 1:30 pm: Cognitive Disabilities and the Web

1:30-1:45 pm Break

1:45-2:30 pm: Deafness, deafness, and accessibility

2:30 – 4:00 pm:  Session 5: Led by Dr. George Williams and Jeremy Boggs

Evaluating Web Accessibility

Either use the WAVE web page interface, or download and install the WAVE Toolbar for Firefox.

  • The WAVE Firefox toolbar provides a mechanism for running WAVE accessibility reports directly within Firefox.

(See also “Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools: Overview.”)

Please also explore Pa11y, the automated accessibility testing system (http://pa11y.org/) and HTML_Codesniffer: http://squizlabs.github.io/HTML_CodeSniffer/

Small Group activity: Evaluation and discussion of a number of online resources, including the following:

Session 6: Led by Jeremy Boggs

4-4:30 pm: Integrating accessibility testing into the workflow of projects and workplaces

View the session information: http://clioweb.github.io/accessiblefuture/

Day 2

Workshop Location: Rolfe Hall, Center for Digital Humanities Learning Lab, Room 2118.

9:15-9:30 am  Coffee

Session 7: Led by Jeremy Boggs

9:30-10:30 am: HTML and CSS Concepts

View the session information: http://clioweb.github.io/accessiblefuture/

Session 8: Led by Jeremy Boggs and James Smith

10:30-Noon am: Hands On with HTML and CSS to Address Accessibility Issues and Responsive Design

Noon- 12:45 pm: Lunch

Session 9: Led by James Smith

12:45-1:30 pm: WordPress

1:30-1:45 pm: Break

Session 10: Led by Jeremy Boggs

1:45-2:45 pm: Working with Omeka

Session 10: Led by George Williams and Tina Herzberg

2:45-3:30 pm: Encouraging/soliciting feedback from users with accessibility concerns

Session 11:

3:30- 4 pm: Advocating for Accessibility on your campus by creating an Accessibility Statement

Oct 2013 – Sep 2015| Director: Jennifer Guiliano| Sponsor: | Topics: | Partners: Northeastern University · Emory University · University of Nebraska, Lincoln · University of Texas at Austin|