As Margot approached the building where her next class was to start in two minutes, her long white cane struck something she didn’t anticipate on the narrow ramp to the front door. A bike had been locked to the handrail on the ramp.
Locking your bike at a bike rack, instead of to a handrail on a building entry ramp, ensures that the entryway is safe and accessible for someone with vision loss, in a wheelchair, or just someone delivering a cart full of boxes. In much the same way, adding tags to a searchable document or running an accessibility check on a PDF makes your content more accessible not just for someone who uses a screenreader, but also for a researcher or coworker trying to access your document through a research database or file server.
Vision & mobility accessibility issues are often associated with design decisions that most of us have nothing to do with such as building or website design. But many of the choices we make each day can be the difference between creating physical and technological barriers or making our campus more universally accessible for all. More accessibility tips, guidelines and resources--including video tutorials on how to make accessible PDFs and Microsoft Office documents--are on CU-Boulder’s Accessible Technology website.
Weekly Learner’s Lunches for Digital Accessibility
Fridays from 12-1pm, TLC 215, Spring 2016
Do you know how to make your course materials fully accessible for ALL of the learners in the room? Find out! Meeting every Friday, noon-1pm, in Technology Learning Center 215 with rotating topics. For more information contact Alaina Beaver.