Academic Technology, Accessibility, Open-Source

Early steps to building a CLAC accessibility community

May 20, 2019May 21, 2019 Corrine Schoeb

Liberal arts colleges are under increased scrutiny of their institutional approach for ensuring accessibility of web and other digital communication methods. While the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) have issued guidance regarding institutional obligations for ensuring access for students with disabilities, colleges still struggle with how to best address such obligations within the context of policy, procedure, and implementation. The challenge of accessibility is systemic in nature and requires an organizational approach. Being reactive to DOJ and OCR investigations can be resource-intensive and may not always promote the most sustainable solutions. … Continue reading Early steps to building a CLAC accessibility community

Accessibility, Case Studies, Design Thinking

Turn web images off – can you still figure out what is going on?

March 18, 2019March 25, 2019 Corrine Schoeb

As Swarthmore’s Technology Accessibility Coordinator, part of my work involves testing websites to see what kinds of barriers exist to accessing content online. I often run into sites which use images for navigation, tasks, and information. I’m always curious to … Continue reading Turn web images off – can you still figure out what is going on?

Academic Technology, Accessibility, Faculty/Staff

Grackle – Making Google Documents Accessible

March 18, 2019March 18, 2019 Corrine Schoeb

Grackle is an awesome plugin which works in conjunction with the Google suite of documents: Docs, Sheets and Slides. There are several obstacles to document accessibility. There are two really big ones: Lack of structure Lack of image descriptions … Continue reading Grackle – Making Google Documents Accessible

Academic Technology, Accessibility

Creating Accessible PDFs from Word

September 11, 2018September 4, 2020 Corrine Schoeb

Many people like to convert Word documents into PDF files for print consistency and to prevent document modification. Check your software versions Make sure you have the most recent version of Acrobat and Microsoft Office. If you are not sure … Continue reading Creating Accessible PDFs from Word

Academic Technology

What version of Acrobat and MS Office do I have?

September 10, 2018September 10, 2018 Corrine Schoeb

Follow the steps below to discover what version you currently have on your machine. If you do not have the most recent versions, we suggest installing Acrobat DC before installing the newest version of Office. For more information on the … Continue reading What version of Acrobat and MS Office do I have?

Academic Technology, Accessibility

Global Accessibility Awareness Day

May 17, 2018May 17, 2018 Corrine Schoeb

Across the world today, people are paying attention to what it means to be a person with a disability. As a technologist I’d like to suggest some simple tasks to help you learn about some of ways people use assistive technology to get around the web and/or their mobile devices. Say “goodbye” to your mouse Detach your mouse and try navigating using only your keyboard. The following keys can be used: Tab key: Navigates to most elements, usually links or buttons. If the website is built correctly you should see an outline around each element as to tab to it. … Continue reading Global Accessibility Awareness Day

Swarthmore College – ITS Blog

Author: Corrine Schoeb