[Office of Accessibility] Want to learn more about digital accessibility? This issue has resources!

Minnesota IT Services sent this bulletin at 02/27/2020 01:22 PM CST

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Digital Accessibility News

From the Office of Accessibility at Minnesota IT Services

Woman speaking to a group, on screen "Accessibility Matters" with audio icon and progress bar.

Accessibility Matters Video Now Available!

Need a quick video to help others understand how digital barriers affect us? How accessible information benefits everyone?

Our Accessibility Matters video is a one minute introduction to digital accessibility you can share to help others learn more. We have:

Digital Accessibility Certification Celebration!

Back row: Jay Wyant, Kim Wee, Jon Eichten, Samantha Fischer, David Andrews, Lea Dooley. Front row: Rita Williams-Larson, Tamara Sawyer.

At the monthly State of Minnesota digital accessibility coordinator (DAC) meeting, Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) Deputy Commissioner Jon Eichten recognized state employees who had recently obtained digital accessibility certification.

Eichten stated that it was critical for the state to increase its capacity for digital accessibility, calling out the need to increase “competencies and skill sets in accessibility at both MNIT and agencies.” He recounted that just that morning at a hearing “the staff in the House were reiterating how they expect any document that gets sent to them for hearings by state agencies to be fully accessible.”

Learn more about the types of certifications received, and who received them in our Digital Accessibility Certification blog.

Amy Ellison presenting, on screen: "Color is tricky!" and 2 maps.

California Mappin’

The State of California got wind of the incredible work Minnesota’s Accessible Maps community of practice had done to create best practices for map designers and creators and asked some of its members to travel to Sacramento to share their knowledge.

So the last days of January, Amy Ellison, Cartographer for the State Parks and Trails Division at the MN Department of Natural Resources and Kitty Hurley, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Application Developer for Minnesota IT Services partnering with MN Department of Natural Resources traveled to California. Being savvy map users, they knew there was no beach where they were headed, but they made the trek out west.

What information did they share? How can you get the same information? Find out in the California Mappin' blog. (Photo credit: NorCal URISA)

Tech Tip: Digital Accessibility for Social Media

Conference season is upon us! Many digital accessibility professionals will use social media to share information about where they are presenting, how to get their slides, and what they are learning.

Did you know that the State of Minnesota Digital Accessibility Standard covers social media content?

Some techniques for posting accessible content have updated in the last year.

A few highlights:

Twitter added the ability to add subtitles to videos on iOS and Android.
LinkedIn now has the ability to add alt text to LinkedIn posts when using the web interface. And, you can now add closed captions to your LinkedIn videos!
Want the latest on Facebook accessibility? Bookmark the Facebook Accessibility page.

Check out the #CSUNATC20 hashtag on Twitter to learn more about digital accessibility through social media between March 9th and 13th. Attendees from around the world will share what they are learning and their conference handouts.

Events and Trainings

In Person Event: DrupalCon

Several sessions at this conference focus on digital accessibility:

Accessible Patterns from the Ground Up
Accessibility for Devs
Advocating for Accessibility: From Strategy to Execution and Back Again
Live Captioning: Make your next event accessible for everyone
Real-world accessibility testing

Conference Dates: May 18-21, 2020

Location: Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The DrupalCon Minneapolis 2020 website has more information about registration fees, sessions, and how to register.

In Person Event: 35th CSUN Assistive Technology Conference

Maybe you have never heard of the conference known as CSUN, but this long-occurring conference will be held in Anaheim, California March 9 – 13, 2020.

State of Minnesota presentations:

Dates: March 9 – 13, 2020
Location: Anaheim, California
Fee: Varies – see CSUN registration page for more details.

Webinar: Accessibility 102: What about Multimedia?

“Who doesn’t like a video (or two) on their website? Whether promoting a department or supporting the curriculum content, videos are in abundance. How do you make sure they are accessible and is it really that hard to do? There’s an app…I mean…a class for that!”

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2020

Time: 1pm Central Time

Speaker: Christy Blew, IT Accessibility Specialist, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Cost: Free, registration is required.

More information and registration is on the Great Lakes ADA Center’s webpage for Accessibility 102: What About Multimedia?

Visit the Office of Accessibility website for digital accessibility information and resources. Share this newsletter with others! All are welcome to subscribe.

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