Digital Accessibility News

From the Office of Accessibility at Minnesota IT Services

Accessibility Advocacy:
Simple And Systemic Changes For High Impact

By: Jennie Delisi

Change can be easier when you have a clear goal, a good plan, and persistence. Improving digital accessibility is no different. We often only observe the outcome of work others have done. But, what if we could understand how someone's advocacy skills developed?

We all have a role to play in improving digital accessibility. It can be as simple as ensuring that we understand how to make accessible:

• Documents.
• Websites.
• Software.
• Apps.

But advocacy can also involve:

• Identifying when a process, product, or project could better address accessibility.
• Training ourselves, our teammates, vendors, and those on projects on ways to make these improvements.
• Connecting with others to build stronger networks to build our accessibility capacity.

Advocacy starts with the question: what will make this better? Advocates take that next step to determine how to make it better, then take action.

For the next two months, we talk with five state employees that are advocates for greater digital accessibility. Each has a different role. They reveal some changes they have made, and what had the most influence. And they share advice for you and your supervisor to improve accessibility in your organization. In fact, there is so much great information that we will publish it in installments. This first installment focuses on celebrating the changes that sparked their advocacy skill development. And some of their smaller step recommendations.

Thank you to this month’s article contributors:

• Tamara Sawyer,
  Accessibility Coordinator,
  Minnesota Management and Budget
• Michelle Aguilar,
  Web Manager,
  Minnesota Department of Health
• Mike Reinhart,
  Service Portfolio Manager,
  Minnesota IT Services (MNIT)
• Bryan Priem,
  Web Application Developer,
  MNIT Partnering with Labor and Industry
• Proshat Shafizadeh,
  IT Advanced Project and Program Manager,
  MNIT Partnering with the Department of Administration

Learn more about how these accessibility advocates:

• Improved tool accessibility with vendors.
• Pivoted learning opportunities.
• Brought employees together to address digital accessibility.

And, discover some of their simple steps. They will help beginners and those further along in their accessibility  journey. Take some time this Global Accessibility Awareness Day to improve your advocacy skills. Read: Accessibility Advocacy - Simple and Systemic Changes for High Impact.

Tech Tip: How to make accessibility a part of your plans

Build accessibility into your planning process and templates. This is important for all content used in:

• Documents.
• Websites.
• Software.
• Apps.
• Maps.
• Data visualizations.

Headings

Plan how you will use headings. Include in your plan and business requirements:

• Each section of content has a heading. Headings help your readers understand the structure of the page.
• Headings follow the proper order.
• Headings use proper code or tags (PDF).
• Headings have sufficient color contrast.

Images

Plan how you will handle images. Include:

• A plan for writing alt text. This is often best done by the person selecting the image.
• Quality of images to use. They should remain clear when magnified.
• A plan for charts and graphs. Include:
  • color choices,
  • textures,
  • how information will be available for people using assistive technology.

Interactions

• Make sure you plan interactions that work using a variety of methods. Requirements must include operation with just your keyboard, and just your mouse.
• Plan the focus order for interactive content.

Multimedia

When your multimedia has:

• audio - plan for captions. Best: also plan for transcripts and sign language.
• video - plan for audio description.
• multimedia player - plan for accessibility testing before selecting a player. Consider operation of captions, transcript, sign language, audio description within the player.
• If presenting additional options outside the player, plan for operation of transcript, sign language, audio description.

You can find more details for your plan's requirements in the W3C's How to Meet WCAG (Quick Reference) tool.

Events and Trainings

Events Today! Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)

From the Global Accessibility Awareness Day website:
“Thursday, May 19, 2022, help us celebrate the 11th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)! The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion, and the more than One Billion people with disabilities/impairments.”

Find events, learn more about the accessibility (including seeing a video featuring Minnesota author Justin Smith!) on the Global Accessibility Awareness Day website.

Note: for state of Minnesota employees – check with your digital accessibility coordinators about events for employees.

Free Webinar: Section 508 Best Practices: Accessible Data Visualization

Date: May 24, 2022

Time: noon – 1:30 pm Central Time

Description:
“In the Digital Age, data visualizations have become more commonly developed to represent large data sets through graphics, charts, and other visuals. Federal agencies have used them to show patterns, trends, and outliers of data to inform members of the public, policy makers, and first-responders. This session will introduce the concept, development, tools, and benefits of data visualizations, including making them accessible. Presenters from the U.S. Department of Education, the Center for Disease Control, and the U.S. Census will discuss how their respective agencies use data visualizations to meet their missions. Presenters will also review some barriers, solutions, and implications to making accessible data visualizations. This session is intended for entry-level to intermediate audiences, but all are welcome to join. This webinar will include video remote interpreting (VRI) and real-time captioning. Questions can be submitted in advance of the session or can be posed during the live webinar.”

More information is on the Great Lakes ADA webpage: Accessible Data Visualization.

Free Webinar: DeafBlind Panel Discussion - Communicating Our Way

Date: May 24, 2022

Time: 6-8 pm Central Time

Description:
“Come and attend this panel discussion where panelists will each share information about daily living as a DeafBlind individual (no two stories are alike). There are challenges and barriers when it comes to communicating. The panelists will share how they communicate with people out in the community as well as what others can do when they meet a DeafBlind individual, often for the first time ever. If you work for a government agency on the state, county, and city level, our panelists have ideas on how to improve quality of life for your residents with dual hearing and vision loss.”

Panelists:

• Jon L., a DeafBlind young adult with Usher syndrome.
• Hannah Furney, a DeafBlind recent college graduate who is searching for employment opportunities. Hannah’s degree is in advocacy, accessibility, and minority studies (individualized studies).
• Erin Bradford, a DeafBlind librarian who grew up hard of hearing before becoming legally blind as an adult.
• Lolly Lijewski, a human services professional who was born with a congenital eye disease, and has recently acquired moderate hearing loss.
• Kaitlyn Mielke, a DeafBlind writer, performing arts and theater accessibility consultant, and MNCDHH communications specialist. (moderator and panelist)
• Patrick Vellia, a DeafBlind catering cook, web developer, nonprofit cofounder, and MNCDHH outreach & civic engagement specialist. (moderator and panelist)

To register, visit the DeafBlind Panel Discussion page on the Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing website.

Free Webinar: ADA Anniversary Update

Date: July 19, 2022

Time: 1 – 2:30 pm Central Time

Description:
“Mark the 32nd Anniversary of the ADA by joining this session as we hear from representatives of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) provide an update on their litigation, technical assistance, and enforcement efforts. Participants will have an opportunity to pose questions to the presenters regarding issues in their own workplace or community.”

Speakers:

• Rebecca Bond, Civil Rights Advocate
• Sharon Rennert, Senior Attorney Advisor, ADA/Gina Division Office of Legal Counsel

More information and registration information is available on the Great Lakes ADA webpage: ADA Anniversary Update.

Conference: HighEdWeb 2022 Accessibility Summit

Date: July 28, 2022

Description:
“Learn best practices, share stories with your peers and expand your knowledge on a wide range of accessibility topics. Beginners and experts, non-technical users, and everyone in-between benefit from attending.”

Kim Wee, Courtney Petrosky, and Tamera Williams from the state of Minnesota are presenting:

• Project Implementation: Making Accessibility a Priority from Start to Finish

More information, including fees to register, are on the HighEdWeb 2022 Accessibility Summit website.

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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