Clone 2 of Technology Workshops 2024

Upcoming Virtual Sessions

March 24, 2026
1:30-3:30pm

Register for Spring Animals Session
 

Presented by:
Nichole Decaprio, Associate General Counsel, Office of General Counsel
Dr. Amanda Feaster, Director of Student Accessibility Services, Division of Student Affairs

Open to students, staff, and faculty. Highly recommended for faculty and student-facing staff.

Most Recent Recording

Transcript available under "Attachments" below recording 

Slides

Downloadable One-Pager Fact Sheet (PDF)

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology

Attendees will learn the accessibility policies and legal requirements governing Kent State’s digital presence, review the foundational Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and use Siteimprove’s Quality Assurance and Accessibility modules to quickly identify, prioritize and fix issues on your team's website. (This was previously Accessibility for Webmasters 101, 201, and 301. Has now been condensed into one training.)

 Upcoming sessions:

• Oct. 29, 1:30 - 3 p.m.
• Dec. 10, 3 - 4:30 p.m.

Request Access to a Previous Session's Recording

Need a refresher or bite-sized training on key digital accessibility elements? Grab your lunch and join us for a quick tutorial and best practices discussion. Each session counts as 0.5 hr Beyond Compliance (BC) credit.

Adding Alternative Text to Images

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology.

The phrase “alt text” stands for alternative text – text that is an alternative to and explains a picture or graphic. Remove accessibility barriers by learning how to write alt text correctly according to context and how to insert it in common programs like Microsoft Word.

Upcoming Sessions

• Oct. 1, 12:15 - 12:45 p.m.

Creating Accessible Presentations

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology
Alison Haynes, Assistant Director, Division of Information Technology

Creating accessible Power Point and other slide presentations are easier than you think- Microsoft does most of the accessibility work for you! Come learn which buttons to click and how to export an accessible version. 

Upcoming Sessions

• Oct. 8, 12:15 - 12:45 p.m.

Accessibility in a Flash: Quick Start Your Own Accessibility Testing

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology

All digital accessibility testing starts with a few easily learned checks. Master these and you'll be able to independently discover the general accessibility level of your team’s content and technology.

Upcoming Sessions

• Oct. 22, 12:15 - 12:45 p.m.

Screen Reader Demo

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology

As soon as you learn the phrase “digital accessibility”, you hear people mentioning screen readers. Reading about them or asking someone to explain takes many times longer than just seeing one in action. Afterwards, you realize the very least we can do is make sure people who rely on them can actually interact with our content.

Upcoming Sessions

• Nov. 5, 12:15 - 12:45 p.m.

Captioning Live or Recorded Events/Videos

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology
Eileen Mlachak, Speech-to-Text Transcriber, Student Accessibility Services

Learn your legal responsibilities around providing a text alternative to sound. Podcasts, live video events, and recorded video all require their own combination of captions, transcript, and/or audio descriptions.

Upcoming Sessions

• Nov. 19, 12:15 - 12:45 p.m.

Headings and Links

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology

Adding true (not just differently styled) headings is barely harder than creating a document outline. Naming links in an accessible way is barely more than common sense. Come learn best practices for documents and links.

Upcoming Sessions

• Dec. 3, 12:15 - 12:45 p.m.

Request Previous Recording of an Accessibility in a Flash session

Designing Proactively Before Accommodation Letters

*Designed for Faculty and Education/Instructional Design Students

Written and Presented By:
Amanda Feaster, Director, Student Accessibility Services
Lydia Rogouski, Instructional Designer, Kent State Online

Companion webpage: Accommodations For Faculty

Course accessibility and universal design principles are part of pursuing the best ways to meet the educational needs of your students. What if each semester you prioritized adding one new accessibility habit to your course design workflow in Canvas until your course is accessible? We'll give you entry-level through advanced tips and tutorials on how to make it all happen.

Upcoming Sessions

TBA

Request Recording of Previous Accessible Courses Session

Presented by:
Amanda Feaster, Director, Student Accessibility Services

Taking a proactive approach to event accessibility can make guests feel more comfortable and included, and it can save you work in the long run. Learn practical ways to incorporate accessibility into your regular and special events as well as campus resources for planning accessible events. We will discuss best practices for both in-person and virtual events.

Upcoming Sessions

TBA

Request Recording from a Previous Session of Accessible Events

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology
Larry Langston, Senior Graphic Designer, University Communications and Marketing

Learn how to make your InDesign documents accessible and convert them into accessible PDFs. Topics include fundamental accessibility concepts such as headings, image descriptions, and document tags, as well as best practices for saving and sharing your InDesign documents with others.

Upcoming Sessions

TBA

Request Recording from a Previous Session of Accessible InDesign 

Creating Accessible Marketing and Social Media 101

Presented by:
Alison Haynes, Assistant Director, Division of Information Technology

Companion Webpage: Accessible Marketing

Learn best practices for creating accessible social media posts, flyers, videos, and digital displays. Open to students, staff, and faculty. Highly recommended for content writers and communications employees, both staff and student.

Upcoming Sessions

TBA

Request Access to a Previous Session's Recording of Accessible Marketing

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology

Companion Webpage: Accessible Documents

Learn the accessibility features of and best practices for Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point, and learn how to save documents as accessible PDFs. Session includes hands-on practice. Open to students, staff, and faculty.

Upcoming Sessions

TBA

Request Recording from a Previous Session of Accessible Office 365 Docs

Presented by:
Amanda Feaster, Director, Student Accessibility Services
Donna Bernert, Associate Professor, Health Sciences
Jenny Marcinkiewicz, Director, Center for Teaching and Learning; Associate Professor

Most faculty believe that all students should have equally effective access in the classroom. But desire alone doesn't produce results; concrete methods DO. Come learn ways to teach confidently to all students by providing accommodations correctly, incorporating universal design strategies, and learning to discern the role disability plays in both straightforward and difficult interactions.

Upcoming Sessions

TBA

Request a Recording of a Previous Session of Disability in the Classroom

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology

Companion Webpage: Creating Accessible Documents

Learn how to review PDFs for accessibility, including how to quickly identify and fix accessibility issues using Adobe Acrobat Pro’s built-in tools, resulting in an accessible PDF. Session includes hands-on practice. Open to students, staff, and faculty.

*Adobe Acrobat PRO (subscription), not just Adobe Reader (free), is recommended for the hands-on part of this course. If currently unavailable to you, Acrobat PRO can be purchased and downloaded at software.kent.edu.

Upcoming Sessions

TBA

Managing My Disability as a Kent State Employee (For Employees with Disabilities and their Supervisors)

Sponsored and presented by:
Access Betters the Lives of Everyone (ABLE, Employee Resource Group) and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance (EOC). 

Managing a disability is complicated, especially when juggling life as an employee at Kent State. This workshop will help you navigate your rights, the resources available to you, and demystify the voluntary process of declaring a disability and requesting accommodations. We'll also reviews tips and resources for managing various disability symptoms as well as for supervisors of individuals who disclose a disability. 

Upcoming Sessions

TBA

Request Recording from a Previous Session of Managing My Disability

Presented by:
Zach Strickler, Neurodiversity Coordinator, Student Accessibility Services

Join us for a discussion on changing the way neurodiversity is viewed from an all-encompassing characteristic to a facet of one's identity. This will be done by discussing what stigmas are present, why the term neurodiversity was coined and how we can reframe our thoughts.

Upcoming Sessions

TBA

Written and Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology
Wayne Fincher, Associate Applications Developer, Division of Information Technology

Companion Webpage: Writing Accessible Code

Writing accessible code is an essential development skill for potential or current students, faculty, or staff who access your digital content or application via many different devices, interfaces, and assistive technologies. Accessible code is easier to write and understand, and it enables the greatest amount of access to the information to ensures an equitable experience for all Kent State users.

Upcoming Sessions

TBA

Request Recording from a Previous Session of Writing Accessible Code