Accessibility Training at ARC
There are several training and support options offered through the Instructional Technology Center (ITC), as well as others offered online through other organizations, to help you make content and your courses accessible for our students.
Accessibility Tips – ITC Newsletters
Throughout the semester you will find a quick tip for accessibility in our ITC weekly newsletter, but in case you missed it, you can find those quick tips in ITC Newsletter below:
- 2023 – 2024 ITC Newsletter
- S.L.I.D.E. into Summer and Fall!
- Accessibility is only one step away! (The A-Team)
- Making Documents Accessible
- Do your videos need captions?
- 3C Media Captioning – an easy captioning solution!
- Self-paced WebAim Training
- Accessibility Through Inclusive Design
- Accessibility Check-Up
- Building Accessible Presentations
- Accessibility Tip: Check Your Canvas Content
- Becoming Accessibility Fluent
- New and Improved Accessibility and Universal Design web pages!
- Document Remediation, Captions, and Transcripts Galore
- S.L.I.D.E. into Universal design!
Academies at the ITC
This completely online course provides a thorough explanation of accessibility within online, hybrid or web-enhanced courses. It focuses on the skills instructors need to make their courses compliant with Federal laws (ADA and Section 508 standards), technologically accessible, and culturally responsive for a broad range of students. The course covers how to use online tools, including Canvas–our course management system (CMS), to create accessible resources, retrofit existing resources, and curate new resources through exploration and hands-on demonstrations of effective practices in accessibility. The focal point of the course is learning how to use editors (both in Canvas and in common software, such as Microsoft Word) to enhance accessibility. In addition to creating an overarching accessibility plan for their courses, instructors learn how to:
- Create accessible content pages, discussions, and assignments in Canvas;
- Create accessible documents, such as Word and PDFs;
- Create closed-captions for videos.
For more information about this training, please visit the Accessible Course Creation Academy page.
One-on-One Support at the ITC
We are always available to support you with all things accessibility and we can be reached in a variety of ways, starting with our ITCtraining@arc.losrios.edu email.
In addition you can work with directly with the ARC Universal Design and Accessibility Coordinator (currently Lori Hokerson):
- Email: hokersl@arc.losrios.edu
- Phone: (916) 484-8162
- Accessibility Technical Assistance Request Form
Other Training Options
All of the following training options are available free online, should you choose an option outside of ARC.
- Self Paced Accessibility Courses (California Community Colleges Accessibility Center) – there are a variety of self-paced training courses free to all community college faculty in California. Here are some free, self-paced options:
- Accessibility Basics (self-paced) – informational training that covers the basics about accessibility, but does not include the “how to” of accessibility. A good overview to understand why it matters.
- Creating Accessible Canvas Content (self-paced 5 day challenge) –
- WebAim Accessible Document Training
- WebAim: Creating Accessible Images and Text Alternatives (self-paced)
- Video Captioning (Self-Paced)
- Digital Accessibility Foundations Free Online Course (Web Accessiblity Initiative W3C) – brief description
- Microsoft Word & Accessibility Best Practices – this training covers various techniques to create accessible and navigable documents. You will learn how to use heading styles and table of contents features to improve navigation, write effective image descriptions, and convert complex tables into simple ones for accessibility. Additionally, you will gain knowledge on creating accessible charts, integrating infographics, and creating PDF forms using Microsoft Word. Finally, the course will also discuss the strengths and limitations of the Accessibility Checker in Microsoft Word.