Learn about Ally, a tool available in Blackboard Original and Ultra courses, that improves the accessibility of your course content. Attend this session to see Ally's remediation capabilities and file conversion tools that generate alternative formats for you and your students.
This workshop will offer ideas for developing a strategy to improve your course usability and accessibility and how to get started with Blackboard Ally. Available in both Original and Ultra courses, Ally scans content in Blackboard and provides feedback and tools to identify and fix accessibility issues.
Leverage Ally's powerful alternative format options yourself, and let students know they can download content in multiple formats that give them choices in how they watch, read, or listen.
Upon completing this online session, participants should be able to:
Run the Ally Accessibility Report for your course (Original or Ultra) to identify accessibility issues
Use Ally's Instructor Feedback Panel to preview content and prioritize remediation
Follow Ally's step-by-step guidance to fix accessibility issues
Deploy Ally's alternative formats to support diverse learning preferences
Following the 45-minute presentation, join us for a closer look at how to use Ally and Q&A.
To RSVP for this event, please click the Website button below to get to the Instructional Tech page to "Go virtually" and be sure to add the event to your calendar!
This webinar will take place in a Blackboard Collaborate virtual conference room. Enter the webinar up to 15 minutes before the start time. Use the "Join Online Event" link above to join the session.
At least 5 registrations are needed for this session to proceed as scheduled. The session will be recorded if two or more people attend and the link will be distributed to everyone who registered.
To honor this month, MDOD has announced two new awards, the first annual-Governor's Award for Disability Culture and the Governor's Award for Disability Achievements. These awards will highlight how individuals with disabilities live, learn, work, and play in the community. Tell them how your nominee expands, creates, or improves disability culture or achievements in Maryland.
The Governor's Award for Disability Culture will focus on the arts, and could include painting, sculpture, music, theater, performance, etc.
The Governor's Award for Disability Achievements will be broader, and focused on nominees who have successfully promoted equal opportunity, access, and choice in their lives or the lives of others.
Complete their nomination form to send the Md Department of Disabilities your nominee. You may nominate multiple people, and must complete a separate form for each entry. Click on the website button to access the form.
Nominations are due by July 31, 2022
A photo of a bronze statue of three jubilant men together accompanies this post. The closest man has his arm raised as a victorious gesture, the tallest man is smiling and embracing the others from behind.
Are you ReADY?
Facilities Management and Residential Life are excited to announce the launch of our new customer request portal ReADY for faculty, staff, and students to report maintenance issues and to request services, effective Wednesday, June 22, 2022.
ReADY is a user-friendly application which runs on all smart phones, tablets, and computers.
ReADY allows all campus users to request services, using an easy-to-follow system of tiles and dropdown selections. Based upon your affiliation as a faculty/staff, commuter student, or residential student, you will see a customized set of tiles to report issues and request services for buildings, grounds, roadways, and other infrastructure.
Access ReADY via this link using your UMBC email and password:
https://umbc.assetworks.cloud/ready
Customers will receive email notifications and be able to monitor status of requests by clicking on Process or Notifications in ReADY.
For current AiM Users, ReADY replaces the AiM work order request process. The AiM interface for requests will be disabled at 5 pm on Tuesday, June 21, 2022.
A ReADY user guide and additional information is available on Facilities Management’s website:
https://fm.umbc.edu/work-request/
Accessibility and Disability Services works in strong partnership with Facilities Management and will be updating their Work Control information - though the on-the-go process for calling in a condition remains 410-455-2550 from any phone. Campus faculty and staff are encouraged to bookmark the site to assist with prompt repair resolution.
As always with Accessibility & Disability Services - please report accessibility concerns at any time via our online form linked here.
A photo of a toolbelt with a hammer and wrench accompanies this post.
]]>Please encourage students with disability-based accommodations to schedule SDS finals now to avoid time conflicts! Read all the way to the end of this message!
For students with SDS testing accommodations at the UMBC main campus, please use our Accommodate software (https://sds.umbc.edu/accommodated-testing/) to schedule your final exams. During finals, May 19th through May 24th, SDS will be open for testing between 8:30 am and 6:00 pm each testing day. (NOTE - There are no 7:00 pm extended hours during finals at UMBC SDS-main campus.) Remember that finals must be booked in SDS a minimum of two business days in advance, BUT you should schedule all of them NOW. SDS actually ran out of space during midterms but can advocate for additional rooms for Finals if demand is known in advance.
For students registered with SDS who take classes at Shady Grove (USG), please follow the directions on the USG testing website at https://www.shadygrove.umd.edu/student-services/center-for-academic-success/dss. In general, USG test request forms must be submitted at least 7 days prior to the exam date.
Important Notes:
Please contact the SDS office via email (disability@umbc.edu), phone (410-455-2459), or dropping by (Math/Psych 212) if you have any questions, or if we can assist you in scheduling your finals on the Main Campus.
~~Student Disability Services
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