Accessibility is for everyone with launch of new resources site

HFC accessibility training for 2023 is coming in March, and Web Accessibility Manager Rachel Ford recently launched a new resources SharePoint site to supplement the training.

Check out the accessibility resources here

The Accessibility SharePoint site started as a place to share software reviews and training materials, making them available outside of regular training sessions. Posts have been added to share tips and short videos for employees on a variety of accessibility and usability topics.

Two major goals

There are a two major goals for this site. The first is to keep increasing awareness of accessibility topics. Accessibility does not have to be hard or take up a lot of time. Several of the posts include short videos or quick directions for techniques you can easily add to documents, forms, or web pages.

The second is showing the impact that accessible and inclusive design can have on success and completion. We have previously talked mostly about accessibility in terms of the requirements, which are important, but design also directly impacts how people use a document or piece of software.

Supporting the Strategic Plan

While making something accessible may not be “one size fits all,” there are techniques that can not only improve accessibility, but how people use a product or their ability to complete a process. In turn, that can help support the College’s Strategic Plan.

For example, when you add headings to documents, that helps people using several types of assistive technology. Headings can also help people without assistive technology find information quickly, and help you make a table of contents (when needed). The positive outcomes for making our technologies accessible only increase.

Topic suggestions for future posts and videos are welcome. To suggest topics or for questions or more information, contact Ford at raford3@hfcc.edu.