Back-to-School at GCC means Back to Accessibility!
Last spring, we got a little breathing room to update our courses for Title II accessibility requirements. This fall, let’s track down those remaining accessibility errors and obstacles in our Canvas courses. Are you ready?
Let’s find out!
Take this light-hearted quiz to find out which back-to-school movie character you are when it comes to course accessibility!
1. When you think about accessibility in your Canvas courses, you:
A) Feel like leading the study group! I’ve been to the workshops, my courses are nearly 100% accessible, and I’m always learning more. (I’ve read the WCAG guidelines cover to cover. Twice, for good measure.)
B) Feel pretty good. I’ve made some improvements — added alt text here, fixed some headings there. Still a work in progress! (Bend, snap, and add alt text — it’s basically the same energy.)
C) Feel a little behind. I’ve read the emails, and I know it’s important, but I haven’t started yet. Rooney is breathing down my neck!
2. A student emails asking for accessible course materials. Your reaction is:
A) “Already done! Everything’s ready to go.” closes laptop with quiet confidence — she read three chapters ahead, obviously
B) “Give me a day or two to clean up a few things!” rolls up sleeves, “what, like it’s hard?” energy fully engaged
C) “Of course! Let me look into that right away!” smiles, straightens tie, swiftly Googles “how to create accessible PDFs”
3. Your current accessibility to-do list looks like:
A) Practically complete! Just staying up-to-date with new content and best practices. (Organized enough to make Madam Pince jealous.)
B) In progress. I’ve tackled some of it, but there’s more to do when I have time. (Not bad for someone everyone underestimated on day one.)
C) Longer than Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930!
4. When you hear “Grackle,” you think:
A) “Oh yes! That’s the tool for Google Docs accessibility. Already using it!” (Crookshanks approves. He’s very particular about tools.)
B) “I’ve heard of it! Been meaning to try it out.” (Bruiser’s been begging me to sign up for a workshop.)
C) “That’s… a bird? But also a tool? I should probably learn about this.”
RESULTS:
Mostly A’s: You’re HERMIONE GRANGER
“I already cross-referenced WCAG with three other library books.”
You LOVE accessibility. You’ve attended the workshops, embraced best practices, and your courses are properly tagged, headed, and captioned within an inch of their lives. You’re the person other faculty text at 11pm asking “wait, how do I check color contrast again?” The CTLE would put you on a committee if you’d let them. Students using screen readers navigate your course like it’s a well-organized library because it basically is. Ten points to your department. Keep it up.
Mostly B’s: You’re ELLE WOODS
“What, like it’s hard? …okay, some of it is a little hard.”
You’re resourceful, determined, and further along than you’re giving yourself credit for. You’ve added alt text to the important stuff, you know color contrast is a thing, and you’re not afraid to ask questions in front of people who think you don’t belong in the room. You’re doing real work with the tools you’ve got, you just haven’t finished the case yet. A little expert help could take you from “pretty compelling opening argument” to “won the whole thing.”
Mostly C’s: You’re FERRIS BUELLER
You’ve got the confidence of someone who’s never once been caught skipping the “add alt text” step, but your Week of Celebration and Learning to-do list is quietly planning a parade of its own. Somehow you always land on your feet: a heading here, a caption there, thrown together with Ferris-level improvisation and zero advance planning. It usually works out. But let’s be honest, Cameron did total the Ferrari that one time.
Good news: you don’t have to pull this off solo, and you definitely don’t have to wait until 3:58 PM on the due date. Like a good E-MU Emulator II synthesizer, the CTLE is here to make your (accessibility) schemes and dreams a reality!
No matter which character you are, we invite you to follow along this semester as we offer workshops, videos, blog posts, and of course, support hours to help you along on your accessibility journey!
Portions of this post were developed with assistance from Claude.ai.