This spring, Niagara College is helping educators break down barriers with the launch of a new Accessibility Hub.
Leveraging $230,000 in funding from the eCampus Ontario Virtual Learning Strategy grant, the NC team behind the new Accessibility Hub developed over 55 articles, checklists, videos, and resources with straight-forward recommendations for educators to simplify the creation of accessible web content, learning materials, and experiences for students.
“This is a hugely impactful resource for Niagara College, but also for the broader community seeking to create more accessible and inclusive communications and events,” said Natasha Patrito Hannon, Director, Teaching and Learning Innovation in the Centre for Academic Excellence. “It is my hope that the Hub will be bookmarked by every NC employee, and that members of the NC community will refer to the Hub to build accessibility-first habits into all facets of their work.”
Sourcing inspiration from other post-secondary institutions, the Accessibility Hub team envisioned an extraordinarily powerful resource for NC educators. They engaged a group of provincially- and nationally-recognized experts from within the College – staff from the CAE, Health, Wellness and Accessibility Services, and Marketing and Student Recruitment – to develop a plan for the Accessibility Hub. Among them, special gratitude goes to Whit Ross (CAE), Courtney Thaggard and Sarah LoConte (Marketing), Jim McEwen (HWAS), and Lynn O’Keeffe (CAE).
“The Hub is the culmination of a truly collaborative, cross-institutional effort, with over 30 staff, faculty, alumni, and students contributing to its creation – from writing articles and checklists, to coordinating video shoots, editing written and video content, and creating the site architecture,” said Patrito Hannon.
In Fall 2021, the team behind the Accessibility Hub put out an open call to NC students and recent alumni with lived experiences of disability to share their stories. Several students responded, and a small group were invited (and compensated for their time) to work with the team to develop the captivating video stories that appear on the site.
NC faculty and students tell us about their experiences with accessibility in the Video Library on the Accessibility Hub website.
The initiative is a brilliant example of innovation at NC, our commitment to the wholistic student experience, and our continued efforts to be more inclusive.
The Hub is also another way that NC is focused on being local and global community builders.
“Since all materials are openly licensed, they can be adopted, adapted, and repurposed by individuals or organizations around the world looking to improve the accessibility of their communications and work practices,” said Patrito Hannon.
Acknowledging that the Hub is a work in progress, the creators have integrated multiple feedback mechanisms – including the “Your Feedback” page – to gather input from users and identify opportunities for improvement and expansion.
On May 4, Patrito Hannon, Ross, and Jim McEwen will deliver a session about the Accessibility Hub to educators across Ontario at the eCampus showcase.
“We will be working with college partners to develop a plan for maintaining and expanding this important resource,” said Patrito Hannon.
Explore the accessibilityhub.niagaracollege.ca and be sure to save it to your bookmarks for future reference.
