Inclusion & Accessibility

Introduction

Curb cut photo by Kelly Hammond (CC-BY)

The curb cut was invented in 1945 in response to WWII veterans lobbying for wheelchair access to public hospitals, and it gained wider adoption in the following decades. “Then a magnificent and unexpected thing happened,” reports civil rights activist Angela Glover Blackwell. “When the wall of exclusion came down, everybody benefited—not only people in wheelchairs. Parents pushing strollers headed straight for curb cuts. So did workers pushing heavy carts, business travelers wheeling luggage, even runners and skateboarders. A study of pedestrian behavior at a Sarasota, Fla., shopping mall revealed that nine out of 10 ‘unencumbered pedestrians’ go out of their way to use a curb cut.”

What “walls of exclusion” might need to come down in our courses? What course and curricular “curb cuts” can we make that might allow even greater access to and inclusion in the learning experience?

Plan for the Week

1. Using the Open for All Workshop Course Review Rubric, go over you course, referring to the annotations related to the lens of inclusion and accessibility and identify opportunities to increase these aspects of your course with the DEIA educational practices in the annotations. Consider especially the starred annotations that rely on OER or Open Pedagogy. Please post in Module I Discussion by Thursday, March 14, in preparation for our meeting on Friday.
2. Attend our live meeting Friday, March 15, 12 noon – 1:30 pm.
3. Optionally:
   • Return to the Module Discussion to reflect on your initial post or respond to colleagues by Monday.
   • Explore the resources in this module to learn more about the theme for this week.
   • Explore the OER & Open Pedagogy Resources for more inspiration.
   • Fill out the section of the Workshop Project template for this week’s theme.

Accessibility & Inclusion Resources

Accessible/Inclusive Syllabi

• Accessible Syllabus – a crisp, clear guide from Tulane professors on making syllabi accessible through images, text, rhetoric, and policy
• Building an Inclusive Syllabus | Teaching Commons – 4 quick tips from Stanford’s Teaching Commons to make your syllabus more inclusive 
• Syllabus Challenge for Inclusive Practices – a comprehensive checklist for creating inclusive syllabi
• “Humanizing” the Course Syllabus Outline  –  Shazia Nawaz Awan’s thoughts on how “humanized” syllabi can lower barriers for a range of students from their first experience in your course
• Using Your Instructor Bio to Humanize Course, Reduce Student Anxiety – Tips on how to extend “humanizing” to your instructor bio
• Liquid Syllabus Introduction – from OFDIT’s Rowena Li

Accessible/Inclusive Course Site

• CUNY SPS Accessibility Toolkit – Adaptations of an OER Accessibility Toolkit made with the SPS community in mind
• Accessibility Workshop for Brooklyn College: Create Accessible Blackboard Sites – a practical guide with helpful screenshots
• NCDAE Cheatsheets for making materials accessible – practical info on how to make different materials accessible, including Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, pdfs, and YouTube videos
• SPS Faculty Community Site on Accessibility and UDL – video tutorials and SPS services that can help you make course materials accessible and more universally designed 

References:

Blackwell, A. G. (2016). The Curb-Cut Effect. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 15(1), 28–33. https://doi.org/10.48558/YVMS-CC96.