News

New module debuts Thursday, May 15th (for Global Accessibility Awareness Day!)

Sign up to be added to the UC A11Y Canvas course!

*Note: Remember that, once added, you’ll need to navigate to and bookmark the UCO Canvas link here, as it’s not available through your campus Canvas.

Suggest content or nominate an Access Hero at your campus here.

*Note: as an accessibility best practice, links will open in the same tab; right-click and select Open Link in New Tab if you prefer.

May Disability and Accessibility Dates:

• Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is observed each third Thursday of May to raise awareness about digital accessibility and the importance of creating inclusive digital experiences for people with disabilities.

  University of California Webinar: Thursday, May 15 from 10-11:30 AM;

  Register for GAAD here

May is also Mental Health Awareness Month.

Learn more with the Disability Daily Podcast! Follow on Bluesky

Document Remediation Drop-In: June 4 @ 3 PM

Are your syllabi, readings, flyers, and other documents compliant?

Register here for our next UC Accessibility Project Document Remediation Drop-In Session on Wednesday, June 4 from 3-4PM on Zoom.

• Folks are welcome to bring their own documents for accessibility assessment and remediation help.

• Please submit your materials here. We might not get to all of them, but we're planning for regular drop-in sessions, so no worries!

• Feel free to just watch. This is an informal opportunity to learn more about making your documents accessible.

• Review our workshop on What Makes a Document Accessible? with Dax Castro here.

*If you request ASL interpretation or other access needs, please let me know as soon as possible and at least 72 hours before the meeting.

Body Doubling Session: Monday, June 2, 12-1PM

Body doubling is a strategy where a person works alongside someone else, either in person or virtually, to stay focused and motivated. For many folks—particularly those with ADHD or autism—body doubling provides accountability, reduces feelings of isolation, and creates a structured environment that makes tasks feel more manageable. The presence of another person can help redirect attention back to the task at hand and foster a sense of shared purpose.

If you’d benefit from body doubling to help motivate you through the UC A11Y Project Canvas modules, please join us this month on Zoom; we’ll offer more sessions each month. Folks can choose to work individually in quiet breakout rooms or discuss with others in collaborative breakout rooms.

Register: Monday, June 2, 12-1PM

*If you request ASL interpretation or other access needs, please let me know as soon as possible and at least 72 hours before the meeting.

June 9: Lunchtime WCAG 2.1 Scavenger Hunt

Curious about digital accessibility but not sure where to start? Join us for an interactive, beginner-friendly workshop where you'll explore a real website through the lens of WCAG 2.1—the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. No prior experience needed! We’ll complete a guided scavenger hunt to identify accessible design features and common barriers. Along the way, you'll gain insight into what makes digital content usable for everyone, including people with disabilities.

Register here for Monday, June 9, 12-1PM

*If you request ASL interpretation or other access needs, please let me know as soon as possible and at least 72 hours before the meeting.

UC Disability Hero: Charles A. Cofield (UCLA)

 Dr. Charles Arnold Cofield was an American architect and disability rights advocate who made significant contributions to accessible design and disability justice. He earned his undergraduate degree at Howard University. As a student, one night he went to investigate a fire just off campus and ended up getting hit by a car. The accident left him paralyzed. Despite this, he became the first quadriplegic graduate of the MIT School of Architecture and earned prestigious fellowships working for the Urban Massachusetts Transit Authority and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He also traveled to Europe to study disabled housing communities.

After MIT, Cofield earned a PhD in Urban Planning from UCLA, becoming the first quadriplegic student in the program. Throughout his studies, he worked tirelessly for increased accessibility at both MIT and UCLA. He was honored for his leadership and expertise as the Director of the L.A. Housing Authority for 24 years, overseeing $400 million in housing development. Cofield also served as a consultant on housing and barrier-free design, working with various schools, architectural firms, and government agencies to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.

A11Y Tip: Image Accessibility Generator

All images on slides, webpages, emails, Canvas sites, and documents used to convey meaningful information (i.e. are not simply decorative) need alt text descriptions to be accessible to blind folks and screen reader users. This is outlined in WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.1.1: Non-text Content (WCAG 2.1 AA is our accessibility benchmark for meeting the upcoming Title II deadline).

While alt text can’t be entirely outsourced to AI or disability offices because only you know how they align with your learning outcomes, AI can help get you started.

Check out Arizona State University’s AI-based Image Accessibility Generator (which uses GPT-4o by OpenAI) to make a first draft of alt text for an image you teach or work with frequently. Then edit it for accuracy and brevity and tailor it to your learning outcomes.

Check out the UC A11Y Canvas course for other accessibility best practices.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Symbols

The UDL Guidelines remind us to clarify vocabulary, symbols, and language structures. While symbols like emojis might seem universal, their meanings can vary widely across generations, cultures, and contexts. What’s playful to one person may be confusing—or even offensive—to another. To promote clear and inclusive communication, it’s important to clarify the meaning of symbols and avoid assumptions that everyone interprets them the same way.

Check out this quick video of how VoiceOver on your iPhone or Mac reads your emojis (9 seconds; with sound/captions).

Note: The emoji used in this quick video is often used to express frustration, but its official meaning by the Unicode Consortium is “triumph”.

Check out the UC A11Y Canvas course for other accessibility best practices.

Nominate an Access Hero!

Nominate an Access Hero who works to make your campus more accessible!

Nominees can be anyone on campus -- staff members, students, or instructors.

We’ll give them a shout-out in a future newsletter.

UC Campus News:

Share your campus news here!

UC Berkeley has a new podcast on which students, educators, and staff from the disability community tell their stories and call the campus community in on acts of advocacy and disability justice. Check out Finding Space here (with transcripts!).