Live Virtual Conference 2018: ‘Accessing Higher Ground: Accessible Media, Web and Technology Conference’

All University faculty, staff, and students are invited to the Accessing Higher Ground Virtual Conference, a live, web-based conference focused on accessible media, web and technology, presented by the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD).

The 21st annual conference will be held Monday, Nov. 12–Friday, Nov.16, and the virtual conference will be hosted in two locations in the Center for Science and Technology. Registration for local presentation of the conference is free; please register online by Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, for the sessions you plan to attend.

Accessing Higher Ground (AHG) focuses on the implementation and benefits of Accessible Media, Universal Design and Assistive Technology in university, business, and public settings. There is a strong focus on Universal Design, curriculum accessibility, incorporating accessibility into the procurement process, accessibility evaluations, and ADA and Section 508 compliance. Other topic areas cover legal and policy issues, video captioning, and expanded sessions for creating accessible math content.

One of the pre-conference sessions is a lab related to Accessible InDesign layouts for producing accessible PDFs and EPUBs. And, on Friday a main conference session focuses on making accessible content visually compelling, which will be of particular interest to graphic designers.

Presentation of the virtual AHEAD annual conference on the University campus is sponsored by the Office of Disability Services and Information Technology Services (ITS).

Who should attend?

If you create or manage content that must comply with the University’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Accessibility Policy this conference will be very helpful. The conference is intended for individuals who need to design or provide accessible Web, media, information resources and technology in the academic and business environment, including faculty and administrators interested in ADA & Section 508 compliance and faculty and other professionals who wish to ensure that their curriculum is accessible. In the past, audiences have included web designers, assistive technologists, ADA coordinators, human resource personnel, persons with disabilities, disability specialists, faculty, media specialists and programmers interested in accessibility and incorporating Universal Design into curriculum and information and communications technology.

About the virtual conference

AHG will stream sessions live from two tracks, all five days of the conference, including the pre-conference sessions on Monday and Tuesday. Main conference sessions start on Wednesday. For complete information, including session abstracts and schedule (Mountain time zone), visit the virtual conference website.

NOTE: ITS has arranged for group tickets which cover the presentation here on the University campus of all virtual pre- and main conference sessions. DO NOT register for the virtual conference on the AHG website, unless you want to participate as an individual, or from another location. Also, note that the times shown on the virtual conference website are Mountain Time. Events will be presented here on campus two hours later than shown on the conference website.

Please register here by Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018.

Questions? Send an email to ITS at accessibleIT@syr.edu, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. Please include your name and phone number in your email.