Global Accessibility Awareness Day: Why digital accessibility is critical
Being inclusive is one of Deakin Library’s key priorities. Digital accessibility is a big way we can make sure that everyone gets to successfully engage with us and have a positive experience. Did you know that over one billion people worldwide have a disability or impairment? Visual, hearing, motor or cognitive disabilities can all impact a person’s ability to access web-based services and content – but simple accessibility practices can make a big difference for inclusion.
Prioritising accessibility in our Deakin Library platforms
We’ve been working hard to improve the accessibility of our content, with projects like conducting an accessibility audit across 15 library platforms. In fact, we’ve recently won a 2023 ADCET Accessibility Award for this work and the toolkit we developed alongside it (which will help to maintain and improve accessibility on Deakin platforms into the future!) Library staff also won another ADCET award in 2022, this time for our part in creating an accessible active reading guide.
Beyond the library, five other teams from across Deakin also won ADCET Awards in 2023, and another five in 2022. It’s clear Deakin is doing great work in this area!
Fix Your Content Day – 24 hour competition
Deakin’s Accessibility Champions Project Team will be competing against other universities around the world in the 24 hour Fix Your Content Day competition on Thursday 18 May (Global Accessibility Awareness Day). The team will be on a mission to fix as many accessibility issues as possible on our CloudDeakin unit sites. Deakin staff can get involved in a number of ways – all you need is access to your unit site!
- Already a keen accessibility advocate? just spend a few minutes fixing simple accessibility issues using the Everyday Accessibility Basics as your guide.
- Need some dedicated (and supported) time set aside to get involved? Register with the Accessibility Champions Project team for drop-in Zoom sessions to spend some time with friends fixing your content.
- Register here for the Thursday 18 May 10am–12pm session
- Register here for the Thursday 18 May 1–3pm session
- Can’t make the drop-in sessions and need help? No problem – just post your accessibility questions on the day in the Everyday Accessibility Channel on the Tools4Teaching Teams site.
By making a few simple accessibility fixes to unit content, we can make significant improvements to the experience of people using our digital learning spaces!