On Track with Microsoft EDU: Not All Disabilities are Visible
Melissa Hortman, Ed.D.
Higher Education | Research | Technology Strategy at Microsoft
Guest Contributor: Jennifer Lee , Education Industry Executive at #Microsoft
December 3 is International Persons with Disabilities Day and the 2022 theme is:
“Transformative solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fueling an accessible and equitable world"
Creating an #inclusive environment in the classroom can take on a lot of different meanings. From creating a safe space for #students to bring their authentic selves to having capabilities for students to consume content in the best way for them, our job as educators is to make sure that our students learn and grow in their time with us. How does innovation fuel this? As we work to reach and teach all of our students through these inclusive environments, transformative solutions through #technology can accelerate and scale this work.?
#Accessibility cannot be an afterthought, it needed to be built in from the beginning. It is everyone's job on a higher education campus to create accessible environments in all that we do. On this International Persons with Disabilities Day, how are you continuing to move forward accessibility on your campus so every student has an opportunity to succeed?
Connect:?Global Head of Accessibility & Inclusion at Verbit.ai
Let's meet someone who has been incredibly influential in my professional and personal life. Scott Ready (CODA) , Global Head of Accessibility & Inclusion at Verbit.ai , is an intrapreneur and change agent focused on improving environments that impact the lives and experiences of individuals with disabilities. He regularly speaks on and “possibilitizes” about the improvement of environments with a consumer first approach, resulting in a greater benefit for all. He attributes his beginnings to his parents, who were deaf, and the community of deaf leaders who mentored him from a young age throughout his career. He has applied this intrinsic knowledge to the Interpreting, Relay Services, Government, Education and Technology industries. His expertise led him to be part of the establishment of the 3rd?statewide Relay Service Center in 1989, prior to the passing of the ADA, and the first online Interpreter Training Program. His influence has driven accessibility in online technology and captioning forward.
In this video, Jennifer Lee chats with Scott about why accessibility is important in higher education today, what it looks like in the classroom, and what are some simple steps that we can all take to create a culture of accessibility with our students.
Learn more about Verbit: AI-Based Transcription & Captioning Services here. They specialize in captioning and transcription services for businesses, but they are so much more than that. People like Scott Ready (CODA) at Verbit are creating waves in the world of accessibility! Make sure to follow him on LinkedIn to learn more about his work.
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Explore: Accessibility in Action
Microsoft Teams Transcription: Get The Most Out of Your Meetings (verbit.ai): Verbit works directly with Teams! Check out this great blog on the Verbit site about how to leverage this powerful captioning technology within Teams.
AI for Accessibility Projects - Microsoft AI: Did you know that Microsoft will invest in your research around AI for Accessibility? There is a lot of work to do in this area, so jump in to see how you can leverage some of the resources and learnings to accelerate your own work.
Accessibility Technology & Tools | Microsoft Accessibility: Microsoft has a plethora of tools and services available to support all people. From skilling to accessories, Microsoft has a deep commitment to expand accessibility in our technology, our workforce, and the workplace at large. Check out these other resources below.
Linkedin Learning has a course on digital accessibility in the workplace. This course covers best practices for developing more inclusive experiences in your meetings, emails, presentations, and social media posts.
Accessibility fundamentals - Training | Microsoft Learn: This training pathway on Microsoft Learn has four different modules on all the how-to's of making digital content accessible.
Microsoft Inclusive Tech Lab: Did you know you can request a virtual field trip tour of Microsoft's Inclusive Tech Lab? I visited this space this fall and it changed my perspective on how deep the investment is from Microsoft to humanize technology and make it accessible for everyone. This tour is a must do!
Student Voice: Collecting student voices is critical in order to understand the necessary strides institutions need to make in order to meet every learner where they are at. With Microsoft's commitment to bettering student outcomes, we are now opening submissions for students to share their story.