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GAAD update

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Edited by Kate Lister, Friday, 27 May 2016, 12:41

Our first ever GAAD event went really well! We had over 100 people from all different areas across the university get involved (although a few departments were conspicuously absent), and we had a lot of great feedback about the activities we ran, especially the quiz. Three people won Amazon vouchers and were really chuffed, especially Kevin from IT who said he never wins anything.

A big thank you to everyone who got involved. Geri, Kirsty and I (the organisers) just met for a de-brief and a planning session for next year, and we have lots of exciting ideas, including:

  • Cake
  • More prizes
  • Hands-on 10-minute accessibility tutorials
  • A guest speaker (got someone in mind, too)
  • Cake

Watch this space. smile


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Global Accessibility Awareness Day

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GAAD logo

Global Accessibility Awareness Day

May 19th is Global Accessibility Awareness Day - get involved, and get the chance to win a £10 Amazon voucher!

How to get involved

Pick one of the 10-minute desk-based activities listed below and carry it out. Click on the activity for more information and guidance.

When you’ve completed your activity, email IET-SeGA@open.ac.uk with the subject ‘GAAD (your activity) completed’. We will enter your name on SeGA’s GAAD Accessibility Roll of Honour and you will automatically be entered into the draw to win one of three £10 Amazon vouchers.

Executive Dean Mary Kellett, VCE Champion for Disability, says ‘I do hope colleagues will get behind SeGA and the Library and get involved in some of the excellent activities they are planning in support of Global Accessibility Awareness Day on May 19th. Many of our students and colleagues face accessibility challenges every single day of their lives. We can challenge ourselves on just one day of the year to get a better understanding of what this really means.’ So please get involved now, and let’s raise awareness together!


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The OU and Global Accessibility Awareness Day

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Edited by Kate Lister, Thursday, 5 May 2016, 15:29

GAAD logo  

The fifth international Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) will take place on 19th May, and I'm excited to announce that this year the OU is going to get involved. We are coordinating a range of 10-minute activities and challenges in order to help get people talking, thinking and learning about digital accessibility and users with different disabilities. More details will be published on the day, but activities will include:

  • Challenge: Can you go mouse-less for 10 minutes?
  • Challenge: Can you find a specific piece of information using a screen reader and with your monitor switched off?
  • Quiz: See how much you know about accessibility/disability by completing a particularly tricky quiz we're dreaming up
  • Task: Do a Windows Accessibility Check on the last two Word documents you created and make the suggested changes to make your document more accessible.  
  • Task: Find something in your area of work that could be improved, accessibility-wise. Improve it yourself, if you can, or email the person responsible with your suggestions.

I'll publish the final list of activities and links to guidance on the day. People who take part in the activities will have their names mentioned in SeGA’s GAAD Accessibility Roll of Honour and will be entered into the draw to win one of three £10 Amazon vouchers.


Do you have any comments, questions, ideas for activities or ways you, your faculty or department can get involved? I’d love to hear them! Post them here, or (if you're OU staff) on the SeGA community forum.



      

 

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