[Cato] [External] RE: Assumptions and the need for a resource!

Mon Jan 22 09:02:04 PST 2018

Ditto.  And unfortunately, his DSS person is new to her position, so neither one of them has a lot of experience in this area.  Maybe if you encourage him to use/reference the resources already available through SBCTC, including your blog, he will see that he doesn't have to reinvent the wheel . . .

From: Cato [mailto:cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu] On Behalf Of Ward Naf
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2018 8:01 AM
To: Rovner, Amy <arovner at shoreline.edu>; Jess Thompson <jess.thompson at sbctc.edu>; Mark Jenkins <mjenkins at sbctc.edu>; cato at lists.ctc.edu
Subject: [External] RE: [Cato] Assumptions and the need for a resource!

I highly agree with Amy, I don't know him at all besides from this exchange, but I don't think it would be proper to let him loose blogging and representing the system at this stage.

Ward Naf
IT Director
Whatcom Community College
(360) 383-3430

From: Cato [mailto:cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu] On Behalf Of Rovner, Amy
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2018 10:52 AM
To: Jess Thompson <jess.thompson at sbctc.edu<mailto:jess.thompson at sbctc.edu>>; Mark Jenkins <mjenkins at sbctc.edu<mailto:mjenkins at sbctc.edu>>; cato at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato at lists.ctc.edu>
Subject: Re: [Cato] Assumptions and the need for a resource!

Maybe propose co-authoring with a DSS specialist or Access IT person?  That way there would be a moderating/editing opportunity (that doesn't have to be you Jess) by someone with a different view on the work?

Amy

From: Cato [mailto:cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu] On Behalf Of Jess Thompson
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2018 10:27 AM
To: Mark Jenkins <mjenkins at sbctc.edu<mailto:mjenkins at sbctc.edu>>; cato at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato at lists.ctc.edu>
Subject: Re: [Cato] Assumptions and the need for a resource!

Thanks all!

I gave Kelley a call and asked for a bit more context so I can best direct him to the type of support he's looking for. It wasn't a big issue - he didn't think someone using a screen reader would want much detail about a company logo and had assumed writing "Canvas logo" would suffice (as opposed to "red circle with dots and blah blah blah").

We did talk about how there will always be variation in user preference and I pointed him to some listservs that he could camp out on or pose this question to -- listservs that are not comprised solely of people with disabilities.

I know Kelley wants to do right, but he's made some flippant remarks about mental health so I'm always a little nervous about what he's going to say. Which leads to the next phase of this conversation:

Jess:

We talked just before I left work yesterday, and my hour-long commute always provides for some of my best thinking time.

Net result: I applied for guest blogger permission on the AccessWA blog.  I would like to blog about best practices guidelines for alt text. I have already researched this on the interwebs, and what the experts have to say closely aligns with our common sense discussions yesterday. Maybe our seemingly "common sense" derives from our own past readings - who knows, and who cares, but this is an area I think folks could benefit from

Kelley

Jess Thompson
Program Administrator, Accessible Technology Initiatives
Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
p: 360.704.4327 | c: 253.229.8591
Current Projects<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KXjxctpTAa2R06iRksMrjaeiCkphAJzqkwX-awvJh9g/edit?usp=sharing> | AccessWA Blog<https://accesswa.blog>

Keep in the accessibility loop by joining the CTC Accessibility listserv<https://goo.gl/forms/CP1GHPl6Pe1ipD6q1>!

________________________________
From: Mark Jenkins
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2018 9:41:30 AM
To: Jess Thompson; cato at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato at lists.ctc.edu>
Subject: Re: Assumptions and the need for a resource!

Yeah, he's just dropped down a level in his assumptions and I'm guessing that the "for instance" isn't exactly aligned (functionally) with what he seems to be asking for. Finally, because he didn't really describe the specific instance it's hard to get a grip on what was present and absent in his response or the nature of his insight. I guess I'd ask him to clarify and try to lead him down the path to plurality. You don't reframe the service, reframe the problem and ask him what he thinks a solution might look like.

I think you can reframe the problem in a way that supports his initial 'ah-ha' moment while still making the point that needs to be made. I'd put it back on him to think about it while extending that moment, maybe something like -- what you describe might be right if you had a people talking to other people with precisely the same disability and the same issue, but what you propose doesn't really address the fact that disabilities are plural and that there's no one size fits all solution or a single shared experience. If you think about it that way, what do you think that resource would need to look like?

What would his "help desk" look like if it were "universally designed"?  Maybe he'd respond with more specifics.

Mark Jenkins, Director
eLearning |Open Education
Coordinator, Accessible Technology Initiatives
Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges

mjenkins at sbctc.edu<mailto:mjenkins at sbctc.edu>
360.704-4363

________________________________
From: Cato <cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> on behalf of Jess Thompson <jess.thompson at sbctc.edu<mailto:jess.thompson at sbctc.edu>>
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2018 3:59 PM
To: cato at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato at lists.ctc.edu>
Subject: [Cato] Fwd: Assumptions and the need for a resource!

I'm tying to find the best way to respond... my immediate thought was "a disabled person cannot speak for all people with disabilities just as a woman should not be asked to speak for all women - nor should they carry the responsibility of educating/correcting/validating you." But, maybe it's just been a long week...

I can reframe this around technical help desk type services, but it seems Kelley's insinuating this is a different type of issue.

Thoughts?

Jess
Jess Thompson
Program Administrator, Accessible Technology Initiatives
Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
www.sbctc.edu<http://www.sbctc.edu>
Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges | SBCTC<http://www.sbctc.edu/>
www.sbctc.edu<http://www.sbctc.edu>
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. Find college listings, resources for paying for college, legislation information and more.

Begin forwarded message:
From: "Meeusen, Kelley" <Kelley.Meeusen at cptc.edu<mailto:Kelley.Meeusen at cptc.edu>>
Date: January 18, 2018 at 3:43:49 PM PST
To: "'Jess.thompson at sbctc.edu<mailto:Jess.thompson at sbctc.edu>'" <Jess.thompson at sbctc.edu<mailto:Jess.thompson at sbctc.edu>>
Subject: Assumptions and the need for a resource!

Hi Jess:

In an accessibility discussion today, I made an assumption. Later I reflected on that assumption and it occurred to me that my assumption could be inaccurate - yes, I just admitted that I could be wrong! That might be an indicator of the end of days, OMG!

Anyways, that wake-up moment made me think that it would be very nice if there were a resource - hotline, list-serve, blog, chat room whatever where we could ask questions, and a trained disabled person and/or accessibility expert (I would actually prefer a disabled person) would respond to our questions I know that many accessibility experts actually bring disabled folks in to test things, so I suspect a hotline could have some real value. For example, the UW DoIt Center has a blind person on staff to act as an internal tester and consultant.

I know the standards, guidelines and recommendations. I assume they reflect the needs of disabled persons, but do they always reflect the preferences of a disable person?

Do you know if there is such a resource out there?

Thanks,

Kelley

"Perhaps not all courses can be taught online, but all courses can benefit from an online presence!"

Kelley L. Meeusen, eLearning Coordinator
<image001.png>
eLearning Department
Building 15, Room 108 * 4500 Steilacoom Blvd. SW * Lakewood WA 98499 * T: 253-589-5730<tel:253.000.0000> * kelley.meeusen at cptc.edu<mailto:kelley.meeusen at cptc.edu> * cptc.edu<http://cptc.edu> * twitter.com/CloverParkTech<http://twitter.com/CloverParkTech> * facebook.com/CloverParkTech<http://facebook.com/CloverParkTech>
Excellence. Experience. Employment. Redefine education at Clover Park Technical College.

<image002.png>

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