Digital accessibility 101

The Department of Justice passed new legislation in 2024 requiring all state and local governments to comply with new ADA guidelines for accessible web content. To help the Department of Taxation navigate these standards, I spearheaded the development of a micro-learning series for all employees. 

Micro-Learning Videos

The clip shown here is from the video introducing the micro-learning series, which we called "Digital Accessibility 101." The videos were recorded using Camtasia. I produced the videos, from writing the scripts, creating the intro/outro bumpers, to (reluctantly) providing the on-screen talent. I used PowerPoint's built-in teleprompter to deliver the script. Finally, the animations interspersed throughout were created in Vyond. 

Rise Course

The final course took shape as an Articulate Rise course with ten lessons, an introduction, and a conclusion. The lesson topics were determined by need as discovered through working with Taxation employees on public-facing documents, like job aids, letters, video scripts, and slide decks. Each lesson was front-ended with a brief introduction of the topic, followed by video(s) developed in Camtasia, and concluded with additional resources and information about the relevant WCAG standards. 

The videos showed employees how to remediate digital documents based on WCAG standards. I demonstrated each skill on a document or website that was authentic to the Department of Taxation. I also often demonstrated using the NVDA screen reader on these documents to show how accessbility efforts impact user experience. 

The Digital Accessibility 101 course was very successful. What began as an optional learning opportunity for employees became mandatory for all managers and anyone who worked with public-facing documents, some 200+ employees. We also shared the course with multiple other Ohio State agencies whom requested it as part of their own compliance efforts.