Accessibility training is often mandated by organizations facing looming compliance deadlines. Much like First Aid training, which many employees must complete for their jobs, accessibility training isn’t always something people look forward to. And so, here I am—standing in front of a captive audience—just another DEI lady trying to convince them that accessibility matters. Even if they are fortunate enough to live without disabilities and no one in their immediate circle faces barriers, accessibility is still worth considering. So, how do I win them over?
I usually start with a video or a cartoon—something to grab their attention, spark curiosity, and plant a seed of understanding. I hope to ignite that chain reaction leading to an “a-ha” moment—a sudden burst of fireworks in their mind, a small revelation about the complex, difficult world we all navigate.
This cartoon by Kevin Ruelle was inspired by a student with disabilities and is just one of many illustrations collected in three volumes, all subtitled Absurdities and Realities of Special Education now archived online as part of the UVM library’s Digital Collections. This was my first a-ha moment back in 2017 when I was just starting my accessibility journey in the Accessible Media Production program at Mohawk College.
The videos I have posted here are not mine, I did not contribute in any way to producing them but they built me up, they sparked my curiosity and left me in wonder. I hope they will do the same for you. You can click on the individual embedded videos or watch them on YouTube, where I made a Playlist. I am grateful for them and happy to share them with you. So if you have a couple of minutes, grab some popcorn and let’s have a watch party. You’ll notice that a lot of these videos are quite old, and none of them are Canadian content, but accessibility is universal, so I hope you will enjoy these and share them with your people.
RNIB What’s in Store
RNIB & Alexa Make Talking Books easier to access
Vision Australia’ s talking microwave
Hearview glasses with captions
Scripor’s Accessible Rubik Cube
Tactile stickers for Shampoo and Conditioner Bottles
Google’s Liftware Utensils – for people with Parkinson’s disease
The Steadyscribe pen
Be My Eyes: human volunteers:
Be My Eyes – Virtual Volunteer
How iOS Switch works
Assume that I can
Adaptable Fashion