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Accessibility Presentations and Workshop Materials

2024

CSUN Assistive Technology Conference

March 18-22, 2024

The California State University, Northridge (CSUN) hosted the 39th annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference which is designed as an inclusive event for researchers, practitioners, exhibitors, end users and other participants to share knowledge and best practices in the field of assistive technology. Among the many workshops and presentations scheduled for the conference were those created by accessibility professionals from the GSA IT Accessibility Program and U.S. Access Board teams including:

  • FED Talk - Section 508 Activities Update (PPTX) - Accessibility experts from the U.S. Access Board and the General Services Administration will provide updates on federal Section 508 ICT accessibility initiatives and activities. They will focus on the issues most applicable to users & implementers.
  • Section 508 ICT Testing Baseline Portfolio (PPTX) - The Section 508 ICT Testing Baseline Portfolio interprets the 508 Standards and sets minimum requirements of accessibility testing for consistent and reliable test results. Learn about the Baseline for Web and a Baseline for Documents is coming soon!
  • OpenACR - the Future of Accessibility Conformance Reporting (PPTX) - Unlock the future of digital accessibility conformance reporting with OpenACRs. Dive into the transformative approach of machine-readable reports, explore the innovative OpenACR Editor, and envision a world of continuous accessibility improvements.
  • Analytical approach to the Government-Wide Annual Assessment (PPTX) - GSA and USAB dives into the analytical approach to the Government-wide Section 508 Annual Assessment, including an overview of the report to Congress, discussion of criteria development, data analysis, proof-points, and data-driven recommendations.
  • Introduction to the Accessibility Requirements Tool (ART) (PPTX) - Accessibility experts demonstrate how to use the Accessibility Requirements Tool (ART) to generate standardized Section 508 requirements language when procuring Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products and services.

IT Accessibility Community Meetings

February 13, 2024

The GSA Government-wide IT Accessibility Program hosted federal employees and others for a presentation on how to use the IT Accessibility Policy Framework to improve the conformance of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The framework is designed to help organizations evaluate and update their agency’s IT accessibility policies and procedures. Following an overview of the framework, attendees participated in an instructor-led workshop where they used the Policy Review Template (XLXS) workbook to assess sample policies.

2023

IT Accessibility Community Meetings

August 8, 2023

The fourth IT Accessibility Community Meeting of the year continued the theme, “Let’s Take Flight & Continue To Soar” focused on “continuing the meaningful work through unending leadership by example and being the change we want to see ” while reconnecting with our broader accessibility community members and charting the path forward. Attendees traveled to the worlds of Accessible Word to PDF where they were taken on a journey to make an inaccessible Word document accessible during a live demo. If you are new to document accessibility this is a great introduction to showing how easy accessibility can be. Additionally, attendees had the opportunity to take part in an in-flight journey with one of our Soaring Section 508 Superheroes, who shared their accessibility experience as a person who has experienced a lifetime with ADHD.

June 13, 2023

The third IT Accessibility Community Meeting of the year continued the theme, “Let’s Take Flight & Continue To Soar” focused on “continuing the meaningful work through unending leadership by example and being the change we want to see ” while reconnecting with our broader accessibility community members and charting the path forward. During this session we held a targeted focus group that gave participants the opportunity to provide feedback on the website. This includes both content updates and suggestions for new content that should be included on section508.gov.

April 25, 2023

The second IT Accessibility Community Meeting of the year continued the theme, “Let’s Take Flight & Continue To Soar” focused on “continuing the meaningful work through unending leadership by example and being the change we want to see ” while reconnecting with our broader accessibility community members and charting the path forward. Attendees heard how the US Census Bureau discusses their experience in standing up a Section 508 Program Office.

February 14, 2023

The second IT Accessibility Community Meeting of the year introduced the theme, “Let’s Take Flight & Continue To Soar” and focused on “continuing the meaningful work through unending leadership by example and being the change we want to see” while reconnecting with our broader accessibility community members and charting the path forward.

2022

IT Accessibility Community Meetings

December 7, 2022

Continuing our theme, “Be The Change In Accessibility” focuses on “Be The Change In Accessibility: Acquisition” where our speakers shared what CDC is doing currently and planning around the need for accessible communication that is plain, clear, and inclusive, and will share some examples of recent work. Additionally, the speakers discussed how the world around us is shaped by our perspective, and so is our understanding of what we call disabilities.

June 14, 2022

Continuing our theme, “Be The Change In Accessibility” focuses on “Be The Change In Accessibility: Acquisition” where our speakers discussed the federal acquisition processes for procuring Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and how these processes provide key opportunities to ensure accessible technology is being purchased.

April 19, 2022

Continuing our theme, “Be The Change In Accessibility” focuses on “being the change” while reconnecting with our broader accessibility community members and charting the path forward. The topic for this session is “Be The Change In Accessibility: Acquisition” where our participants heard from four speakers.

February 8, 2022

Our overall theme, “Be The Change In Accessibility,” focuses on “being the change” while reconnecting with our broader accessibility community members and charting the path forward. The topic for this session is “Be The Change In Accessibility: Design & Development” where you’ll hear from two speakers.

2021

IT Accessibility Community Meetings

December 7, 2021

Our theme, “Winter Break: Accessibility Lights, DEIA Camera…ACTION” continued to focus on reconnecting our broader accessibility community members and charting the path forward. The topics discussed at the meeting included: DEIA and the Accessibility Community; What is The Big Picture; and Using the Tools We Have To Accomplish the Goal.

August 4, 2021

Our theme, “Moving Forward: Leaving No One Behind,” continued to focus on reconnecting our broader accessibility community and looking at the path ahead. This session was part-two of how a leader with no accessibility experience became a ‘508 Evangelist’ and began fundamentally changing how an organization thought about, and approached, accessibility. Topics included: Linking & Leverage; Building a Foundation; Changing the Narrative; and Enforcement Is NOT the Answer.

June 8, 2021

In this session, Brandon Jular (Department of Labor) shared his journey from a new leader with no accessibility experience to becoming a ‘508 Evangelist,’ and began fundamentally changing how an organization thought about and approached accessibility.

April 6, 2021

Focusing on the acquisition of information and communications technology, four presenters from Federal and State accessibility programs shared a quick review of approaches on how to evaluate Accessibility Conformance Reports (ACRs) developed from Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs™).  This was followed by four concurrent breakout sessions where each presenter led a breakout group to compare multiple products against the agency’s RFP requirements as the evaluation committee.

February 9, 2021

Featuring the slogan, “Moving Forward: Change is Necessary”, this meeting featured presentations by DHS, GSA, NASA, and the Information Technology Industry Association (ITI) on Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) creation, evaluation and validation processes. Additionally, the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) shared information on improving the accessibility profession through education and certification.

2020

CSUN Assistive Technology Conference

March 8-13, 2020

The California State University, Northridge (CSUN) hosted the 35th annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference which is designed as an inclusive event for researchers, practitioners, exhibitors, end users and other participants to share knowledge and best practices in the field of assistive technology. Among the many workshops and presentations scheduled for the conference were those created by accessibility professionals from the U.S. Access Board, the GSA IT Accessibility Team, and the Department of Homeland Security including:

IT Accessibility Community Meetings

December 01, 2020

“Moving Forward: Winter Break” - Access Israel shared information about their organization and how they promote accessibility to improve the quality of life for people with various disabilities in Israel. The primary goal is that all those with disabilities are integrated into society with dignity, respect, equal rights and high level of independence. Attendees also enjoyed a year-in-review presentation by Tim Creagan, U.S. Access Board.

August 11, 2020

Under the theme of “Back to School,” the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute led a review and discussion of seven sections of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the relationship between disability programs and reasonable accommodations. Participants also received an update on the changes to the Accessibility Requirements Tool (ART) and Solicitations Review Tool (SRT) from the GSA Office of Government-wide Policy IT Accessibility Program.

June 30, 2020

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) participated in an informative event with a focus on creating effective performance management frameworks and position descriptions; including how a position description can be used to establish a Section 508 Program led by a dedicated Program Manager. 

April 7, 2020

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) shared an overview of their Section 508 Program, the program’s structure, education and awareness campaigns, and future planning. The GSA government-wide IT Accessibility Team shared information on effective testing approaches, and gave a brief demo of the ANDI testing tool.

February 4, 2020

Featuring the slogan, “Moving Forward,” this meeting featured presentations by Program Maturity Census Bureau Section 508 Program Managers sharing best practices, lessons learned and plans for 2020.

2019

IT Accessibility Community Meetings

December 10, 2019

Featuring the slogan, “What Have We Learned? Our Journey Forward,”  this meeting featured three presentations by Section 508 Program Managers sharing lessons learned and plans for 2020.

August 1, 2019

Our summer program manager’s meeting featured presentations on the Digital Dashboard Accessibility Module, website reports to agency CIOs, and expanding scans for additional WCAG 2.0 standards.

June 5, 2019

The Solicitation Review Tool (SRT) was introduced during this bimonthly accessibility community meeting, which also included a product demo, discussions on machine learning, and a review of analytics results. In addition, we discussed the inclusion of Section 508 in the acquisition lifecycle, and using the Acquisition Requirements Tool (ART) to generate ICT requirements.

April 8, 2019

Bimonthly meeting topics included discussions on performance metrics and training needs, and an update on training offered by the Access Board.

2018

IT Accessibility Community Meeting

February 6, 2018 - Bi-monthly meeting of the Accessibility Community, featuring an interactive session on the new Accessibility Requirements Tool (ART).

2017

Section 508 Federal Day

December 5, 2017

The meeting featured speakers from Microsoft, who shared the latest on creating accessible content.

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Reviewed/Updated: March 2024

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