Hello friends,

As we make our way through fall 2020, we hope you and loved ones are doing well. Knowbility remains engaged with our accessibility community, launching awareness-raising competitions like the Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR), leading topic-specific interactive workshops, and presenting at conferences. Read on to learn how you can help keep our programs running amid these tough economic times, join a workshop to gain knowledge about low-vision accessibility, and where to find our tech staff at Accessing Higher Ground next month.

Onward!

Help Spread the Seeds of Digital Accessibility!

A fundraiser for the Accessibility Internet Rally

Several images of past participants of the AIR competition engaging in a variety of activities on computers, speaking, and learning.

This year’s 22nd annual Accessibility Internet Rally has the highest enrollment in the event’s history, with more teams helping more nonprofit organizations than ever before. A huge thanks go to Joe Devon and the advisors this year, for helping ensure the event’s success!

With so many participants working to improve accessibility around the world, AIR also needs your support. The AIR rally has always worked with nonprofits, artists, and community groups, as well as a wide range of development professionals to improve digital accessibility,  raise awareness, and improve skills in accessible design, and this year is no different. We accomplish these important goals all in the context of our fun, friendly, awareness-raising competition. But like many organizations, this year we face additional challenges.

We are calling in our amazing community and asking, “Can you help?” Any amount helps! To make a donation, visit our page on GoFundMe page by clicking the “Make a Donation” button, below.

Make a Donation

Upcoming Events

Low Vision Symposium

Thursday, October 22, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM CT

Low vision symposium. Powered by knowbility.

Most people who have ventured into accessibility are familiar with screen reader needs, but visually impaired users leverage a wide range of tools that need to be considered when making inclusive sites.

Learn about low vision accessibility needs like reflow and magnification, high contrast and dark modes, and more from Wayne Dick, professor emeritus of computer science at Cal State Long Beach, and Tori Clark, digital subject matter expert at Wells Fargo.

Register For Low Vision Symposium →

Scholarships for our Symposium

We’re living in very difficult economic times and know it may be hard for some to afford our workshops. As a non-profit with a mission to increase digital inclusion, we rely on our commercial offerings to support our programs. However, we don’t want financial worries to be the reason you cannot level up your accessibility skills. If you want to attend but cannot afford it, please email operations@knowbility.org to apply for a limited number of scholarships.

Contact Us

Introduction to ePUB

Thursday, November 12, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM CT

ePUB. Introduction to ePUB with senior digital accessibility consultant Lisa Snider. Powered by Knowbility.

Heard of EPUBs and want to know more about them? Created EPUBs and want to make them more accessible? Join Lisa Snider for a webinar all about EPUBs! Lisa will cover EPUB basics, EPUB standards and EPUB formats. Lisa will also show software related to EPUB accessibility, and provide many concrete tips on how to make them more accessible for people with different disabilities.

Register For ePub Workshop →

Highlights From Our Blog and Beyond

Knowbility Blog Decorative Banner

At Knowbility, Sharron Rush Leads the Fight for Equal Technology Access

By Hugh Forrest, Program Officer at SXSW Festivals, Knowbility Board Member

Knowbility’s work was widely recognized in this article by Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer for South by Southwest (SXSW). You can read about our founder, her vision, and where she sees the future of our mission is his latest article.]{.c6}

Read About Sharron Rush & Her Work →

Voting Should be Accessible to All

By Dave Chapple, AccessWorks Team Member

“When you have a disability of any type it is much more difficult to do your civic duty and vote. Studies have shown it is more difficult to vote at a polling place if you have a disability than voters without disabilities.”

Read About Voting Accessibility

Conference Appearances

Find us at Accessing Higher Ground

November 9-19

Accessing Higher Ground (AHG) Accessible Media, Web & Technology Conference. November 16-20, 2020. Denver, CO. Presented by AHEAD in collaboration with ATHEN.

November is right around the corner, and for us, that means it’s time to present with our friends at Accessing Higher Ground, the annual conference based in Westminster, Colorado. This year, the conference and pre-conference workshops will take place online across two weeks. Becky Gibson and Emily Lewis will lead pre-conference workshops including our accessibility master class and will lead individual sessions, too.

Refer to the schedule below and save your place at AHG 2020:

Knowbility’s Accessibility Master Class

Successful accessibility is more than just ensuring your website or admissions application conform to WCAG. It requires organizational investment in accessibility — from the top down.

Developing for Accessibility with Semantic HTML

Want to develop faster? Create code that’s accessible, efficient, and lean? Start with semantic HTML! Front-end developer Emily Lewis will show you how semantic HTML is the foundation for websites.

Authoring Accessible Content

Content is critical for engaging with students, alumni, donors and your community. It has to be easy to find, understand and use. Editor and author Emily Lewis will introduce you to the basic principles of accessible content.

Inclusive Presentations

Reaching your Entire Audience When speaking, remember that your audience members may have a situational or permanent disability that prevents them from seeing or hearing your slides. You need to provide the information in more than one context to accommodate all attendees.

Common Accessibility Errors

Think you know how to create null alt text, add labels using ARIA, or craft good link text? Unfortunately, some of these accessibility features are still not properly used.

Project Management for Digital Accessibility

Get an intro to accessibility from a project manager’s perspective! Digital project management expert Emily Lewis will show you where accessibility fits into the project lifecycle, from planning and discovery to development and evaluation.