Access: A Learning Story

''Access: A Learning Story'' <img src="https://jessicambishop.github.io/islt_7384/images /reshot-illustration-office-work-WL7AHF5MXB.png" alt="Illustration of two woman working at a desk" width="400px" height="300px"> “Welcome to the university, Lauren!” said Donna. She leads you through a maze of cubicles into an open office with desks, a long table, a white board with colorful post-its scattered amongst scrawling words, a dozen plants, and a coffeemaker brewing some strong-smelling coffee. Several people already sit at their desks—chatting, eating, or staring at their computers. The hum of productivity fills the room. You’re quite excited—and a little nervous. It’s your first instructional design job after graduating with your Masters in Learning Technology and Design last spring. After interviewing with several organizations over the summer, you were happy to accept an offer from the university. “Here’s your spot.” Donna said, pointing a desk with a laptop, monitor, notepads, pens, and sticky notes as she quickly guides you by it. [[Donna introduces you to the eLearning team.]] //Attribution: <a href="https://www.reshot.com/free-vector-illustrations/item/office-work-WL7AHF5MXB/">Office Work</a> by <a href="https://elements.envato.com/user/PureSolution?utm_source=reshot&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=elements_reshot_illustration_item_page&_ga=2.243163586.1568713638.1696129744-1038114791.1696129744">@PureSoution</a> on <a href="https://www.reshot.com">Reshot</a>//

Donna introduces you to the eLearning team. “I’m Donna, of course. I do some ID work, but I also teach, assign workload, work through various issues, and meet with different leaders on campus.” “This is Kevin.” Donna points a man focused on his computer monitor. “He’s the other instructional designer. He’ll show you how to use the LMS—learning management system.” Kevin stops typing long enough to give a brief wave. Donna takes you to the next desk. “Amber is the Editor. She’ll proofread your syllabi.” Amber smiles brightly. “And I can help with formatting if you get stuck.” At the next desk, a young man pulls his headphones off his ears as you and Donna approach. “Jacob helps our team create videos and other media. We couldn’t do it without him!“ Jacob blushes, but he offers to help if you have technical issues. “And you’ll meet the student workers later.” Donna finishes. Donna motions toward the clock. “We’ll go over your job after you [[finish up with HR and IT]].”

When you return from spending the morning with HR and IT, Donna invites you to her desk. “You’ll start with the Gen Ed courses while you get used to our processes. Kevin and I will take the new work until you’re done onboarding.” Donna says. “I need you to maintain the master shells. If somethings broken, you should try to troubleshoot before you contact the subject matter expert. For now, [[meet with Kevin to go over the LMS]].”

Over the next few days, Kevin teaches you how to use the admin role in the LMS in a sandbox. “It’s easy to set up quizzes, assignments, rubrics, etc. You just need to get the content from the SME, er, the subject matter expert.” You grin. “Lots of acronyms.” “For sure.” Kevin says. “Here’s how you use the text editor.” He walks you through adding media and images. “Just click here. It’ll ask you to add some information.” “What do I write?” “Just a word or two about the image.” Kevin types, “Week 2 Introduction Image” into the Title and Alt text fields. “Let’s [[look at one of your courses]].”

You open a GenEd course shell. It’s a jarring mix of images; documents; colors; typography; and long URLs. [[Ask Kevin what to do next.]] [[Yikes!]]

“By the look on your face, you’re not a fan.” Kevin says. “It’s not what I expected.” you admit. "[[Yikes!]]" “[[Faculty like to personalize their courses]]."

Kevin says, “Oh, sometimes the faculty personalize their classes.” “It’s…a little busy.” You admit generously. “But what about the links. WCAG 2.2 says we should use descriptive text rather than the URL. Isn’t it an accessibility issue?” “Oh, it’s not a big deal. A lot of the classes are like that. If a student contacts their professor for accommodations, we can help them then.” [[Later, you keep thinking about your conversation with Kevin.]]

<img src="https://jessicambishop.github.io/islt_7384/images /reshot-illustration-woman-working-in-the-office-3M8CVQE9KH.png" alt="Illustrated woman at desk" width="400px" height="300px"> Throughout the afternoon, you keep returning to your conversation with Kevin. You look through your courses—some look well-designed, and others look like the one from earlier. Most of them include the full URL rather than descriptive links. Donna comes to your desk at the end of the day. “How’s your first week going?” You’re a little nervous to answer—it’s been a lot to cover already. [[Say nothing. You still need to learn more about the expectations before you ask questions.]] [[You just have a few questions for Kevin about the training.]] [[Ask Donna about descriptive links.]] //Attribution: <a href="https://www.reshot.com/free-vector-illustrations/item/woman-working-in-the-office-3M8CVQE9KH/">Woman Working in the Office</a> by <a href="https://elements.envato.com/user/nanoagency/graphic-templates?_ga=2.214312023.1568713638.1696129744-1038114791.1696129744&utm_campaign=elements_reshot_illustration_item_page&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=reshot">@nanoagency</a> on <a href="https://www.reshot.com">Reshot</a>//

“Faculty like to personalize their courses. It’s not a big deal. Let’s take a look at the Gradebook.” [[Later, you keep thinking about your conversation with Kevin.]].

“It’s been going well. But when Kevin showed me the LMS today, I found this.” You open the course shell and point at the URLs. If a student uses a screen reader it’ll be a jumbled mess of letters and numbers.” Donna nods. “The LMS creates a link when you paste it into the text editor.” “Shouldn’t we make our courses accessible?” “We don’t have the bandwidth to fix it. I want you to [[focus on training.]] for now.” [[Offer to start small.]]

“It’s been going well. Kevin showed me the LMS today. It seems pretty easy to use.” “Great!” Donna says. “Kevin knows all about the LMS. Just [[stick to what he says so our courses are consistent.]]”

You become so inundated with work you never get a chance to fix the accessibility issue. The next spring, a student complains about the inaccessible content—and threatens the university with a lawsuit. [[Start]] over.

“That makes sense." You say. [[stick to what he says so our courses are consistent.]] [Go back. [[Ask Donna about descriptive links.]]

The next day, Donna comes to your desk. “Kevin said you want to fix the links in your courses. It’s a great idea, but we just don’t have the bandwidth. I’d rather you focus on your training and copying the courses for the professors.” Hurray! You’ve been given permission to explore accessibility—within reason. [[Don’t touch my course.]]

The next day, Donna comes to your desk. “Kevin said you want to fix the links in your courses. It’s a great idea, but we just don’t have the bandwidth. I’d rather you focus on your training and copying the course for the professors.” Oh no! Donna limits your ability to bring accessibility to your workload. [[A Cognitive Overload]]

Within a few days, it becomes apparent the team needs you to learn about the processes and procedures—and fast! Your training fits in the moments in between the bustle. Designing courses. Developing instructional content and media. Meeting with subject matter experts to provide feedback. Course verifications and copies. You watch with growing concern as pot after pot of coffee disappears into the eLearning team member’s coffee mugs—well into the afternoon. Donna sends you a ticket with a request to update a few assignment descriptions. “Connect with Amber before you start.” You message Amber. “Is it okay to come by?” “Sure! :D” comes the quick reply. “Hi Lauren!” Amber says cheerfully when you arrive. “How can I help?” “Donna sent me some updates for a syllabus. She said to get with you.” Amber smiles. “Before you give it to me, you need to chunk it for learning.” You nod. You learned about this in your graduate program—organize the content logically and sequentially and find ways to reduce cognitive load. [[Let's chunk the paragraph]]

//In this challenge, the player would encounter a long paragraph which needs to be chunked into headings and lists. They would have three options and two attempts to get it correct.// [[Share paragraph with Amber.]]

“Great job!” Amber says. “If you need to learn more, the library has some great resources.” “Why doesn’t mine look like yours? Aren’t we using the same font?” Amber smiles. “I used the built in styles and headings for this one. It’s easier to read and you can build a table of contents.” “Oh, that’s cool. Like a book!” “They’re active links too. Like navigating a website.” Amber selects a link—and it takes her to a different section of the document. “But why don’t my syllabi use them?” you ask. “The template we give professors isn’t pre-formatted, but they like it because they’re familiar with it. Plus, we often get the syllabi last minute so I usually just have time to proofread.” “That’s a shame.” You say. “It sure looks like it’d reduce cognitive load.” [[They never read the syllabus.]]

It’s the week after Thanksgiving, and the eLearning office seems quiet with intense concentration—only a few more weeks before the semester ends. With the Spring semester starting soon after that, Donna wants the team to finalize courses before Christmas break. You’re focused on your laptop so hard you’re startled when a figure sits in the chair next to your desk. “Hi, You’re Lauren, right? Donna told me you’re the instructional designer for the Gen Eds.” “Oh, hi…” You blink, shifting your attention. I’m Dr. Brodie. Call me Chris.” “Hi Chris,” you repeat. You’ve been on campus long enough to know Dr. Brodie is respected by everyone. “It’s nice to finally meet you. How can I help?” “I want to add a new quiz.” [[Sure, I can help build a quiz.]] [[We need a ticket request to add new content.]] [[Tell me more.]]

It’s the week after Thanksgiving, and the eLearning office seems quiet with intense concentration—only a few more weeks before the semester ends. With the Spring semester starting soon after that, Donna wants the team to finalize courses before Christmas break. You’re focused on your laptop so hard you’re startled when a figure sits in the chair next to your desk. “Hi, You’re Lauren, right? Donna told me you’re the instructional designer for the Gen Eds.” “Oh, hi…” You blink, shifting your attention. I’m Dr. Brodie. Call me Chris.” “Hi Chris,” you repeat. You’ve been on campus long enough to know Dr. Brodie is respected by everyone. “It’s nice to finally meet you. How can I help?” “I want to add a new quiz.” [["Sure, I can help build a quiz."]] [["We need a ticket request to add new content."]] [["Tell me more."]]

“It’s easy enough to build a quiz in the LMS. Do you need it for Spring?” You ask. If it’s too soon it’d be a stretch—but it’s for Dr. Brodie so Donna would understand. “The course doesn’t start until the second half of the semester.” You nod. “I should be able to do it. Do you mind putting in a ticket?” “Great!” says Chris. “I’ll send it right away. [[Create a quiz for Dr. Brodie.]]

“I can’t really do anything until you put in a ticket.” You say. “I’m really busy with other courses right now.” Chris frowns. “I know I need to put in a ticket. I just wanted to run some ideas by you first. If you’re too busy I’ll just figure it out myself.” [[Offer to create the quiz—as soon as the ticket comes in.]] [[Tell me more.]] [Go back.[[They never read the syllabus.]]

“Tell me more.” You encourage Dr. Brodie. Chris says, “I’m tired of students asking me for information that’s obviously in the syllabus." Dr. Brodie shows you his syllabus on his laptop. “I’ve hidden some information throughout the syllabus and created a quiz so they have to read it.” You scan the screen. It’s fairly organized, but it doesn’t use any special headings or styles. Donna said don’t do extra work, but you have an idea. “What if we reduce the cognitive load? I bet you wouldn’t need a quiz.” “What do you mean?” “If we use some headings we can create some visual hierarchy. Plus, it lets us create a table of contents to aid with navigation.” Dr. Brodie considers your recommendations. “Do you think it will work?” You grin. “I just need to do a little research.” "I like it!" Dr. Brodie says with excitement. "Let's give it a try!" [[Go to the library.]]

You create the quiz for Dr. Brodie. After you get the content, you realize the quiz will be over the syllabus—and it purposefully misdirects students to get them to read the details. If you'd asked a few more questions, you might have been able to make a recommendation. But it’s too late to do anything about it until next semester. [[Start]] over.

The next day, Donna comes to you. “Dr. Brodie tells me you’re too busy to help him.” You try to explain. “I told him I needed a ticket. I’m trying to finish my Spring courses.” “You should have done it for him. Dr. Brodie has a lot of say on campus." "I'm sorry." You say. Donna continues. "If you have too much to do, I want you to stop working on those URLs. I need you to [[work with Jacob on some media]] after Christmas break.”

The university library isn’t too far from the eLearning office. You hurry across the quad, holding your coat closed against the snow starting to fall from the sky. When you enter the building, you stomp the snow off your shoes. Inside, the stacks loom around the walls. Several students sit at the couches and tables lining the interior. The hiss of the expresso machine meets your ears, and you grab a latte before you approach the Reference desk. “Can I help you?” The librarian asks. //In this section, the player would find options to build a relationship with the librarian as well as explore the accessibility resources useful for supporting Dr. Brodie and others. Later, the player would encounter a student with an accessibility need and work with the librarian to find a solution. // [[Create the syllabus.]]

You work on Dr. Brodie’s syllabus between the numerous updates and course copies. When you finish, you send Amber a message with a copy of the syllabus. “Can you look at this for me?” She looks up at you curiously, then back at her screen. You can see Amber as she slowly scrolls through the document. She pauses a couple times to type something. You start to tap your feet. Did you do it wrong? Should you have just asked Dr. Brodie to send a ticket so you could create his quiz? Maybe you should have told Amber you were working on it. [[“Let’s talk.”]] Amber types in the messenger.

<img src="https://jessicambishop.github.io/islt_7384/images /reshot-illustration-students-doing-homework-FD682GRQN4.png" alt="Illustrated man and two woman collaborate." width="400px" height="300px"> //In this branch, the player hasn't impressed Kevin with how they helped the professor see the value of descriptive links over URLs. He's less inclined to consider the new accessible syllabus template.// You sit in the chair next to Amber’s desk. Surprisingly, Kevin brings a coffee and his own chair too. “How long have you been working on this?” Amber asks. “A few weeks,” You reply, looking at Kevin. He usually keeps to himself. Why is he here? “And you haven’t shown anyone yet?” “No.” You admit, your heart sinking. “I guess I should have talked to you first.” “I found a few minor things we can fix.” Amber says. “But we could create a new accessible template.” Kevin speaks for the first time. “[[But you need to ask Donna.]]” //Attribution: <a href="https://www.reshot.com/free-vector-illustrations/item/students-doing-homework-FD682GRQN4/">Students doing homework</a> by <a href="https://elements.envato.com/user/PureSolution?utm_source=reshot&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=elements_reshot_illustration_item_page&_ga=2.243163586.1568713638.1696129744-1038114791.1696129744">@PureSoution</a> on <a href="https://www.reshot.com">Reshot</a>//

<img src="https://jessicambishop.github.io/islt_7384/images /reshot-illustration-students-doing-homework-FD682GRQN4.png" alt="Illustrated man and two woman collaborate." width="400px" height="300px"> //In this branch, the player impressed Kevin with how they helped the professor see the value of descriptive links over URLs. He's more inclined to consider the new accessible syllabus template.// You sit in the chair next to Amber’s desk. Surprisingly, Kevin brings a coffee and his own chair too. “How long have you been working on this?” Amber asks. “A few weeks,” You reply, looking at Kevin. He usually keeps to himself. Why is he here? “And you haven’t shown anyone yet?” “No.” You admit, your heart sinking. “I guess I should have talked to you first.” “I found a few minor things we can fix.” Amber says. “But we could create a new accessible template.” Kevin speaks for the first time. “And I can make recommendations if you do them.” “Really?” you ask. “Will Donna be okay with it?” Kevin considers your question. “Our workload can be crazy. I would never have time for something like this. [[Let’s set up a meeting with her.]]” “Oh boy,” you think to yourself. “What did I get myself into?” //Attribution: <a href="https://www.reshot.com/free-vector-illustrations/item/students-doing-homework-FD682GRQN4/">Students doing homework</a> by <a href="https://elements.envato.com/user/PureSolution?utm_source=reshot&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=elements_reshot_illustration_item_page&_ga=2.243163586.1568713638.1696129744-1038114791.1696129744">@PureSoution</a> on <a href="https://www.reshot.com">Reshot</a>//

You work on Dr. Brodie’s syllabus between the numerous updates and course copies. When you finish, you send Amber a message with a copy of the syllabus. “Can you look at this for me?” She looks up at you curiously, then back at her screen. You can see Amber as she slowly scrolls through the document. She pauses a couple times to type something. You start to tap your feet. Did you do it wrong? Should you have just asked Dr. Brodie to send a ticket so you could create his quiz? Maybe you should have told Amber you were working on it. “Let’s talk.” Amber types in the messenger. [[Go to Amber’s desk]]

You, Kevin, and Amber, meet with Donna in a small room tucked in the corner of the eLearning office. You take a deep breath before starting. “Donna, Dr. Brodie asked me to create a syllabus quiz.” Donna frowned. “I don’t remember this. Did he send a ticket?” “No.” You admit, “I offered to create an accessible syllabus instead.” Amber started talking before Donna could speak. “It’s quite good.” Amber offered. “I just had a few suggestions.” “We don’t have a lot of bandwidth.” Donna reminded them. “Lauren, I said you could fix the URLs. Not work on side projects.” “The syllabus quiz would have confused the students even more!” You steady yourself. "This syllabus could improve their experience.” Kevin surprises you again. “We should let her pilot it with Dr. Brodie.” “That’s your recommendation, Kevin?” Donna says. “Look, I know it’s a lot of work. But if it goes well, we could implement it slowly. Partner with a program. Introduce it a class at a time based on course starts.” “Send the syllabus to Dr. Brodie.” Donna says. “We’ll give it a try. But until we hear feedback, I need you to [[work with Jacob on a media project]] after Christmas break.”

After Christmas break, you find Jacob listening to something on his headphones. His desk and bookshelf include numerous cameras and devices stacked in the various nooks and crannies. He glances at you briefly before tapping the space bar. He pulls the headphones off his ears to rest on his shoulders. “Hey there,” he said. “Donna said you’re ready to learn about media.” You join Jacob at his computer, where he’s set up three monitors. A tablet sits next to his mouse. //This section includes several facets. The player encounters alt text, timestamps, transcripts, and closed captioning. The player must decide how to assist a student who encounters a poorly written alt text (with an alt text challenge). After an untimely accommodations request, they must find a way to add the extra work of adding timestamps and creating transcripts into the team's workflow. Finally, the player collaborates with the library with a large media project. Donna has given you more space to explore accessibility.// [[Collaborate with the library]]

After Christmas break, you find Jacob listening to something on his headphones. His desk and bookshelf include numerous cameras and devices stacked in the various nooks and crannies. He glances at you briefly before tapping the space bar. He pulls the headphones off his ears to rest on his shoulders. “Hey there,” he said. “Donna said you’re ready to learn about media.” You join Jacob at his computer, where he’s set up three monitors. A tablet sits next to his mouse. //This section includes several facets. The player encounters alt text, timestamps, transcripts, and closed captioning. The player must decide how to assist a student who encounters a poorly written alt text (with an alt text challenge). After an untimely accommodations request, they must find a way to add the extra work of adding timestamps and creating transcripts into the team's workflow. Finally, the player collaborates with the library with a large media project. However, Donna has limited them to just this project.// [[Collaborate with the library.]]

After Christmas break, you find Jacob listening to something on his headphones. His desk and bookshelf include numerous cameras and devices stacked in the various nooks and crannies. He glances at you briefly before tapping the space bar. He pulls the headphones off his ears to rest on his shoulders. “Hey there,” he said. “Donna said you’re ready to learn about media.” You join Jacob at his computer, where he’s set up three monitors. A tablet sits next to his mouse. //This section includes several facets. The player encounters abbreviated challenges with alt text, timestamps, transcripts, and closed captioning. The player must decide how to assist a student who encounters a poorly written alt text (with an alt text challenge). When encountering an accommodations request, they don't have enough skills or clout with Donna to get permission to move to a more proactive approach. Also, due to earlier relationship choices the player does not get some challenges involving the library.// [[End of the Spring semester.]]

It’s the week after Spring Break. You’re feeling refreshed and happy with your presentation’s success. You smile as you pass the flowering cherry trees before entering the library. Bryan meets you at the coffee counter as you grab your latte. “It was great to work with you on the media project.” “Same.” “Dr. Brodie’s shared his new syllabus with his colleagues. I’ve had some come to me asking for accessibility resources.” You sip your latte. “Donna says I can work on accessibility as my special project. What if we created an accessibility podcast?” Bryan considers it. “We could offer tips. Bring on guests like Dr. Brodie to discuss what they’ve found.” [[Let’s do it!]]

It’s the week after Spring Break. You’re feeling refreshed and happy with your presentation’s success. You smile as you pass the flowering cherry trees before entering the library. Bryan meets you at the coffee counter as you grab your latte. “It was great to work with you on the media project.” “Same.” “Dr. Brodie’s shared his new syllabus with his colleagues. I’ve had some come to me asking for accessibility resources.” You sip your latte. “It’d be neat if we created an accessibility podcast. Donna said I need to focus on my workload.” Bryan considers it. “Maybe we could do it in the Fall. [[Reflect on your accessibility efforts.]]

Let’s try again. While you learned a lot in your graduate program, it takes actual practice in context to truly gain mastery of skills. Unfortunately, you have become so inundated with work you never get a chance to fix the accessibility issues. [[Start]] over.

//Conflict: A professor takes offense to you changing the URLs to descriptive links in their course. The player faces the challenge of finding a way to show how it improves the student experience. This includes asking a student worker to do a “quick and dirty” screen recording of using a screen reader while navigating the professor’s class.// [[Cognitive Overload]]

//Dr. Brodie and the others you’ve built relationships with champion the accessibility podcast. Riding on the success, Lauren and Bryan collaborate to plan an accessibility conference for the Fall semester.// [[You built relationships and made an impact on the culture around accessibility.]]

Great start! You made some impact on the university’s culture. While you learned a lot in your graduate program, it takes actual practice in context to truly gain mastery of skills. Maybe next time you’ll be able to build the relationships needed to support a proactive accessibility culture. [[Start]] over.

You did it! While you learned a lot in your program, it takes actual practice in context to truly gain mastery of skills. Your efforts to fix URLs, create accessible syllabi and transcripts and more made a big difference on campus. But most of all, the relationships you built allowed the university to move toward a more proactive accessibility culture. Want to play again? [[Start]] over.

You go to Kevin. “I’ve been thinking about the URLs. WCAG 2.2 says we should use descriptive text rather than the URL. Isn’t an accessibility issue?” “We’re too busy to fix every link. Don’t even offer to help faculty with this—they’ll expect us to do it every time we help them with a course.” [[The next day]]