2022 Nominations Open for VHEAP Organizing Membership Committee

We have two organizing members whose respective terms on the VHEAP organizing committee are ending June 2022.  On behalf of the entire organization, I’d like to thank Valerie Schoolcraft (JMU) and Beth Ann Dickie (ODU) whose insight, leadership and continuous support were pivotal in shaping the direction of VHEAP from inception in 2018.  

Over the next month, we will be accepting nominations for two open seats on the VHEAP Organizing Committee.  These positions will have a three-year term, starting July 1, 2022 and ending June 30, 2025. Nominations will close at 5:00pm (ET) on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Once nominations are collected, ballots will be sent to VHEAP membership on or around May 27th, 2022 with voting closing on June 22, 2022. Results will be announced on or around June 26, 2022. To nominate yourself or a colleague, complete the nomination form at your earliest convenience.

This is an opportunity for you to help shape the direction of our organization and have a voice in accessibility efforts across the state. As a reminder, our organization looks at accessibility from a holistic perspective – addressing the built, digital, and attitudinal environments and include higher education, K-12, and state agency perspectives. It is our goal to have our Organizing Committee reflect all of these viewpoints.

ICT Accessibility Testing Symposium Demo Day is Free!

On April 29th, the ICT Accessibility Testing Symposium will be hosting a free Demo Day. For the audience, it’s a free day to sit back and learn about all of the different accessibility testing product and service options that might potentially help you meet your own testing needs. For sponsors, it’s a chance to introduce your products and services to an online gathering of interested and motivated accessibility testing professionals.

Visit the ICT Accessibility Testing Symposium Demo Day webpage for more information!

U.S. Access Board Launches New Site for the ICT Testing Baseline for Web Accessibility

In partnership with the General Services Administration (GSA) and the ICT Baseline Working Group in coordination with the CIO Council Accessibility Community of Practice (CIOC ACOP), the U.S. Access Board has released a baseline for testing web content. The ICT Testing Baseline for Web Accessibility sets minimum testing criteria and evaluation guidance to determine if web content meets the 508 Standards that incorporate by reference the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA. Issued by the W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative, WCAG 2.0 is a globally recognized, technology-neutral standard for web content. 

The ICT Testing Baseline describes how to evaluate conformance and is organized by categories to help users easily identify applicable requirements. The Baseline itself is not a test process and does not include testing tools, but it can be used to create an accessibility test process. It can also be used to assess how well an existing test process evaluates conformance with the Section 508 requirements. 

To learn more, visit Section 508 Testing Baseline on the US Access Board website.

2021 nominations open for VHEAP Organizing Committee!

We are excited to announce the addition of three seats to the VHEAP Organizing Committee, bringing total membership to 11. These positions will have a three-year term, starting July 1, 2021 and ending June 30, 2024. Nominations are now open, closing at 5:00pm (ET) on Wednesday, May 26th. Once nominations are collected, ballots will be sent to the VHEAP membership on or around June 1st with voting closing on June 23rd. Results will be announced on or around June 25th.

UPDATE (6/7/2021): Nominations for the VHEAP Organizing Committee are closed!

Virginia Tech CPACC Accessibility Cohort – Limited Opportunity Spring 2021

The Accessible Technologies team at Virginia Tech implemented an Accessibility Professional Certification Grant program in 2018.  These grants offer VT employees the opportunity to develop valuable professional skills around accessibility while they serve the university community. Grant recipients received membership in the International Association for Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) and course materials designed to prepare participants to take either the IAAP Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) exam or the IAAP Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS) exam.  Participants joined a community of practice, meeting weekly (via Zoom) to develop skillsets, review prep course material, and enhance accessibility within their respective areas. 

For spring 2021, we are excited to extend invitations to our colleagues across the Commonwealth to join our CPACC cohort.  The CPACC community of practice is facilitated by Christa Miller, Director of Inclusive Media Design at Virginia Tech. A limited number of seats are available. The application window officially opens on Monday January 11, 2021.  Unfortunately, Virginia Tech cannot cover costs associated with the IAAP membership or certification exam fee (if the IAAP certification route is desired).  However, participation in the community of practice will set you on the path of becoming a credentialed digital accessibility professional!  Upon successful completion of the cohort program, participants would be eligible to obtain a Virginia Tech issued CPACC micro-badge acknowledging efforts and cohort completion. 

If accepted into the CPACC cohort, you would be required to join the weekly (1-hour) virtual sessions.  A kickoff meeting for the cohort will occur February 23, 2021 (time TBD by selected cohort participants). The CPACC program will conclude the third week of May 2021.  

Again, we have a limited number of non-VT seats available within our spring 2021 CPACC cohort.  If you are interested in participating, please complete the CPACC application before 5:00PM on February 10, 2021.

Feel free to reach out with any questions.  You are welcome to freely share this information with other colleagues in VA.

For more information, contact Mark Nichols (mnichol1@vt.edu).

http://tlos.vt.edu

http://assist.vt.edu

Chrome 86’s ‘Quick Highlight Focus’

Chrome 86’s ‘Quick Focus Highlight’ will boldly mark what’s currently ‘focused’

Google is introduces a “Quick Focus Highlight” feature that’s particularly useful for those that navigate the web using a keyboard or assistive tools.

This feature shows an indicator, sometimes called a focus ring, around the element that has keyboard focus in the browser. This is useful not only for keyboard-only users navigating a website, but also web developers who need to troubleshoot CSS styling issues related to visual focus.