Past Events


May 31, 2024

The annual UnConference was once again held at UVA at the Student Health and Wellness Center. Hosted by the UVA Student Disability Access Center, the event was another wonderful success.

Information from the UnConference can be found using the following links:

VHEAP UnConference 2024
VHEAP UnConference 2024 Business Meeting

The UnConference could not have been possible without the generous support of the following vendors:

  • Verbit
  • OTOjOY
  • Anthology
  • Continual Engine
  • 3Play Media
  • DubBot

April 30, 2024

Lunch & Learn: Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders: Preparing K-12 Students for Higher Education

This presentation’s slide deck is available here.

For captions, click on the [CC] button within the video player. A transcript of the session is also available for download.

Session Description – Featuring AT and Accessibility Specialists from the Loudoun County and Fairfax County Public School Systems. The speakers discuss how assistive technology supports and services are handled at the K-12 level.


March 26, 2024

Lunch & Learn: Potential Implications of Changes to the Federal and State Laws and Guidelines Impacting Disability Access in Education

Video of the session. For captions, there is an interactive transcript available. Select “Show Transcript”.

Session Description – In this session, panelists will discuss upcoming changes to the federal and state laws and guidelines impacting disability access in education. This includes state bills HB509/SB21 and HB1355, the ADA, and the potential impact of Europe’s Accessibility Act (EAA). Attendee feedback and participation in the discussion is welcome and encouraged.


January 30, 2024

Lunch & Learn: Exploring Faculty’s And Instructional Designers’ Perspectives On an Inclusive OSCQR Rubric

Video of the session. For captions, there is an interactive transcript available. Select “Show Transcript”.

Session Description – To address the call for modifying and evaluating inclusive course design rubrics to consider how students’ differences affect learning and to align course design and pedagogies, we conducted this study of inclusive course design rubric modification and evaluation. We intentionally chose to revise an inclusive SUNY’s Online Course Quality Review Rubric (OSCQR) to expand its impact on supporting diverse learners. Guided by the Universal Design for Learning framework, we modified and added 17 inclusive practices in OSCQR. This inclusive course design rubric project is part of an ongoing effort to help educators engage with diverse learners and support student success in universities. The primary goal of this project was to help educators evaluate and improve inclusivity in their courses by using a rubric with best practices that make diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) related items measurable and actionable. In addition, this inclusive course design rubric project aimed to investigate whether a noted resistance to instructional design processes from instructors who were subject matter experts will score the elements of the revised rubric differently than instructional designers.


November 28, 2023

Lunch & Learn: Chat GPT & Generative AI: What is it, How are our Students Using it, and What Does it mean for Accessibility?

Video of the session. For captions, there is an interactive transcript available. Select “Show Transcript”.

Session Description – This session covers generative AI, its risks and benefits, how students use it (or might use it), and the questions we need to ask ourselves as professionals.


October 24, 2023

Lunch & Learn: Intersection of Assistive Technology & Information Technology

Video of the session. For captions, there is an interactive transcript available. Select “Show Transcript”.

Session Description – This panel session will offer perspectives from professionals within the fields of Assistive Technology (AT), Information Technology (IT), and Instructional Design (ID) regarding how they have collaborated to provide AT solutions for students, faculty, and staff with disabilities. Whether a device belongs to an individual or is provided by their institution, providing AT in a timely and reliable manner requires collaboration on the part of AT, IT, and ID professionals. Traditionally these groups have operated as separate entities, with little understanding of each other’s roles and responsibilities. Through the efforts of such groups as VHEAP, AHEAD-in-VA, and ACCS, cooperation has been growing. This panel will share examples of some of their successful collaborations.


2023 UnConference
June 9, 2023: Univ of Virginia / Student Health & Wellness Center

The UnConference came back in 2023 and proved to be another successful event! Thank you to all who participated in sharing ideas, challenges, solutions, and innovations.

All documentation, notes, and proceedings from the event are held in our Google Doc Collection, VHEAP UnConference 2023: Harnessing the Expertise of the Collective Mind 

Visit Upcoming Events to stay updated about future VHEAP-related and/or partner events.


Physical Accessibility with Joseph Cooley (VT ADA Architect)
October 14, 2022

This virtual brown bag lunch session focused on physical accessibility and the built environment. Joe Cooley, ADA Architect from Virginia Tech, explored easy ways in which our institutions and agencies can address physical accessibility. He also addressed how VT students, employees, visitors can report a physical barrier across VT, as well as work he’s recently done to improve accessible routing within VT’s interactive campus map.


Google Accessibility Town Hall
September 27, 2022

Thanks to everyone who attended our Google Accessibility town hall!

The agenda focused on the following Google accessibility solutions:

  • Google Accessibility Features for Diverse Learners Overview and Live Demo – What Tools and Features can be used today in Google Workspace, across ChromeOS, and Google devices
  • Customer Spotlight / End User Highlight
  • Google Cloud Accessibility Features / Other Google Products Accessibility Features, 
  • Keynote: General Google Accessibility Direction and Focus Areas

VHEAP Events: Resources Smackdown and Virtual Innovation Station
March 4, 2022

Thank you to all who were able to attend our reconfigured VHEAP UnConference Events: Resources Smackdown and Virtual Innovation Station! The events were well attended and very well-received.

The resources shared during the events are held in our VHEAP Smackdown Resources <bit.ly/vheapsmackdown> and VHEAP Innovation Station Notes (Word) <bit.ly/vheapvirtualinnovation> documents.


VHEAP Town Hall: Transition Resources for Students with Disabilities
January 12, 2022

Thank you to all who were able to attend the VHEAP Transition Resources for Students with Disabilities Town Hall! And a very special thank you to our panelists!

Claire McTiernan, Learning Strategist with Mason Autism Support Initiative (GMU Disability Services)

Heidi Lawyer, Resource Developer for Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC)

Jaclyn Camden, Interim Associate Director for the Center on Transition Innovations/ACE-IT in College Director (VCU)

Jenna Arndt, Career and Transition Specialist with Loudoun County Public Schools

Martin Kurylowski, Transition and Education Services Coordinator (DARS)

Megan O’Toole Hall, Asst. Director of Vocational Rehabilitation (VDBVI – Richmond)

Vici Garber, Regional Specialist and PluggedInVA Coordinator for SHINE

The resources shared during the event are held in our VHEAP Transition Town Hall Notes Doc (Google) <bit.ly/vheaptransitiontownhall>.

Visit Upcoming Events to stay updated about future VHEAP-related and/or partner events.


VHEAP Brown Bag Session: Web Accessibility (On the Go)
November 10, 2021

Thank you to all who were able to attend the VHEAP Web Accessibility (On the Go) Brown Bag Session

The resources shared during the event are held in our VHEAP Web Accessibility (On the Go) Brown Bag Session Notes (Word) <bit.ly/weba11yonthego>. A copy of the Web Accessibility (On the Go) presentation is available as well.

 

VHEAP Town Hall: Online Proctoring Tools and Assessments
March 18, 2021

Thank you to all who were able to attend the VHEAP Online Proctoring Tools and Assessment Town Hall on March 18th! 

The resources shared during the event are held in our VHEAP/Online Proctoring Tools and Assessments Town Hall Notes Doc (Word) <bit.ly/vheapproctoringtools>

Visit Upcoming Events to stay updated about future VHEAP-related and/or partner events.

 

VHEAP/Microsoft Accessibility Town Hall
March 4, 2021

Thank you to all who were able to attend the VHEAP/Microsoft Accessibility Town Hall on March 4th! We had over 50 higher education accessibility professionals from all across the Commonwealth of Virginia!

There is no recording for this session. However, the resources shared during the event are held in our VHEAP/Microsoft Accessibility Town Hall Notes Doc (Word) <bit.ly/vheapmicrosoft>

Visit Upcoming Events to stay updated about future VHEAP-related and/or partner events.

 

VHEAP/Apple Accessibility Town Hall
October 8, 2020

Thank you to all who were able to attend the VHEAP/Apple Accessibility Town Hall on October 8th! We had over 100 higher education, k-12, and local/state government accessibility professionals from all across the Commonwealth of Virginia!

For logistical reasons, there is no recording for this session. However, all documentation, resources, and proceedings from the event are held in our VHEAP/Apple Accessibility Town Hall Notes Doc (Word) <bit.ly/vheapappletownhall>

Let’s keep the momentum going! Visit Upcoming Events to stay updated about future VHEAP-related and/or partner events.

 

VHEAP Logo Content
August 1, 2020

The VHEAP Logo Contest officially ended on August 1, 2020. Thank you to all of the participants and congratulations to the winning designer! The winning design is below:

Questions or comments about the contest? Feel free to email Mark Nichols (Virginia Tech).

 

VHEAP Town Halls
June/July 2020

More than 50 higher education accessibility professionals participated in VHEAP’s 2020 Town Hall sessions! Both sessions were very informative and engaging. Recordings are archived below for those who were unable to attend:

Disability Support Services Town Hall, July 30th

This town hall, led by Barbara Zunder (UVA), Beth Ann Dickie (ODU) and Valerie Schoolcraft (JMU), focused on reopening our campuses, the impact of COVID-19 on our students with disabilities, and how it will affect the services we will be providing.

Captioning Town Hall, June 25th

This town hall, led by Mark Nichols (VT) and Korey Singleton of (GMU), focused on captioning and highlighting how several universities in Virginia are currently leveraging closed captioning to foster inclusive learning experiences.

 

VHEAP 2020 UnConference
March 6, 2020

Great participation by over 60 attendees, coupled with much information sharing and interaction with colleagues made this event another success. Little did we realize what was waiting for us over the next few weeks as our institutions moved to online learning!

Check out photos from our event in the 2020 UnConference Photo Gallery!

All documentation, notes, and proceedings from the event are held in our Google Doc Collection, VHEAP UnConference 2020: Harnessing the Expertise of the Collective Mind <bit.ly/vheapcon20>