Collaboration between university staffs and students on organizing accessible event at university: Driving toward sustainability

Abstract

This presentation will explore the collaborative experiences of organizing online seminar of a teaching development project on supporting inclusive learning and teaching of students with visual impairment at universities. The organizing team includes core investigators, administrative and technical staff, and undergraduate student assistants. The organizing team and guest speaker involves members with disabilities. Due to the pandemic, the whole process of organization was conducted online via Zoom, instant messaging, emails, and phone calls. The organizing team tried the best to explore and apply various accessibility practices, aiming at demonstrating and raising the awareness of other university members on the feasibility of applying different accessibility practices at universities. For example, we considered colour contrast, font, terminology of disability and accessibility, and accessibility to screen-reader for seminar materials. During the seminar, live captioning, sign interpretation, and Cantonese-English simultaneous interpretation were provided. After the seminar, student assistants would help document the processes for future reference and improvement. Finally, the presentation will discuss the resulting insights of how university staff and students can co-create an accessible campus and practice inclusive teaching and learning strategies to contribute to a sustainable campus that echoes Sustainable Development Goals 4 Quality Education and 10 Reduced Inequality.