Workshops and Presentations
Workshops
The following are workshops and learning labs I co-facilitate.
Create an accessible Word document
How to create accessible PowerPoints (video, 1:14:29)
Improve the accessibility of existing PowerPoint slides
Brightspace Foundations Sprint: Build Your Course Framework Fast!
Build Brightspace Better Sprint: Enhance Your Course in One Day!
These sessions were well-attended and participants were enthusiastic to incorporate their new skills to increase the inclusivity and accessibility of their digital content.
Presentations
Digital Learning Strategy Forum
Mapping Digital Literacy (Video coming soon)
Two colleagues and I presented a custom Digital Literacy Framework Mapper AI agent to help map learning material to the BC Digital Literacy Framework competencies. This AI agent informs the Digital Literacy Framework Competency Stamp Generator to create consistent visual indicators of how material aligns with the framework. Viewers were engaged in the chat and positive about the tool. Some, that had previously mapped their offerings to the framework, expressed a wish to have had this tool earlier. There were questions about the ability to customize the number of competencies and colours of the stamp, each of which are possible with rudimentary coding knowledge. One astute participant asked if there was a way to programmatically generate alt text for the stamp, which is an excellent idea. In this instance though, the stamp is accompanied by text listing the relevant competencies and thus does not need alt text. Additionally, it was pointed out that the colours of the segments in the stamp do not have sufficient colour contrast to differentiate one from another. However, each segment is accompanied by a text label, ensuring that everyone can determine the competencies without relying sensory characteristics. The questions and discussion concluding with interesting in further use and dissemination of the tool. Here's hoping.
Digital Learning Strategy Vodcast: Day 1 - Luke McKnight (Video, 32:39)
Listen in to the Digital Learning Strategy forum vodcast from day 1 with hosts Tracy Roberts and Britt Dzioba and guest Luke McKnight as they discuss digital learning in post-secondary institutions.
ETUG
The Educational Technology Users Group organizes two workshops per year. The workshop themes change but the general focus is "current high-interest topics in educational technology, instructional design, and teaching and learning."
ETUG 2026
When a link says “click here” but you can’t see it, what does that mean? When digital content isn’t built with accessibility in mind, assistive technology users face a disorienting maze of cryptic navigation, impossible to discern colours, and hard to read text. This brief demonstration shows how common assistive technology can and cannot engage with inaccessible content. Understand how poor design doesn’t just create minor inconveniences or exclude a small, edge case of users. Accessibility matters, let’s find out why.
Previous ETUG Events
ETUG Fall 2022
ETUG Spring 2023
LMS Accessibility Orientation (video, 24:11)
ETUG Fall 2023
Supporting Accessibility Improvements: An intentional and staggered approach (video, 25:48)
Accessibility of AI Interfaces (video, 15:56)
Reading Lists: A welcome addition to our LMS (video, 49:11)
ETUG Spring 2024
"The Art of Storytelling: Personas and Anonymized Examples to Teach Accessibility"
Langara’s EdTech Department has had great success incorporating accessibility into our workshop offerings. In accessibility focused workshops Langara’s assistive technologist has added anonymized examples of accessibility bugs encountered by Langara students. These examples illuminate the problems with inaccessible content in a concrete fashion to help workshop attendees understand the effect they have as content creators. In this session, Luke McKnight will outline their process to create examples and demonstrate some examples of common accessibility barriers.
ETUG Spring 2025
Digital Accessibility On-demand (video, 8:31)
I attended ETUG Spring 2025 to present Digital Accessibility On-demand, a Pressbook designed to direct authors to specific support when creating PowerPoint, Word, and Brightspace content. However, the BCcampus Pressbooks server was down at the time. As Digital Accessibility On-demand was created to be an asynchronous resource, demonstrating it was not necessary. I briefly introduced the resource, mentioned its open license and encouraged people to share and remix, and then solicited for collaborators that use other learning management systems (Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard, etc.) to add chapters on those tools. Hopefully this Pressbook could become a resource that helps everyone create more accessible content.
BC Campus Accessibility Bites: Accessible Video
Accessibility Bites: Accessible Video recording
Follow along with this workshop or complete the activities asynchronously.
Review additional Accessibility Bites Sessions to learn more accessibility tips and best practices.
Langara Mini-Conference
2024
"Accessibility Stories"
Learn more about challenges faced by Langara students when presented with inaccessible content. Join Assistive Technologist Luke McKnight to explore three examples of inaccessible material encountered by Langara students. Through these examples this session will highlight common accessibility pitfalls to avoid and impart better practices.