September 30, 2020 Meeting
Agenda
Virtual
September 30th, 2020
3:30–4:30 PM
Attention: All Meetings Will Be Recorded
Agenda
Welcome
- Software Demonstration, CommonLook ( 30-40min )
- Discussion about CommonLook (Amar)
- Review the Charter (Amar)
- Fall Meeting Schedule (Amar)
- Review of Minutes and Approved? (Amar)
- Meeting Adjourned
Date of next meeting: TBA
Minutes
Accessibility (508) Oversight Committee
virtual
September 30th, 2020
9:00 -10:00
Attendees: Jason Zsiba, Terri Smith, Kristi Richards, Nicole Avina, Vicky Jacobi, Natalie Woodall, Marianne Bishop, Xiaohong Li, Mariza Martinez, and Amar Abbott
I. Welcome
II. CommonLook Software Demonstration (Andy Baum)
CommonLook’s Senior Accessibility Consultant Andy Baum set up the demonstration of CommonLook’s software. Andy demonstrated the capabilities of the the Accessibility Software Suite and how they make Word and PDF documents accessible to people who used assistive technologies like screen readers or professional braille display. They also provide remediation services along with training on the software. ComonLook Office is a product designed to be able to let document authors create contenct that will ultimately reside in PDF form as as an accessible PDF them. First, he demonstrated CommonLook PDF and state it is a plug into Adobe Acrobat as a fully licensed CommonLook PDF. He stated when it comes to remediation services, they evaluate the PDFs and send back a detailed quote along with admins recommendations. They also provide training but due to COVID, all in person classes are now being delivered via webinar.
He then demonstrated the remediation of a PDF document for the committee. He demonstrated on what would need to be fixed on paragraphes, tables, lists, figures, pictures, etc. Once he completed tagging and remediating the PDF document, he then demonstrated a standards check to see accesessibility issues. He also briefly demonstrated how to make a PDF document fully accessible from a Word file by picking a standard and then remediate it to make it fully accessible.
Committee member, Natalie Woodall, asked if this tool for PDFs provides audio cues for individuals with vision problems or is this more for students with comprehension issues?
Andy Baum stated the stated that in order for PDF documents to be accessible it has to have tags and has to flow logically for the assistive technology to read the document correctly to the individual. Ultimately, we are making sure the documents meet accessibility standards so the person utilizing assistive technology gets accurate information.
Andy Baum also demonstrated the various tools to help and guide users through various topics. He ended the discussion with special deals and sales going on for the software bundle.
III. Discussion
After the 35-minute demonstration Of CommonLook software, the committee had a lengthy discussion on software demonstration. Kristi Richards asked what current software is currently being used by Taft College and how does it compare to CommonLook. Amar stated that he usually has to assist staff on how to make documents accessible manually and the District also has SensusAccess that uesed for students, staff and faculty for just in time converting. He stated that SensusAccess learning curve for staff and faculty is pretty drastic in order to make a document accessible. The CommonLook software would be a short-cut for everyone. Natalie Woodall commented that the task of making a document accessible seems a little daunting. She also stated the task of converting a Word document was easier to make accessible than a PDF document. Amar stated that she was correct and that normally you would make the Word document accessible then convert to a PDF. Marianne Bishop asked if the District has looked at other software for compariosons for more user-friendly and better price. Amar stated he has not looked at any other software for a comparison except for the SensusAccess that is currently being used. He also stated that CommonLook has been a standard for this type of software and remediation for years and he hasn’t really heard of anything else. Nicole Avina asked if there would be an additional charge for sending in PDFs for them to convert in addition to the fice licenses. Amar has three different quotes but wanted to discuss the possible funding we have to purchase this software. We always have a need to make documents accessible especial with the COVID Pandemic and continuing with continuing with distance education. Amar would like to give people the license to do this and to make the process a more universal design. Nicole Avina asked if it would be more beneficial to send in PDFs for them to remediate versus us having the license and doing in ourselves. Amar discussed with Andy on setting up a purchase order with money to handle some of our tougher documents. Natalie Woodall asked if Canvas was already compatible for accessibility. Amar stated that Canvas has accessibility tools already and yes Canvas will be accessible. Natalie asked with the District mostly on Canvas and with students doing their homework in Canvas can documents just be embedeed in Canvas. Amar stated that would be optimal but many professors link out other documents that they create and those documents have to be accessible as well. Natalie also asked what the Taft College website accessibility issues are currently. Amar stated we use a software called Site Improve which tells him and Jason what is accessible and what is not and what needs to be fixed. Vicki Jacobi stated that this year the Guided Pathways program has money for this and if approved by the President they could set money aside for a purchase order to remediate difficult documents for the District. She also stated the other goal is to try to train staff and faculty to be able to do this task internally and then eventually the institution can produce their own accessible documents and not have to rely on paying big dollars to covert the documents. She stated that setting aside a pool of money to convert difficult documents and then also train a handful of people to learn to remediate and make documents accessible would be beneficial.
IV. Fall Meeting Schedule
The Committee agreed to continue having the meetings on the last Wednesday of every month at 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Unfortunately, the discussion took the rest of our time, so no further items were discussed on the agenda. The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.