UMKC Online Spring 2018 Newsletter
Molly Mead Recipient of Chancellor’s Education First Staff Award
On Thursday, April 26, Molly Mead, Manager, Information Technology & Instructional Designer with UMKC Online, received the 2018 Chancellor’s Education First Staff Award as part of the inaugural Staff Awards. Devon Cancilla, Vice Provost for Academic Innovation,...
Building Accessible Online Courses: It is the Right Thing to Do!
A letter from Vice Provost for Academic Innovation Devon Cancilla UMKC’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion does a first rate job on our campus of promoting diversity and inclusion. Materials and programs developed by this group serve as models for the entire...
Canvas Transition Update
In January, the University of Missouri – Kansas City began transitioning from the Blackboard learning management system (LMS) to the Canvas LMS. A limited number of courses are included in Phase I of this transition, which spans both spring and summer 2018. Faculty...
What is Universal Design for Learning and How Does It Relate to Accessibility?
Looking back, 2018 may well be remembered as the year accessibility entered the higher education zeitgeist. A range of factors – from the Section 508 Refresh, to escalating legal actions against postsecondary institutions related to the inaccessibility of digital...
New Accessibility Training Opportunities with UMKC Online
UMKC Online’s Course and Instructor certification policies help UMKC meet nationally mandated accreditation and accessibility standards associated with online education. The three accessibility certification standards adopted by UMKC for Online Courses have been...
Faculty Spotlight: Robyn Martin
Robyn Martin, Instructor of Business Management, Henry W. Bloch School of Business In 2009, I started teaching at UMKC, my alma mater. The topic that I teach to students surrounds technology. I love working in technology and sharing my knowledge of...
Alternative Text
Alt text stands for alternative text. It’s a way for people to see and understand images when they need to use a screen reader or if the image doesn’t load properly. The alt text appears in a blank box that would normally contain the image, or if you were to...
How to Make Descriptive & Accessible Hyperlinks
Let’s talk about hyperlinks and descriptive text. What are descriptive hyperlinks? Descriptive hyperlinks are weblinks disguised as descriptive text where clicking on the link will take the user. What is the importance of descriptive hyperlinks? This is especially...
Improving Accessibility for Online Users at UMKC Libraries
Sean McCue, User Interface Designer, UMKC University Libraries Dani Wellemeyer, Head of Outreach and Engagement, UMKC University Libraries Access to information is one of the core values of librarianship. UMKC University Libraries have been in the process of updating...
Accessibility Tool Available in Canvas
UMKC Online is excited to announce the addition of Blackboard Ally, a new accessibility tool, in the Canvas LMS. Blackboard Ally, or Ally for short, easily integrates into your Canvas course. Ally serves as an automated accessibility checklist that evaluates course...
Online Teaching Certification in Canvas May 14-18
May Boot Camp is filling up fast. Enroll today. This popular one-week workshop equips faculty with the fundamentals and certification for teaching online at UMKC using the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). Receive hands-on training from experienced...