Monthly Archives: October 2019

Invite a Guest Speaker into Your Classroom Via a Web Meeting

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Would you like to invite a guest speaker to come talk to your face-to-face class? Maybe your guest speaker lives in another city or another state or even another country. Not to worry – you can invite them to speak to your class remotely using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra!

Collaborate Ultra is integrated into your myLesley course. But your guest speaker does not need to be enrolled in your course in order to join the session. Instead, you will create a session (or use your existing course room) and send them a guest link. At the appointed time, your guest speaker will click on the link and join your session. You can project your session using your laptop and the existing classroom technology. Your guest speaker will be up on the screen and able to interact with your class.

Sounds great! How do I begin?

Before you begin, check the the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra system Requirements and Accessibility to make sure that your system is compatible. For the best experience, use the Chrome browser.

Once you have determined that you are using a supported browser and your system is compatible, either create a new Collaborate Ultra session or use your existing Collaborate Course Room.

Once your session has been created (or you decide to use your existing Course Room), click on your session to open the settings.

  • Check the box to allow guest access,
  • change the guest role to presenter or moderator, and
  • copy the guest link.
Collaborate Ultra session information detailing guest access information
Collaborate Ultra session information

Paste the guest link into an email and send the email to your guest speaker. You should also include a link to the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra system Requirements and Accessibility. This will help your guest speaker make sure that their system is compatible. If your guest speaker has never used Collaborate Ultra before, send along Conducting Your Collaborate Ultra Sessionto help them familiarize themselves with the tool.

Do I need any special equipment?

For the most part, the technology available in your classroom should be sufficient. We recommend connecting to the wired Lesley network via the ethernet cable in your classroom. This will make for a smoother experience.

If you plan to have a Q&A session you may want to reserve the ClearOne Chat 160 microphone. You can reserve this equipment online using WebCheckout. If you do not need or want the microphone you can simply have your students ask questions and you can repeat the questions to the guest speaker.

Does my guest speaker need any special equipment?

Your guest speaker will need a webcam, speakers, and a microphone. If they are in a quiet location, the speakers and microphone built in to their computer will suffice. If they are in a noisier location we recommend that they use a headset. There is no need for a fancy headset – the earbuds that come with most cell phones will suffice.

Your guest speaker will also want to ensure that they are using a strong internet connection. If possible, they should plug in to a wired connection. If they cannot use a wired connection they should use a strong, reliable wi-fi connection.

I’m in my classroom on the day of the session. What now?

To begin, plug your laptop into the classroom projection system. If you are connecting via VGA, be sure to also connect the audio cable. If you are using an external microphone, plug that in to your computer.

Next, plug the ethernet cable into your laptop and connect to the Lesley network. Once you are connected, navigate to myLesley and launch your Collaborate Ultra session.

Once the session launches, check your audio and video settings to make sure they are working correctly. If you are using an external microphone, make sure the microphone is selected.

How does my guest speaker join the session?

Your guest speaker will click the link you sent and join the session. Once the session launches, they should check their audio and video settings to make sure they are working correctly. If they are using an external microphone, make sure the microphone is selected.

We’re both in the session. Now what?

Once you are both in the session, your guest speaker can turn on the webcam and the microphone and begin to speak. If they are sharing any content, they can either upload a file or presentation or they may share their screen. More information may be found here: Conducting Your Collaborate Ultra Session.

Common Accessibility Issues: Untagged PDFs

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What are some of the most common accessibility issues? What makes them problematic? And how can you fix them? In this series of blog posts we will address the most common accessibility issues that we have seen on campus and provide instructions and guidance for fixing them.

What are tagged PDFs?

A tagged PDF provides a hidden structured, textual representation of the PDF content. Tagging allows screen readers to understand your file’s reading order, where headings fall, and which objects in the document are tables, images, footnotes, etc.

What makes untagged PDFs problematic?

When a PDF is untagged it is difficult for those using assistive technology to understand the content.

How do I tag my PDF?

In order to ensure that your PDF is tagged properly, it is helpful to build your file in an accessible format before converting to PDF.

If you are creating PDFs from Microsoft Office applications (ex Word, PowerPoint):

  • Use the most recent version of Microsoft Office. Older versions of Word or PowerPoint will not create a tagged PDF. Need the latest versions? Go to Downloading Microsoft Office 365 for information.
  • Before converting your file to PDF, run the Microsoft Office Accessibility Checker. It may not catch everything, but it will pick up glaring issues and walk you through fixing them.
  • Do not print to PDF. Printing to PDF will not create an accessible, tagged PDF. Instead, save your file as a tagged PDF and ensure that it is formatted for accessibility. Go to Create Accessible PDFs for more information.

If you are building your PDF directly in Adobe Acrobat be sure to check out Adobe’s accessibility resources:

Need Assistance?

If you need assistance making your content accessible, reach out to elis@lesley.edu. You may also check out the following resources:

Making Sense of Ed Tech…. with Ice Cream

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Once upon a time, eLIS hosted a summer academic technology institute for faculty. On the first morning of this event, I facilitated a workshop on how to navigate and make sense of the overwhelming amount of technology out there. I introduced the hands on piece with an analogy involving ice cream. Just like tech, there’s a ton of ice cream flavors in the world…. and let’s face it…. ice cream is awesome.

Common Accessibility Issues: Scanned PDFs

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What are some of the most common accessibility issues? What makes them problematic? And how can you fix them? In this series of blog posts we will address the most common accessibility issues that we have seen on campus and provide instructions and guidance for fixing them.

What is a Scanned PDF?

A common method for digitizing content is to place a paper copy (or book) onto a scanner and save the resulting file as a PDF. Unfortunately, the resulting document only contains images of the text, not the text itself.

image of scanned PDF
image of a scanned PDF

What makes scanned PDFs problematic?

Because these documents contain images of the text and not the text itself, scanned PDFs are inaccessible to anyone using assistive technology, such as a screen reader.

The text in scanned PDFs often looks off-center and can be blurry or difficult to read, slowing down reading and lowering comprehension. Images alongside the text can appear too dark or too grainy to see clearly. Additionally, students cannot search, highlight, or annotate the document for their notes.

How do I fix it?

If possible, find a digital copy of the original document. If you find a digital version online, link to it. Do not download the document and upload it into your course, as this may violate copyright.

If you cannot find a digital copy, contact a librarian. A librarian can help you determine fair use and copyright or help you search for an alternate accessible resource. Email asklib@lesley.edu for assistance.

If you are the owner of the document, or have permissions from the author or publisher to modify it, be sure to use an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) scanner or software to convert the scanned document to text. If you scan or convert your text you will still need to read through the document and update as necessary. For more information see Scan a Paper Document to PDF (Acrobat Pro).

If you need to make a PDF accessible to a student with a documented accommodation, email disabilityaccess@lesley.edu for assistance.

Need Assistance?

If you need assistance making your content accessible, reach out to elis@lesley.edu. You may also check out the following resources:

Common Accessibility Issues: Adding Alternative Text to Images

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What are some of the most common accessibility issues? What makes them problematic? And how can you fix them? In this series of blog posts we will address the most common accessibility issues that we have seen on campus and provide instructions and guidance for fixing them.

What is it alternative text?

Alternative text is a short description of an image that assistive technology can access and read aloud to the user. These descriptions are usually very brief, typically 20 words or less. 

Why is alternative text important?

Images and graphics help to make content more pleasant and easier to understand for many people, including those with cognitive and learning disabilities. However, it is important to make sure that these images are accessible to all users, including those using screen readers, speech input software, mobile web users, and more. Alternative text allows users who cannot see the content understand the information conveyed in these images. It also provides all users with richer content and ensures understanding for global students. 

When creating content, keep the following in mind:

  • Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element. 
  • Avoid using text in images as the sole method of conveying information. If you must use the image, repeat the text in the document.

How do I add alternative text to my images?

The following resources will walk you through adding alternative text to images in myLesley, Microsoft Office (including Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook), and Acrobat Pro.

If your image was uploaded into myLesley without a description, Ally will walk you through adding an image description. Once you add the description, you will see your accessibility score increase.

sample Ally accessibility score for an image needing a description
Adding alternative text to an image using Ally

How do I know what to put in my description?

Your image description will vary depending on the image itself and the content of your page/document. For example, you may add an image of a flower to your document. Is your flower there just to spruce up the page and make it visually pleasing? Mark it as decorative. Is your flower there to show an example of some flowers in the park? Write a brief description. Is your flower there to show specific characteristics of the species? Write detailed information that will allow anyone who can’t see the image understand the information being shown.

Here are some basic guidelines for different image types:

Decorative Images: If the sole purpose of the image is to add decoration to the page, rather than convey information, mark your image as decorative.

Informative Images (Pictures, Photos, Illustrations): When using images that represent concepts and information, such as pictures, photos, and illustrations, the text should be a short description stating the essential information conveyed in the image.

Text Images: If possible, it is best to avoid images of text. If you are using text images, the alternative text should contain the same words as shown in the image.

Graphs and Diagrams: Provide a full-text equivalent of the data or information provided in the image.

Need Assistance?

If you need assistance making your content accessible, reach out to elis@lesley.edu. You may also check out the following resources: