AccessU - the Premier Conference for Teaching and Learning Digital Accessibility Announces 2022 Schedule

Produced at St. Edward's University by Award Winning Advocate Knowbility, AccessU is Innovating to Be More Inclusive

AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA, January 27, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Knowbility is pleased to announce that their annual John Slatin AccessU digital accessibility training conference will return in 2022 to the campus of St. Edward's University from May 9-12. Global health conditions have prompted Knowbility to innovate on conference format and they are introducing features to allow a more robust remote experience while ensuring the safety of those who participate in person. AccessU has earned its reputation as the premier venue to learn and improve digital accessibility skills. In 2022, Knowbility is broadening the delivery approach beyond “hybrid” to meet the public health concerns and travel disruptions prompted by the ongoing pandemic. The result will be a unique experience incorporating the featured keynote talks and expert instruction in several tracks including management, coding, and usability. Social and networking events will be available and — for the first time — all activities can be experienced in real time or asynchronously. Knowbility has even innovated on their approach to event registration by using Humanitix, an accessible ticket sales application that incorporates accessible design and donates all profits back to children’s charities. Early Bird registration is now open.

AccessU is named in honor of the late Dr. John Slatin, professor of English at UT Austin and a world-renowned authority in accessibility. Since 2004, Knowbility has gathered tech professionals, business people, educators, government employees, and civic leaders to learn from the world’s leading experts in web accessibility. When websites and applications are accessible, everyone — including people with disabilities — can use them.

Attendees and instructors have a range of travel preferences and learning styles. Training sessions at AccessU will be available online and be presented asynchronously via Knowbility’s Learning Center. Keynotes will be in-person in Austin and broadcast online for those joining virtually. AccessU’s asynchronous presentation is designed to meet the needs of anyone who cannot travel to the conference or prefers to learn at their own pace and on their own schedule. Some disabled people benefit greatly from this approach, and we are innovating to be more inclusive.

“For more than 20 years, Knowbility has led with an Austin style. We are entrepreneurial, we innovate solutions, and we bring the creative energy of startup culture to our activities.” Executive Director Sharron Rush said. “AccessU is a training conference, it is important to us that people leave with a sense that they have genuinely improved their skills and made meaningful connections to a growing network of practice. It is the excitement of real teaching and learning that distinguishes AccessU.”

“Faced with a pandemic that seems to never end and a weariness of remote conferences, we are trying a unique approach — a combination of in-person, remote, and asynchronous learning that will allow instructors and attendees to personalize their participation and meet their own specific needs — we’re very excited!”

The main conference takes place from May 10-12 and will feature more than 40 training sessions and three keynote speakers. This year’s keynote speakers will include Christina Mallon and Kelsey Ruger. Other speakers and instructors will soon be announced. The schedule is planned as follows:
- May 6: Knowbility’s Learning Center will launch sessions pre-recorded by AccessU instructors and made available the week before the conference begins.
- May 9: Pre-conference, day-long workshops covering accessible front end design, mobile accessibility, UX testing and more will be delivered in-person and virtually.
- May 10: In-person keynote talks and classes in 4 tracks to cover various roles in the digital accessibility ecosystem. Keynotes & classes will be webcast for remote attendees.
- May 11 and 12: Live networking, keynotes and QA. In-person and remote instructors will discuss the recorded classes that attendees have viewed on their own schedule.

Awareness, education, and accessibility implementation services are the three branches of Knowbility’s service to its mission. AccessU 2022 will give attendees the knowledge and skills needed to excel in the practice of digital accessibility. Whether they are learning to build a culture of accessibility within an organization, sharpening their coding practices, designing inclusive user experience studies, or are eager to master techniques in mobile accessibility, attending AccessU will increase their capacity to create a more inclusive digital world for people with disabilities.

“AccessU is not your average conference,” Jessica “Jay” McKay, Director of Community Programs, said. “In addition to providing opportunities to network and engage with peers in the field, we teach applicable skills that attendees can utilize in their practice of accessible design. We want to acknowledge the leadership of our early sponsors, which include Fable, WebAIM, Pearson, Oklahoma ABLETech, and the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division. We welcome inquiries from other companies that want to demonstrate leadership in digital equity.”

About Knowbility:
Founded in 1999, Knowbility, Inc. is an international leader in digital accessibility. Knowbility advocates for digital inclusion for people with disabilities including those who are blind/low vision, deaf, mobility impaired, or have other disabilities. Knowbility’s team of experts is internationally recognized for its role in creating the worldwide standard for web accessibility. Co-Founder and Executive Director Sharron Rush serves as Co-Chair of the World Wide Web Consortium’s WAI Accessibility Education and Outreach Working Group. Since the first AIR competition in 1998, Knowbility has provided accessible web training to hundreds of corporations, government agencies, and community-based organizations throughout the United States. Knowbility’s accessibility testing and consulting team has guided the creation of more than 1,000 accessible websites, making information accessible to the 55 million Americans with disabilities and more than 1 billion world wide.

About St. Edwards University
St. Edward’s University was founded in 1885 and is a nationally ranked, Holy Cross university located in Austin, Texas. They educate the hearts and minds of undergraduate and graduate students, so they are prepared to make a difference.

Jessica McKay
Community Programs Director
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