Workshop: Alt Text as Poetry

Alt Text as Poetry Workshop

(This workshop is recommended for faculty and staff who are the site administrators for their department/program website and/or myUMBC page)

In late April, new regulations under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will go into effect at UMBC. These new requirements will ensure that our websites and mobile applications (in all their forms) are accessible to people with disabilities.

One major component of making websites more accessible is ensuring that all images have descriptions, also known as alt text. Alt text allows visual content to be accessible to people who are blind, low vision, or have certain cognitive disabilities. However, alt text is typically viewed as burdensome particularly when it is only viewed through the lens of compliance.

Facilitated by Courtney Hobson, manager of the Dresher Center for the Humanities, this workshop will explore the ideas developed by artists Bojana Coklyat and Shannon Finnegan in their ongoing Alt-Text as Poetry project. Participants will also learn how to write creative alt-text to describe images on digital platforms and make online communities more accessible, fun, and welcoming.

Join us in-person and online via Webex. Please note that we have limited space in-person.

Webex link: https://umbc.webex.com/umbc/j.php?MTID=m21cf4dc40dd5ca7f96d95d201f87e8db

This public forum is open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.