Leveraging AI for Enhanced Visual Content to Support Accessibility
National Distance Learning Week 2024
Recent updates to federal guidelines for digital accessibility underscore the critical need for educators to ensure that all course materials are accessible to every student. One of the most prevalent accessibility issues in digital course materials is the lack of proper descriptions for images. Alternative descriptions serve as vital information for students who use screen readers, providing them with textual explanations for images that otherwise visually conveyed. More than 14,000 images are untagged in Blackboard for the FA2024 term.
This session will include a live demonstration of Ally including the course report, individual content remediation, and AI image description. Additionally, staff will demonstrate how ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini can be used to generate long descriptions and transcripts for complex images.
Session Objectives
- Explain the legal and ethical considerations for using AI to create accessible content
- Review the Ally course report to identify images that lack descriptions
- Identify key AI technologies to enhance image accessibility in digital environments
- Demonstrate how to use Ally and AI tools to create descriptions for accessible images
- Create a plan to implement AI tools for improving image accessibility
Explore the transformative potential of AI tools to enhance accessibility for visually rich content in the digital environments. Join Instructional Technology and discover how AI can generate descriptions for images to ensure that all students receive an engaging educational experience.
This session will be facilitated by Dr. Mariann Hawken, Director of Instructional Technology, and Josh Abrams, Instructional Design Specialist.
This webinar will take place in a Google Meet virtual conference room. Enter the webinar up to 15 minutes before the start time. Visit the myUMBC Event post and select the "Join Online Event" button to join the Google Meet session.
Prior to the Event
- For the best viewing experience, we recommend using Chrome, Brave, or Firefox, preferably the most recent updates to those browsers. Closing any unnecessary browser tabs will help conserve your bandwidth.
- If this is your first time joining one of our webinars, please review the requirements to use Google Meet. Learn how to connect your audio & video, change/blur your background, and use reactions. You can also review the accessibility support including live captions.