Conference: Registration
Knowbility's AccessU at CSUN

This unique conference-within-a-conference will be held February 27th and 28th in collaboration with the 27th Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference.

Knowbility has been a worldwide leader in accessible information technology since 1998. They have worked with hundreds of businesses, educational institutes, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations to train staff, implement effective accessibility strategies, and monitor long term goals to reach millions of new users.

This will be a rewarding opportunity to take advantage of Knowbility's AccessU program and the CSUN Conference in one location. Providing the most unique opportunity of education and networking.

AccessU will run two concurrent tracks tailored for different registrants' needs

Track #1 – Administrative
Focuses on the business side and geared towards procurement officers, project managers, HR professionals and more.

Track #2 – Technical
Dedicated to materials and topics for technical staff, designers, and developers.

Attendees may move freely through the tracks on the day(s) they have registered for.

Participants may register for the full two-day program at $595.00; one-day program at $425.00.

Participants who want to attend the CSUN Conference and AccessU will receive a 50% discount off the prevailing Attendee CSUN Conference rate in place at time of  registration. Discount does not apply to Speaker, Wednesday Only, Thursday Only, Friday Only, or Pre-Conference Only registration rates. Discount on CSUN Conference rate will appear as discounted AccessU rate.

Day 1 - Monday, February 27
9:00 AM
Accessibility Overview
Plenary Session
Lainey Feingold will speak about the civil rights and legal aspects of accessibility.

Shawn Henry will walk us through the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) resources, freely available to all.

Panel Discussion - "How We Use the Web"
A panel of people with disabilities will demonstrate assistive technology and speak about barriers often encountered in accessing the web.

12:00 PM
Lunch Break
1:30 PM
Developing Accessibility Policy and Procedures
Track
#1 - Administrative
Instructor
Sharron Rush
Summary
Step by step in the process of building an accessibility policy and how to support it.

The course provides policy development guides; how to build accessibility into RFP language; how to develop rubrics and resources to judge RFP response; how to address the lack of accessible resources in the marketplace; how to build accessibility improvements into contract language; how to provide layers of accessibility across the enterprise.  Participants will leave with time lines and templates.
Build Accessible HTML Structures

Track
#2 – Technical
Instructor
Denis Boudreau
Summary
When it comes to accessibility, standards matter. Participants will learn about web standards and how to apply them during the design process for maximum accessibility and interoperability.  Valid HTML is the foundation of an accessible user experience on the web, whether the site is a simple set of web pages or a sophisticated, interactive web application.  The course will cover text alternatives, table design, forms labels, reading order, and other foundational techniques.

3:30 PM
Building the Business Case in your Organization

Track
#1 - Administrative
Instructor
Shawn Henry
Summary
For managers and practitioners whose organizations already do some web accessibility but could benefit from increasing their commitment to accessibility, and organizations that don't address web accessibility at all. Participants will learn about the social, technical, financial, and legal and policy factors in the business case for web accessibility; understand how accessibility supports social inclusion for people with disabilities and others; understand how accessibility overlaps with other best practices such as mobile web design, device independence, multi-modal interaction, usability, design for older users, and search engine optimization (SEO); and get statistics, case studies, and other resources supporting the business case. At the end of the session, participants will have a *first draft of their own customized web accessibility business case*. (Laptop encouraged.)

5:00 PM
Day 1 Concludes

Day 2 - Tuesday, February 28
8:30 AM
Creating Accessible Documents
Track
#1 – Administrative
Instructor
Sean Keegan
Summary
The principles and practices for creating accessible documents in MS Office, including references to Open Office and the Google Docs platform.  Focus will be on the authoring capabilities and the steps to integrating accessibility as part of the document creation process.  We will also review conversion strategies to PDF and learn the introductory principles for that format. Bring your laptop for hands-on exercises.
Social Media and Accessibility
Track
#1 – Administrative
Instructor
Jennison Asuncion

Summary
Whether your organization is a university, a school, a government agency or a business

- users matter and we increasingly depend on social media to reach them.  This course

considers how to assure you are reaching and engaging your entire potential audience.

The course will look at the popular social media tools used today, and describe what the barriers are and current solutions.
JavaScript Introduction and ARIA Roles
Track

#2 - Technical
Instructor
Todd Kloot
Summary
Beginning with the basics of accessible JavaScript and how it fits into the

development of web sites and applications that can be used by all, including WAI-ARIA,

how it works and how it can work for you.
Designing for Accessibility
Track
#2 - Technical
Instructor
Molly Holzschlag 
Summary
Putting to rest the myth that accessibility must be dull, you will learn how to apply

principles of CSS to support elegant design while creating a user interface that works

for everyone. 
10:30 AM
Testing for Accessibility
Track
#1 – Administrative

Instructor
Sharron Rush
Summary
How to perform basic accessibility tests with free tools that can install in a browser.
12:00 PM
Lunch Break
1:30PM
Communicating the Vision of Accessibility throughout the Enterprise
Track
#1 - Administrative

Instructors
Anne Chadwick-Dias and Marguerite "Margy" Bergel 

Summary
How to bring various elements of company policy, procurement, and user experience into an action plan to help communicate policy and vision with web developers and managers.

 The long range plan for accessibility management.

Progressive Enhancement
Track
#2 - Technical

Instructor
Derek Featherstone

Summary
Join Derek Featherstone as he helps you tie everything together to create truly accessible web sites and applications that work in the real world. In this session, we'll look at how the long-established principles of progressive enhancement help ensure a baseline level of functionality in your sites and applications and how you can make them shine to create truly useful experiences. Add to that a mix of modern technology such as CSS3, HTML5, ARIA, and JavaScript for bulletproof functionality on web sites that works for everyone, including people with disabilities.

4:30 PM
Day 2 Concludes
 Visit the Registration Information page for details about registration, fees and deadlines.
Source: www.csun.edu/cod/conference/accessu.php