Learning about accessibility can seem daunting or overwhelming. However, there are many ways for different types of learners to get access to accessibility information, from full-day courses to quick daily tips.

One note for education faculty and staff: much of the information about accessibility is designed for developers of websites. Try to limit your search to sources about education or about “document accessibility” specifically.

1. UNLV Training Courses

The UNLV Office of Accessibility Resources has decided what faculty, staff, and other stakeholders should know about accessibility. They have created the Foundations of Accessibility Training, along with other training options available on their Training Calendar. They can provide answers to your questions about what is covered in each course. Custom training options are also available from their office, as well as from our Web Accessibility Specialist.

2. Free Online Training Options

A number of free online courses are available. Web developers may like W3C’s Introduction to Web Accessibility, while educators may benefit from An Introduction to Accessibility and Inclusive Design.

UNLV faculty, staff, and students also have free access to Linkedin Learning, a valuable resource with great courses about Creating Accessible PDFs, among other topics.

3. Online Articles and Blogs

This article is part of UNLV’s Accessibility Tips<Link > series, but we aren’t the only organization focused on accessibility. Other universities have online accessibility learning centers which can cover basic accessibility skills. Additionally, W3C has an Introduction to Web Accessibility series of articles and videos. WebAIM Articles include a series about specific document types, like PDFs and PowerPoint Presentations. A number of accessibility professionals also keep personal blogs to share what they are learning as they solve accessibility problems.

4. Social Media

On social media, accessibility is usually abbreviated #a11y. This is because accessibility is 13 letters long, so there are 11 letters between the “a” and “y”. Besides, who doesn’t want to be an accessibility ally?

Search this hashtag to find people in your community who post about accessibility. On Twitter, for example, you can follow @A11yAwareness to see a daily bite-sized accessibility tip. 

If you prefer to get your news through email, a number of newsletters and interest groups exist to give relevant updates. Developers and document creators alike may enjoy Accessibility Weekly, for example.

5. Podcasts and Webinars

Free podcasts and webinars are a great way to keep up-to-date with learning opportunities. They can also introduce you to professionals that you can follow on other platforms.

Accessibility Summer Camp is a free, virtual conference about accessibility in education. They also post recorded interviews in between to keep the learning going year-round. Video captioning vendor, 3Play Media hosts the Allied Podcast about a variety of accessibility topics.

Large companies that focus on accessibility often host free webinar training opportunities, like those from Level Access and TPGi.

These are just a few of the many options available to learn about accessibility. Write to your author to ask about my current favorites!