Oh hey! There were points in October that I wasn’t sure that we would ever make it to Week 14 and yet HERE WE ARE! How are your grading piles looking? Are you an end-of-semester marathon grader or is your style more chip away a little bit for several days? I am a chip away for the most part, but the inevitable onslaught of assignment submissions at the end of the semester mean that I spend at least one day getting everything buttoned up and ready to report. One of the things I lost in the pandemic was the ability to sit in a coffee shop and push their refill policy to its limits while getting my grading done; I just might have to resurrect that practice now that cafes are open again!
This week’s features include a reminder about the SUNY CPD Inclusive Teaching panel on Thursday, 12/9 at 11:00 am. I was also sent an article that came out this week about how/why free community college is not happening as part of the Build Back Better Act that I am sharing here. I have also included information about a free webinar from 3Play Media about digital accessibility laws; apologies for the short notice on this one; I just received it myself! Please send any suggestions/ideas/needs to malmbergsm@sunybroome.edu or to PD at professionaldevelopment@sunybroome.edu.
SUNY CPD Professional Development Week – December 6 – 10, 2021
Presented by the SUNY Center for Professional Development, the week is an awareness campaign highlighting the important connection between lifelong learning, personal growth and transformative organizational success. Webinar topics encompass the areas of personal, professional and technical development while also delving into the world of executive leadership. Not only is being strategically well-rounded a great personal goal, it can also help you with your professional journey.
When is it? December 6 – 10, 2021
Where is it? Professional Development week events will be hosted online to maximize value and increase awareness of the center’s programming and services. The CPD and their partners will be teaming up to offer complimentary (free) professional development webinars throughout the week.
Who can participate? All SUNY employees, regardless of CPD membership. Registration is required for each event.
The remaining panels are as follows:
- Wednesday, December 8: Self-Care as Professional Development (12:00 pm – 1:00 pm)
- Thursday, December 9: What does an inclusive teacher do? (Panel Discussion (11:00 am – 12:00 pm; Stephanie Malmberg is a panelist!)
- Friday, December 10: WOW Your Audience: Presentation Best Practices (12:00 pm – 1:00 pm)
Register at SUNY Center for Professional Development
How to Bring More Low-Income Americans to a Bright Future
This article from Inside Higher Ed, titled How to Bring More Low Income Americans to a Brighter Future, discusses the top three impediments to true student access for community colleges; it also provides a framework for understanding the removal of free community college from the Build Back Better Act. The opposition to two free years of community college came from public universities, fearful that undergraduates would complete their first two years at 2-year schools. What this argument fails to realize is that not all students want to go to a four year institution, and many of our students are here to earn a certificate or degree that gives them immediate access to the paid labor market. Instead of making community college itself free, the article argues for making the first two years of college free; that way, the 4 year colleges aren’t losing out on enrollment, and those who would be better served by a community college are still served. What are your thoughts?
2021 Digital Accessibility Legal Update with Lainey Feingold
The legal landscape of digital accessibility in the United States, and increasingly around the world, provides a strong framework supporting digital inclusion for disabled people in the public and private sectors, in education, and throughout society.
The pandemic has made the need for accessibility more urgent than ever, and individual advocacy, lawsuits, Structured Negotiations, and government agency activity continue to advance disability inclusion in the digital space. Organizations across industries and sectors must stay informed about the legal space, while remembering that fear of lawsuits is a poor motivator for baked inaccessibility.
This webinar will be presented by Lainey Feingold, an internationally recognized disability rights lawyer and public speaker and pioneer of Structured Negotiation. Lainey is known for negotiating landmark accessibility agreements without lawsuits, many described in her book, Structured Negotiation, A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits. The second edition of Lainey’s book was published in October 2021. In this webinar, Lainey will take us through key cases, court decisions, government agency activity, settlements, and other recent developments in the digital accessibility legal space. She will share best practices for staying ahead of the legal curve, talk about the ethics of digital accessibility law, and even offer a few predictions of what to expect in the coming year.
Register for this free webinar to learn about:
- Legal requirements impacting digital accessibility (primarily in the US, touching upon international requirements)
- Updates on major digital access court cases, regulations, and settlements over the past twelve months
- Best practices for digital accessibility as defined by industry leaders, court orders, and major settlements
- Ethics in the digital accessibility legal space: fear, quick fixes and what not to do
- How the law is impacting accessibility in fields as diverse as finance, education, voting, healthcare, employment, and transportation
Title: 2021 Digital Accessibility Legal Update with Lainey Feingold
Date: Thursday, December 9, 2021
Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern Time
Submitted by: Deena Price
Tags: Professional Development
