GAAD@Dartmouth
The 12th annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) takes place on May 18, 2023. The purpose of GAAD is to build awareness of digital accessibility.
The Accessible Dartmouth Initiative has organized a series of events the week of May 15-18, 2023 with the goal of highlighting and building upon the successful access work being done in Dartmouth teaching and learning spaces. While these events are targeted toward teaching professionals, all are welcome.
All events will be hosted via Zoom with automatic captions enabled, unless an on campus location is listed. To request accommodations, email Carly at carly.m.lesoski@dartmouth.edu.
German FLOW: Wellness Practice in Language Learning
Monday, May 15, 1-2 pm
Presenters: Heidi Denzel, Nick Ostrau, & Winfried Stangl (German Program) & LB White (SWC)
According to a 2020 Educause report, mental health concerns are the most common reason that university students seek accommodations. Instructors in the German Program at Dartmouth partnered with Student Wellness Services to address the increasing need for mental health awareness and wellness programming for students in a pilot program called German F.L.O.W. In this session, presenters will share a variety of wellness strategies for the classroom and provide a space for faculty to discuss wellness and mental health in their courses.
Register for German FLOW: Wellness Practice in Language Learning
Learning for All: UDL & Access
Tuesday, May 16, 2:30-3:30 pm
Presenter: Carly M Lesoski, ADI/DCAL
The main goal of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is to serve as a framework for course design in which "all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities." In this session, we will discuss the areas where UDL addresses accessibility, where its boundaries are, and design a plan for implementing principles of UDL to begin an accessibility journey. Participants will leave this session with a concrete plan for implementing one UDL practice in their teaching.
Register for Learning for All: UDL & Access
Mental Health in the Classroom – Student-Faculty Discussion
Wednesday, May 17, 10-11:15 am
102 Baker Library
Facilitators: Dartmouth Mental Health Union & Elli Goudzwaard
Student mental health has reached a point of crisis on college campuses nationwide, with indicators from national surveys pointing to worsening mental health across all metrics. At Dartmouth, this trend is reflected in local assessments and in the concerns of those who witness students' struggles in the classroom every day. As demands on time, energy, and resources have increased amid the individual and collective trauma of recent years, students and faculty alike are challenged to continue the teaching and learning endeavor as usual.
In this session, student representatives from the Dartmouth Mental Health Union will share perspectives and invite discussion with faculty on the state of campus wellbeing, and offer resources and strategies faculty can use to support their students in and out of the classroom. Participants (and all others!) are invited to attend more in-depth training and access additional resources on student mental health following the session.
Register for Mental Health in the Classroom – Student-Faculty Discussion
This event is being held in person. If you are sick, please do not attend. If you cannot attend in person due to illness or disability, please email us at least 48 hours in advance at dcal@dartmouth.edu to make alternate arrangements. While we cannot promise an equivalent remote experience, we are happy to accommodate. Thank you!
Tips & Tricks for Creating Accessible Documents
Wednesday, May 17, 11:30-12:30 pm
Presenter: Melanie Morel, SAS
In this workshop led by Melanie Morel of Student Accessibility Services, participants will walk through the guiding principles of accessibility and usability and learn to apply these principles to their course materials. Participants will leave this session with a basic understanding of accessibility, along with a list of resources across campus to support this work.
Register for Tips & Tricks for Creating Accessible Documents
UDOIT (You-DO-it) Fixing Accessibility Barriers in Canvas
Thursday, May 18, 11-Noon
Presenters: Courtney Floyd & Rebecca Taub, LDI
In this hands-on workshop we will demonstrate how to create inclusive digital learning environments by fixing accessibility barriers in your Canvas course sites. We will show you how to use the UDOIT tool to easily make your Canvas classroom more accessible. By the end of the workshop, you will be ready to try using the tool on your own; no training is required.
Register for UDOIT (You-DO-it) Fixing Accessibility Barriers in Canvas
Navigating Trauma in the Classroom
Friday, May 19, 11:30-12:30pm
Presenter: Adam Wolfsdorf
Trauma disrupts, disorients, and displaces; it makes a mess. When trauma occupies the content that we teach, the bodies of our students, and the experiences that we share, teachers must find a way to read the shore as the storm rewrites the line.
This workshop with guest presenter Adam Wolfsdorf is based on his 2022 book, Navigating Trauma in the Classroom, and offers a transdisciplinary exploration of the critical questions surfacing in trauma studies that braids theory, praxis, and healing in presentation and demonstration. During the session, we will collectively:
- Define trauma (impact, relational, and trauma of everyday life) using questions, examples, and language that dignifies its complexity;
- Identify the limitations of trigger warnings and the challenges of managing student expectations (deflection, projection, countertransference)
- Apply trauma-informed pedagogy in responding to and assessing our students;
- Explore education as healing by practicing somatic and mindfulness exercises.
Please, bring your experiences, questions, bodies, and hearts to share in this collaborative, immersive investigation of the classroom as a trauma conscious learning community.
About the Presenter
Adam Wolfsdorf is the Humanities Department Chair and an original founding member of Bay Ridge Preparatory High School. He is also an Adjunct Professor at NYU's Steinhardt School of Education, and a Visiting Assistant Professor in Wesleyan's Graduate Liberal Studies Program. He has published extensively in Changing English, The F. Scott Fitzgerald Review, English Education, English Journal, and The Columbia Literary Journal. Dr. Wolfsdorf has book chapters in Humanizing Grief in Higher Education (Routledge) and Deep Reading, Volume 2 (Peter Lang). His new book, Navigating Trauma in the English Classroom, came out in November of 2022 (NCTE). It spent four weeks as Amazon's #1 new release in Humanities Education. Wolfsdorf completed his BA at Harvard University, and holds a Ph.D. in English Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.
This event is held in collaboration with the Department of Medical Education at Geisel School of Medicine.
Register for Navigating Trauma in the Classroom
This event is being held in person. If you are sick, please do not attend. If you cannot attend in person due to illness or disability, please email us at least 48 hours in advance at dcal@dartmouth.edu to make alternate arrangements. While we cannot promise an equivalent remote experience, we are happy to accommodate. Thank you!