Date Posted: June 23, 2020
Southern Crescent Technical College (SCTC) has recently been named a Gold Cup Winner of Blackboard’s inaugural Fix Your Content Day Challenge, a day of action and impact that brought together institutions from across the globe to dedicate 24 hours to improving the accessibility of as many digital course content files as possible through Blackboard Ally.
To reach Gold Cup status, Southern Crescent Technical College created more than 1 fix per student or more than 2,000 overall fixes to digital course content.
The Fix Your Content Day Challenge was held on Global Accessibility Awareness Day, celebrated each year on the third Thursday of May, to help make an immediate and tangible impact on the accessibility of students’ online learning experience. Southern Crescent Technical College was one of 59 participating higher education institutions and contributed to improving the accessibility of over 57,000 course files through Blackboard Ally throughout the challenge. Institutions who do not have Blackboard Ally were also invited to participate by submitting innovative “Accessibility Impact Plans,” demonstrating how they’re actively taking steps to make their campuses more inclusive. The challenge underscores Blackboard and the global education community’s shared commitment to creating a culture of accessibility and inclusion for all learners.
Accessibility means each student has access to instructional content in a way that is meaningful to them. Designing original content that is accessible in multiple digital formats and on multiple devices enables diverse students with unique learning abilities to choose the content delivery method that fits their learning needs and their busy schedule, giving them a better learning experience and helping them to achieve greater comprehension, retention, and application.
“We are very proud of the work that our faculty and staff at Southern Crescent Technical College have done to convert many of our courses to an accessible online format”, stated Dr. Steve Pearce, Vice President of Academic Affairs at Southern Crescent Technical College. “In reviewing these courses, our employees went to great lengths to ensure that they were interesting, interactive, and accessible resulting in a more well-rounded and enjoyable learning experience for the student.”
According to Dr. Jennifer Edwards, Director of Distance Education at Southern Crescent Technical College, “Accessible web content is better content and during the Fix Your Content Day Challenge the Distance Education team at Southern Crescent Technical College was able to make numerous changes that made a lasting impact on our efforts for the delivery of more inclusive education.”
Students are now able to engage with their instructional materials while reading on their phone or tablet with improved document navigation; searching, highlighting and annotating text; or listening to a screen reader or other audio version while on the go.
“We’re thrilled to honor the inaugural Fix Your Content Day Challenge winners for the tremendous impact they’ve made on improving the accessibility of their institutions’ course content during the challenge,” said Nicolaas Matthijs, Product Manager at Blackboard. “This achievement is indicative of their broader commitment to ensuring learners have access to course content that meets their diverse needs. We’re proud to partner with institutions who share our commitment to driving student success by fostering a culture of accessibility and inclusion for all learners.”
For more information on the Fix Your Content Day Challenge and this year’s winners, please visit: https://go.blackboard.com/gaad-fix-your-content
About Blackboard
Blackboard’s mission is to advance learning in partnership with the world’s education community so that more students, educators and institutions can realize their ambitions today and prepare for tomorrow. Learn more at www.blackboard.com and follow @Blackboard on Twitter.