Event Follow-Up: “Language Inclusivity at UWGB”

What language practices do your students bring to our UWGB community? How do you value and sustain those language practices in your classrooms and other interactions with students? This follow-up to the “Language Inclusivity at UWGB” workshop led by Dr. Cory Mathieu, 2022-23 EDI Consultant, on April 14, 2023, includes the session recording, an event summary, key takeaways, and resources for further reading.

Session Recording (April 14, 2023)

Event Summary

Text by Edith Mendez and Cory Mathieu

Language is fundamental to the teaching and learning that occurs in every classroom at UWGB. All academic content is construed by language. However, our students use language to not only communicate academic concepts and ideas, but also as a representation of their identity, their culture, and their sense of belonging. When our students’ language practices ­– the myriad ways they use language ­– are not upheld, uplifted, and valued in our classrooms, they can feel that they themselves are unwelcome or unaccepted in our academic spaces.

Standard language ideologies, or beliefs that certain varieties of language are more academic, more intelligent, or, simply, more correct, are deeply ingrained in our society and, especially, in academia. Students who do not speak or write ‘standard English’ are often expected to adjust their language practices to be successful, both in academics and beyond. This causes many issues, not only because their language is deemed inferior but because of the intersectionality of language and identity. Our students’ character, who they are as individuals, is then also linked to these negative connotations. Considerable research has shown that students of color and multilingual students are most frequently affected by these ideologies as their language practices are most regularly deemed to be ‘non-standard’ by those in positions of power.

Through this workshop, we further describe and debunk standard language ideologies while also offering insight as to how this issue is actively affecting UWGB students, not only academically but in terms of their identities and sense of belonging. We do so in order to offer alternative perspectives, policies, practices that are linguistically inclusive, actively welcoming and valuing the language, experiences, knowledge, capabilities, and strengths all students bring to our classrooms.

Key Takeaways

  • “Standard English” is a myth! (Lippi-Green, 2012)
    • All languages that are spoken within the U.S. and are acquired as first languages are
      • Linguistically acceptable
      • Grammatical
    • Standard English is the variety that has been afforded power and status (Lippi-Green, 2012)​.
      • ‘White mainstream English’
  • Issue with appropriateness-based approach to education
    • Standard language is a language of power, but it does not provide power to everyone.
      • Students of color will always be seen as people of color and treated as such, regardless of how they speak
  • Language is central to identity
    • Identity is central to a sense of belonging
      • Sense of belonging is central to learning
  • If students do not feel as if they belong, they may be negatively impacted
    • Academically
    • As Individuals
      • Mentally
      • Emotionally
  • There are things you can do to make each and every one of the students that walk through your door feel welcomed, valued, capable, and respected
    • Language inclusivity syllabus statement
    • Varied performance assessments with different audiences to allow for content to be expressed through different language varieties and registers
    • Explicit teaching of language and genres expected of students
    • Critical discussions about language use in your content area – why do we use and expect the language that we do? Who determined and continues to determine what language is acceptable or not in this discipline?

Further Reading

10 Dos and Don’ts of Digital Accessibility

Accessibility involves designing materials so that as many people as possible can engage with them, regardless of users’ physical or cognitive abilities. Meeting baseline accessibility standards is key to inclusive course design, and the digital age has made it faster and easier than ever to create accessible materials. Small changes to a document, like using a clear font and appropriately-sized text, can significantly improve the user experience. To get you started, we have assembled a list of some critical “dos and don’ts” of digital accessibility, along with guides from Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Canvas for each category.

Contents

Text Styles

Screenshot of black text displayed on a white background that reads, ‘Your video submission must be in MP4 format.’ The words ‘MP4 format’ are emphasized in red text font and yellow highlight.

Don’t… ❌

Use underlining, highlighting, or text color alone to denote emphasis or create meaning.

Screenshot of black text on a white background that reads, Important: Your video submission must be in MP4 format. The words Important and MP4 format are emphasized in bold.

Do… ✅

Use bold or italic styling sparingly to emphasize words or short phrases within the body of a text. To call attention to an entire sentence or section, consider writing “Important” before the content.

Use underlining only for hyperlinks to assist people who are color blind in differentiating them from regular text. Similarly, avoid using text color and highlighting alone for emphasis as they may be challenging to distinguish. Some screen readers do not announce bold or italicized text, so refrain from using text styles alone to create meaning.

Headings & Document Structure

Image containing two screenshots. The first screenshot shows a document with the word ‘Purpose’ emphasized in blue and bolded text. Below ‘Purpose’ is plain black text that reads, ‘In this activity, you will learn about.’ The document ends with the word ‘Task’ also emphasized in blue and bolded text. The second screenshot displays the text style pane in Microsoft Word. It indicates that the text in the screenshot is formatted with the ‘Normal’ text style.

Don’t… ❌

Create headings by manually adjusting text sizes, styles, or colors.

Image containing two screenshots from Microsoft Word. The first screenshot shows a document with the word ‘Purpose’ using the built-in Heading 2 style option. Below ‘Purpose’ is plain black text that reads, ‘In this activity, you will learn about.’ The document ends with the word ‘Task’ also using the Heading 2 style option. The second screenshot, positioned below the first, displays the Heading style panel in Microsoft Word.

Do… ✅

Use built-in heading styles in Word and the Canvas Rich Content Editor to organize content hierarchy. In PowerPoint, make sure to use an accessible template, add a title to every slide, and double-check slide reading order.

The built-in heading styles in these applications add special HTML code that makes it easier for people who use assistive tools to navigate a document.

Screenshot of a hyperlink formatted as a raw web URL, shown in blue underlined text. Below the URL, there is another hyperlink formatted in blue underlined text that reads ‘Click Here’.

Don’t… ❌

Use messy URLs or hyperlinks that do not make sense without context.

Screenshot of a hyperlink formatted in blue underlined text that reads ‘Spring 2023 TEG Call’. Below the text, there is another hyperlink formatted in blue underlined text that reads ‘uwgb.edu/catl’.

Do… ✅

Create concise hyperlinks with text that identifies or describes the link in a self-contained way.

Providing meaningful links helps people understand what to expect when they click the link. It also makes it easier for users who rely on assistive technology to navigate between links.

Images

A screenshot showing an image of the Cofrin Library in the Canvas RCE (Rich Content Editor). A text box below the image displays the Canvas HTML editor view of the Cofrin Library image with no descriptive alt text. The image file name consisting of numbers is used as the alt text, and it is underlined in red to indicate that it is not a sufficient description.

Don’t… ❌

Use an image alone to provide information.

A screenshot of the Canvas RCE. On the left is an image of the Cofrin Library. To the right is the Image Options panel in the Canvas RCE, including a field for alt text. Below that is a screenshot of the Canvas HTML editor view. The alt text for the image is underlined in red and reads 'UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library Centered amongst snow surrounded by snow covered treetops.'

Do… ✅

Add alt text or captions to describe images that convey information in Word, PowerPoint, and Canvas. Mark other images as “decorative” so they are ignored by screen readers.

Providing alt text or a caption helps people with low or no vision understand images.

Audio & Video

Screenshot displaying text that reads ‘Video without CC and Transcript.’ Below the text is a video titled ‘The Kiss by Gustav Klimt: Great Art Explained.’ The video does not display an option to turn on closed captioning.

Don’t… ❌

Share audio or video without closed captioning or another text alternative.

Image containing two screenshots side by side. The first screenshot displays text that reads ‘Video with CC and transcript.’ Below the text is a video titled ‘The Kiss by Gustav Klimt: Great Art Explained’ with a red circle positioned over the closed captioning button on the video player. Below the video is a transcription box. The second screenshot on the right displays the Kaltura My Media options, with the ‘Captions & Enrich’ option highlighted in grey. This option allows users to edit the auto-generated captions in Kaltura My Media.

Do… ✅

Upload your recordings into Kaltura (My Media) for automatic captions or search for media that is captioned. For spoken audio that does not have a visual component, such as a podcast stream, provide a transcript instead.

Captions and transcripts allow people with limited or no hearing to engage with audio and video media, plus they benefit those with other access barriers. Users can also benefit from having a searchable transcript.

Lists

Screenshot of the Canvas Rich Content Editor (RCE) displaying an unformatted numbered list titled ‘List with No Formatting.’ The list contains the items ‘1. Red, 2. Blue, 3. Yellow’ without proper formatting. A gray box outlines the HTML editor view of the Canvas RCE, showing the use of heading 3 tags for the page title and paragraph tags for the list of colors.

Don’t… ❌

Manually type numbers or bullets to create lists.

Screenshot of the Canvas Rich Content Editor (RCE) displaying a properly formatted numbered list titled ‘List with Formatting.’ The list contains the items ‘1. Red, 2. Blue, 3. Yellow’ with proper formatting. An inset screenshot shows the HTML editor view of the Canvas RCE, including the tags which give the list proper formatting. Another inset screenshot displays the list formatting options available in the 'more' menu of the RCE toolbar, which is circled in red.

Do… ✅

Use the bullet and numbering buttons in the toolbars of Word, PowerPoint, and the Canvas Rich Content Editor.

The built-in list formatting options in these applications add special HTML code that makes it easier for people who use assistive technologies to navigate a document.

Tables

An image containing three screenshots. The first screenshot shows a table in the Canvas RCE. The text above the table reads ‘Table without a Header Row/Column and Caption.’ The table contains syllabus assignments with weeks labeled 1-2 in the right columns, and weekdays Monday and Wednesday in the first row of the table. The second screenshot displays a table in the Canvas RCE. The text above the table reads ‘Table Used for Formatting Non-Tabular Content.’ It seems that this table is intended for formatting purposes and not for displaying tabular data. The third screenshot, positioned below the first two, presents the HTML editor view of the Canvas RCE. The code illustrates a table that lacks a caption and header row/column.

Don’t… ❌

Subdivide and merge cells, omit captions and row/column headers, or use tables as a “hack” for formatting content.

A screenshot depicting a properly formatted table in the Canvas RCE. The table is captioned ‘Weekly Course Schedule,’ with the header row displaying the weekdays Monday and Wednesday, while the header column includes weeks 1-3. A text box below the image displays the HTML editor view of the Canvas RCE. The words 'caption' and 'col' are underlined in the editor, indicating how a table with a caption and header columns are coded.

Do… ✅

Use tables to present data in rows and columns with a logical layout. Use the built-in tools in Word and the accessibility checker in the Canvas Rich Content Editor to include a caption and set a header row and/or header column for data tables. Avoid using tables in PowerPoint if possible, but if you do, follow these guidelines.

Adding a caption and setting a header row/column with the built-in formatting options adds special HTML code that helps users who rely on assistive technology understand and navigate the table. Screen readers may struggle to interpret the layout and hierarchy of the information presented when tables are used to format content other than data. Subdivided and merged cells also pose challenges for users that navigate with a keyboard or rely on screen readers.

Charts & Graphs

Screenshot of a pie graph titled Sales created in Microsoft Word. The pie graph consists of four slices of different colors, with blue being the largest, followed by orange, gray, and yellow. The legend positioned below the pie graph indicates the blue represents the 1st quarter, orange represents the 2nd quarter, gray represents the 3rd quarter, and yellow represents the 4th quarter.

Don’t… ❌

Use color alone to create meaning in charts and graphs.

An image containing two screenshots. The first displays a pie chart titled 'Sales' created in Microsoft Word. The Chart Elements settings are displayed with the boxes for title, data labels, and legend all checked. The second screenshot, positioned on the right, displays the Format Data Labels panel, which presents additional label options. A text box below reads 'Labeling chart and graph element settings in MS Word.'

Do… ✅

Directly label elements in charts and graphs and/or use shapes or patterns to differentiate elements.

People who are color blind or who have low vision may have trouble differentiating colors.

Scanned Documents

Screenshot of a scanned image of a book page in Adobe Acrobat. A solid blue box overlays a paragraph of text in the image, indicating that each word in the book is not scannable. Below the image, there is a text box that reads “Scanned image without a searchable text.”

Don’t… ❌

Use photos or scans of text without checking for accessibility.

Screenshot of a scanned image of a book page in Adobe Acrobat. Blue highlight overlays a paragraph showing each word is scannable. Below the image, there is a text box that reads 'PDF with searchable text done through the Scan & OCR function in Adobe Acrobat.'

Do… ✅

Find an alternative accessible resource or use the optical character recognition (OCR) tools in Adobe Acrobat to turn a scan into an accessible PDF with selectable text and a logical reading order.

Digital scans of physical texts are encoded like images and are not readable by most screen readers. OCR converts a scanned document into a format that allows people who use assistive technologies to engage with the text, plus it benefits all users by making the document searchable.

Accessibility Checkers

Screenshot of the Canvas RCE displaying some sample headings and text, including text that is light gray and very difficult to read. Under the RCE box, there is a red circle around the accessibility checker indicator, which notifies the editor that there are three accessibility issues within the page.

Don’t… ❌

Ignore the accessibility checker tools in Word, PowerPoint, and Canvas.

Screenshot of the Canvas RCE with the Accessibility Checker panel on the right-hand side. The panel highlights three accessibility issues and provides recommendations for how to fix them. The first issue identified in the panel is the insufficient color contrast ratio for light gray text against a white background.

Do… ✅

Use the accessibility checker tools in Word, PowerPoint, and Canvas to scan for and repair common issues – including many of the issues described in this resource – before exporting, publishing, or sharing materials. For Canvas, you can also use the UDOIT accessibility checker to scan your whole course.

Using built-in accessibility checker tools can help ensure that your course materials meet accessibility standards.

Resources by Application

For accessibility resources specific to Word, PowerPoint, and Canvas, respectively, please see the guides and tip sheets below:

Need Help?

This resource is meant to be a starting point for best practices in digital accessibility, but if you have questions beyond the scope of this guide, we welcome you to reach out to CATL! Send us an email at CATL@uwgb.edu or fill out our consultation request form to discuss digital accessibility in your own courses.

Supporting First-Generation College Students (Mar. 24 & Apr. 28, 2023)

CATL is excited to partner with Lisa Lamson, Assistant Teaching Professor in Humanities and 2022-23 EDI Consultant, to offer two workshops this spring on supporting the success of first-generation college students.

Transparency in Syllabus Design for First-Gen Student Success (Mar. 24, 1 – 2 p.m.)

The first of the two workshops, Transparency in Syllabus Design for First Gen Student Success, will be held in person on Friday, Mar. 24 from 1 – 2 p.m. in the Alumni Room (University Union 103). This workshop addresses the whys and hows of syllabi – how can faculty best utilize the first-day foundational document throughout the semester to best support first-generation students as they navigate college? Despite best efforts, there seems to be a disconnect between how faculty see class syllabi and how students engage with the syllabi. This workshop intends to act as a bridge to help faculty articulate how their syllabi and learning outcomes shape the learning experiences throughout the semester and how it connects to their “genre knowledge” to help students see the value in a syllabus. In doing so, this workshop seeks to help faculty support first-generation students’ sense of belonging in the classroom and in the university by making clear the activities in the classroom’s connection to the university’s learning outcomes and beyond.

Unpacking the Hidden Curriculum for First-Generation Student Success (Apr. 28, 1 – 2 p.m.)

The the second workshop, Unpacking the Hidden Curriculum for First-Generation Student Success, will be held in person on Friday, Apr. 28 from 1 – 2 p.m. in MAC 107. “How do you know what you know?” – “Hidden Curriculum,” or the unspoken expectations of college in and outside of the classroom, often acts as a barrier to first-generation student success. While much of the academic scholarship on the “hidden curriculum” focuses on student experiences, this workshop intends to bring the conversation explicitly into the classroom – how can we uncover the information we, as faculty, just know and translate that for our students? How can we teach something we have learned through doing? This workshop proposes an opportunity for faculty to articulate the hidden “just knows” for their classroom to improve student achievement and, ultimately, success. Working through an assignment of their choosing, faculty will identify hidden expectations in their assessments and rubrics, and develop ways to make clear how the expectations of the assignment align with the course outcomes and beyond.

Addressing Racial Battle Fatigue at UW-Green Bay (Feb. 28, Mar. 28, & Apr. 25, 2023)

CATL is thrilled to sponsor a three-part series on Racial Battle Fatigue that will be led by Dr. Crystal Lepscier (Little Shell/Menominee/Stockbridge-Munsee), who currently serves UWGB as the First Nations Student Success Coordinator. The goal of the series is to center on the exploration of the idea of Racial Battle Fatigue and consider its impact on our holistic wellness in order to address the impacts of this phenomenon. This opportunity is open to faculty and staff who are engaged in race work and those from racially underrepresented groups who are interested in addressing the physical and psychological toll they have faced in this work. This is first and foremost a space to find balance and nourishment in our holistic wellness as educators and practitioners. While not intended to be a space equipped with a professional counselor, services and resources would be accessible and shared with any and all participants in this project.

All sessions will be from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in person in the Center for First Nations Education – Conference Room (Wood Hall 473). If you are interested in attending one or more of these sessions, please register by clicking the button below. The descriptions, dates, and times for all three sessions in the series are further down.

Register

What is Racial Battle Fatigue?

Tuesday, February 28, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

This session will focus on community building and creation of a space of wellness. Drawing from readings, we will learn about Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF) and Fasching-Varner’s (2015) definition, discuss impacts on health and wellness, and express our initial thoughts and reactions about the phenomenon. We will discuss connections to the idea of emotional labor in our work as well as discuss related subjects such as microaggressions and minority tax. It will be important to allow for an outward projection and comprehension of internalized fatigue, externalized fatigue, sole voice, and intergenerational responsibility and how one might carry this ‘emotional labor’ in their daily interactions.

Creative Methods to Address Racial Battle Fatigue

Tuesday, March 28, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

The second session focuses on addressing the phenomenon of Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF). We will briefly review the definition of RBF as a refresher. Participants will discuss anything they carried forward from the previous session, reflecting on RBF and potential impacts on awareness. We will then explore creative methods to help express RBF. A journal exercise will be introduced, along with writing prompts from spiral writing method by Lynda Barry. Tapping into our own stories is an important part of confronting RBF.

Collective Reflective Space

Tuesday, April 25, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

The third session will draw upon an Indigenous form for creation, connection, healing and expansion of our teachings. We will utilize a talking circle format to help consider our experiences, stories, and reflections on our journey to address Racial Battle Fatigue in ourselves. We will also use an arts-based project as another form of Indigenous expression for wellness and healing.

Language Inclusivity at UWGB: Reflecting on Our Practices and Policies to Serve Language-rich Students (Feb. 24, Mar. 3, Mar. 31, & Apr. 12, 2023)

What language practices do your students bring to our UWGB community? How do you value and sustain those language practices in your classrooms and other interactions with students? Join Dr. Cory Mathieu, 2022-23 EDI Consultant, and Edith Mendez, undergraduate student in Education, in a workshop series to prompt UWGB faculty and staff to engage in these questions to begin to cultivate a culture of language inclusivity across our campus. Each workshop is tailored to one of the four UWGB colleges with examples and recommendations that are responsive to the needs of various academic and professional fields. Workshops will be interactive, reflective, and in-person.

Save the date for your college!

  • CHESW: Friday, February 24, 12 – 1 p.m., Wood Hall 303
  • CAHSS: Friday, March 3, 12 – 1 p.m., MAC Hall 210
  • CSET: Friday, March 31, 12 – 1 p.m., STEM Innovation Center 136, 137, & 138
  • CSB: Wednesday, April 12, 12 – 1 p.m., Wood Hall 202

If you need an accommodation for any of the sessions, please contact CATL@uwgb.edu.