To celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the Library is presenting an online panel event discussing how the latest in cutting-edge AI-assisted technology is being used in teaching.
Date: Thursday 19 May 2022
Time: 10-11am
Thursday, 19 May 2022 is the 11th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). The purpose of the day is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion.
Access, inclusion and diversity are core values of the University of Sydney Library, and we’re pleased to be presenting a panel event to showcase the development and application of a pioneering voice avatar and how is it being used in classrooms. The event will feature the experiences of Associate Professor Anna Boucher and how she sourced and implemented this AI-assisted technology in her teaching. Hosted by Professor Adam Bridgeman, Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education, the panel will also share the experiences of other lecturers and discuss accessibility driven innovations and how they will benefit both staff and students with different needs.
Please register for the event via the link below. The event will be a Zoom webinar and live captioning. For any questions or accessibility assistance for this event, please email admin.library@sydney.edu.au.
Panel speakers and topics
Panel Host: Professor Adam Bridgeman | Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education
Professor Adam Bridgeman has dedicated his career to enhancing student learning and the student experience and has led the University to implement a range of digital tools and innovations to make classrooms more accessible and inclusive. As panel host, Adam will share his long experience with digital accessibility, knowledge of recent developments and consider what the future focus should be to expand our digital accessibility.
Associate Professor Anna Boucher | Associate Professor in Public Policy and Comparative Politics
Associate Professor Anna Boucher lives with a voice disability that can make it hard to lecture for long periods of time. She has spent many years looking for creative solutions and new technologies to manage the pain and continues to lecture on politics. Anna now works with a voice avatar and will discuss how accessibility is driving innovation, the challenges of finding the right technology, and how staff and students can benefit from other similar technologies. Although making new things possible and breaking down some barriers, technology is only part of the solution and is most effective with other supports.
Jason Markou | Digital Accessibility Lead, Information Communication and Technology
Jason will talk about how he supported Anna in finding and setting up the avatar, liaising with the company that created the software and what it takes to build and implement this kind of technology.
Dr Emma Carberry | Lecturer, School of Mathematics and Physics
Dr Emma Carberry has over 20 years of experience using assistive technology in her teaching. Emma will share her experiences of the challenges and advantages of doing things differently, and explore how technology has been crucial, but is only successful alongside an openness to new ways and appropriate support.
Dr Alix Thoeming | Lecturer, Education Innovation
Alix will discuss the wider implications and possibilities for Anna’s avatar and offer suggestions for anyone looking to implement similarly innovative technology in their teaching practice.