Jacob just got back from the ATD Core 4 conference in Indianapolis, and Nicole wants to hear all about it. They talk about what went well and what got missed: a LEGO Serious Play session where finding the pieces by touch turned into a lesson about accessibility, a speaker who asked the room whether he could skip the microphone, and how a stage, a missing ramp and standard-height chairs can quietly leave people out.

Then Nicole shares a project where accessibility was saved for the very end, and the two talk about how to move it earlier: clear contract dates, time for a second review, and building accessibly from the start instead of treating it as a final quality check.

Full transcript and episode page: https://www.beyondalttextpod.com

IN THIS EPISODE

0:00 Intro

0:17 Jacob's trip to ATD Core 4 in Indianapolis

2:43 LEGO Serious Play

4:09 Building without seeing the pieces

6:15 How conference organizers can be proactive

7:02 Just use the microphone

8:27 Share your slides before your session

10:04 The stage, the missing ramp and the chairs

12:38 Accessing Higher Ground and sign language interpreters

15:37 When accessibility gets left to the end of a project

19:02 Moving accessibility earlier: contracts and review dates

21:12 Accessible design is a design choice

22:59 Know your tools and share what you learn

24:28 Wrapping up, and what's next

TAKEAWAYS

- Use the microphone, every time. Don't ask the room whether it's okay to skip it; people rarely feel safe saying they need it, and live captions depend on it.

- Share your slides and materials before your session, not after.

- Check the physical space: a ramp to the stage, a clearly marked edge on any riser, and a range of seating, like footrests or adjustable chairs.

- Before you book a venue, ask about accessibility and whether they work with local sign language interpreters.

- Put accessibility dates in the contract: when testing happens, when revisions are due, and time to retest.

- Build accessibly from the start. Alt text and focus order take very little time when you do them as you go.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

- ATD, the Association for Talent Development: https://www.td.org

- Accessing Higher Ground conference: https://www.accessinghigherground.org

- LEGO Serious Play: https://www.lego.com/en-us/themes/serious-play

PEOPLE JACOB MET AT ATD CORE 4

- Moe Ash: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moeash7/

- Betty Dannewitz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ifyouaskbetty/

- Katrina Kennedy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinakennedytraining/

- Bianca Woods: https://www.linkedin.com/in/biancawoods/

YOUR HOSTS

Jacob Wood

Website: https://jacobwood.me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-wood-writer

Nicole L'Etoile

Website: https://www.letoile-education.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoleletoile/

GET IN TOUCH

Have a question, a tip or a story to share? We'd love to hear from you, and we're still looking for a sign-off catchphrase, so send us your ideas.

Visit https://www.beyondalttextpod.com

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Welcome to Beyond Alt Text! In our first episode, Jacob Wood and Nicole L'Etoile share how they each found their way to digital accessibility, and why they started this podcast together.

Jacob talks about growing up with progressive vision loss, losing the ability to do the things he loved, and getting that control back with assistive technology. That led him to make accessible PDFs for tabletop role-playing games, and later to teach learning designers how to build accessible content. Nicole shares a childhood memory of being left out that has stayed with her, her path from schoolteacher and principal to helping adults learn, and why accessibility work can feel lonely. Jacob closes with the story of a street corner in downtown Portland that changed how he thinks about sharing what he knows.

Full transcript and episode page: https://www.beyondalttextpod.com

IN THIS EPISODE

0:00 Intro

0:17 Why we started this podcast

0:41 Jacob's story: vision loss and assistive technology

2:56 Making tabletop role-playing games accessible

3:52 From games to learning design

5:13 What are tabletop games?

6:24 Why agency and control matter

9:13 When people don't seem to care

10:16 Standing up for accessibility on a team

11:40 Nicole's story: being left out

12:49 From teacher and principal to adult learning

13:43 Hidden disabilities, and why the work can feel lonely

14:59 A street corner in downtown Portland

17:26 Choosing to include people

19:01 What this podcast is for

20:57 Coming up next: ATD Core 4

TAKEAWAYS

- Inaccessible content takes away people's control. During onboarding at Wells Fargo, Jacob needed a team lead to read his training courses aloud and click the buttons for him, and he started the job two weeks behind the rest of his group.

- When you create content without thinking about accessibility from the start, you are choosing to exclude the people you aren't thinking about.

- Inaccessible content doesn't only cost companies money. It costs people their dignity.

- You don't need to be the expert. If you know how to do something someone else doesn't, that's something you can share.

- If you're the one person on your team pushing for accessibility, you're not alone. That's who this show is for.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

- NVDA, the free screen reader for Windows: https://www.nvaccess.org

- ZoomText, screen magnification software

- Articulate Storyline and Rise, e-learning authoring tools

YOUR HOSTS

Jacob Wood

Website: https://jacobwood.me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-wood-writer

Nicole L'Etoile

Website: https://www.letoile-education.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoleletoile/

GET IN TOUCH

Have a question, a tip or a story to share? We'd love to hear from you.

Visit https://www.beyondalttextpod.com

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.