Fourteen SVRTC divisions were in attendance at the January 18th, 2017 meeting, including: Amelia, Appomattox, Buckingham, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Franklin City, Hopewell, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Pittsylvania, Prince Edward, Prince George, and Sussex. SVRTC members had previously expressed interest in learning more about website accessibility and compliance standards. The consortium invited the company, Siteimprove, to present.
Patrick Mengelkoch, Account Executive and Keith Bundy, Digital Accessibility Consultant and Trainer for Siteimprove treated members to a presentation on how to make school websites more accessible by creating an online environment in which all users, not just those with disabilities, navigate a website. Mr. Bundy, with his guide dog by his side, gave an excellent demonstration on how a blind person maneuvers through a typical website using a screen reader. Mr. Bundy and Mr. Mengelkoch gave an introduction into website accessibility. Mr. Mengelkoch discussed steps on how to become optical character recognition/reader (OCR) compliant. Members can view the presentation here.