Symposium video archives

Inclusive learning practices have been given well-deserved increased attention in recent years. But, there are different and additional considerations to ensure an inclusive environment in online learning. In fact, inclusive teaching practices may be particularly critical to utilize in distance education because of the demographics, differing instructional needs, and unique challenges present for online learners.

Fortunately, many distance education practitioners and researchers have realized this and good online practices are often synonymous with inclusive practices. We have compiled these practices into a toolkit to provide designers and instructors of distance education applicable ideas they can immediately use. The toolkit encompasses five main areas of consideration for distance education: design, teaching approaches, discussion, assessment, and interactions.

Each area includes subtopics with specific tips for inclusive practices as well as additional resources. During this session, the presenters will discuss how this toolkit was developed and show how it can be used by distance educators to improve their own inclusive teaching practices. Participants will have the opportunity to practice using the toolkit.

This session will cover how to make PowerPoint presentations inclusive using accessible templates, slide layouts, and unique slide titles. Additional topics include color contrast, reading order, alternative (alt) text for images, audio quality, video recommendations, and electronic handouts.

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Recent national data shows approximately 40% of college students experience food insecurity, and nearly 20% experience homelessness. At CSU, data shows 58% of our students experience food insecurity, housing insecurity, and/or homelessness.

Hosted by an inter-departmental working group, this one-hour Basic Needs Seminar will explore the data and examine resources being offered on campus and in our community. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of CSU’s current support systems in addressing basic needs, and their input will be invited as we imagine and co-create CSU’s best response to this issue.

Colorado State University’s The Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) chapter is an inclusive group of BIPOC students and professionals in the sciences dedicated to fostering community and success.

Students have expressed that they often seek and prioritize mentors who share some aspect of identity, whether it is an overlap in research interests or an overlap through racial or gender identity. However, there is a false narrative that BIPOC students who do not share an identity with their mentor will not be as successful and that these mentors are unable to advise them. This expectation may lead to overwhelming expectations for both mentors and mentees, which may affect student retention in the sciences.

SACNAS CSU will discuss aspects of how both mentors and mentees can take the initiative to have honest, successful, effective communication between individuals, regardless of identity. Broad topics that will be covered include building communication skills, self-identity, imposter syndrome, and the challenges with mentorship.

The protests in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder called for the reexamination of the relationship between schools and law enforcement. This presentation discusses the efforts of a diverse group of community activists in Fort Collins to end the contract between the local school district and law enforcement.

The presenters are activist-scholars at CSU and members of the School Justice PSD coalition. Their work combines academic research, the experiences of students, and lobbying efforts by students, parents, and community members. This case study will describe the steps that bring all of these elements together into action.