July 28, 2021

ATHEN Website Update 

  • Out website is currently hosted in a Drupal platform. 

  • We’re moving toward a different hosting option that will allow for more consistent updates related to security and functionality. 

  • We’re switching to Bluehost; Dawn and Krista are in the process of transferring content now. 

  • We’re archiving content that is valuable but no longer relevant. 

  • We are looking for volunteers for partnering with us in this work. 

  • We need an accessible theme and are looking for suggestions. 

  • We’re also in early discussions regarding new or alternative models for our existing listserv. 

ATHEN Annual Meeting 

  • Folks may still be reticent/unable to travel. 

  • The hour-long annual meeting will be hosted online on November 9 at 2 p.m. EST (rather than in-person at AHG). 

  • The idea would be to test out a new hybrid model: 

  • An online annual meeting 

  • An in-person social activity at AHG 

ATHEN Board Nominations 

  • We’re looking for nominations for a new member-at-large and a new vice president. 

AHG Conference Plug 

  • Plan on trying to attend the Accessing Higher Ground (AHG) conference! 

  • Visit accessinghigherground.org for more information. 

  • Proposals are still being considered.  

  • There will be both in-person and virtual sessions. 

Additional Topics 

  • Are we going to be charging for membership renewals this year? 

  • This is currently undecided. 

  • What are folks’ biggest pain points heading into fall term? Is there anything ATHEN can do to alleviate that pain? 

  • Vanessa Garza: Faculty are scanning textbooks so often. Blackboard Ally is flagging this as a major accessibility issue. 

  • RaLynn McGuire: STEM document remediation and audio description are pretty big pain points. 

  • Dawn Hunziker: Perhaps we can bring together several SMEs to share their favorite resources. 

  • Krista Greer: EquatIO is a great tool for STEM conversion. Susan Kelmer published a YouTube video titled Math Textbook Conversion & Accessibility Made Easy. 

  • Christa Miller: EquatIO is free for teachers (with an .edu email). 

  • Jennifer Maxwell: Pandoc is also a great option for STEM conversion.