Virtual Gathering, Real Inclusion with Cait Kirby and Liz Norell

Welcome to Episode 130 of the Think UDL podcast: Virtual Gathering, Real Inclusion with Cait Kirby and Liz Norell. Cait Kirby is the founding Associate Director of the Williams College Center for Teaching, where she primarily engages with faculty around exploring and celebrating teaching practices and opportunities. Cait spends her time tweeting about disability, pedagogy, and games. She enjoys knitting, reading, and making good trouble. Liz Norell is an associate director of instructional support at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Mississippi, where she supports faculty who want to improve their teaching. Liz is also dedicated to spreading greater awareness of neurodivergence in and out of the classroom, reads voraciously, and loves a good road trip.

Drs. Cait Kirby and Liz Norell were two of the organizers of the June 2024 virtual conference Making Change,Taking Space: A Call to Gather (virtually). The first time conference was organized entirely by volunteers primarily in the North American higher education space as a FREE professional development opportunity for anyone around the world who would like to participate in three days of workshops, lighting talks, and structured social gatherings. I was lucky enough to be able to attend this virtual conference and was really impressed with the thoughtful design that the organizers collectively created, so I asked Cait and Liz to join me to discuss those decisions and how it all came about. You’ll also be able to see a lot more information about this virtual gathering in the resources section of the ThinkUDL.org website for this episode and find contact information for the group as well as Cait and Liz, who are only two of the many volunteers who put together this exceptionally well-designed, inclusive, thoughtfully paced and incredibly generative space. In today’s conversation, we will discuss how and why this virtual conference came into being, how and why accessibility was baked into every design and planning choice, what lessons were learned after this inaugural and hopefully annual conference and what is on the horizon for any folks who may have missed out and want to join along in this community. Perhaps you will find some new ideas to put into practice in your spaces that will radically include your learners and/or participants, too.