As we prepare for Winter 2026, we need to update the campus on our transition from Panopto to YuJa as UMBC's new video capture and hosting platform. While you can begin using YuJa for recording and hosting video content now (via Blackboard or your myUMBC login at umbc.edu/go/yuja), the bulk migration of all UMBC content from Panopto to Yuja will likely not be ready for the start of Winter 2026 classes. We expect it to be completed in mid-January. 

First and foremost, I want to apologize to faculty for the angst this may cause in preparing for Winter or Spring 26 courses. We know the timing of this transition – and now this delay – is challenging. However, I want to keep you informed of a change we're making as a result: 

Access to Panopto Inside Blackboard

• The Panopto tool/link inside Blackboard will remain enabled until our license ends on March 23, 2026. Originally, DoIT announced it would be disabled on December 22nd, in part so as to not confuse faculty about which tool to use afterward (Panopto vs. Yuja).
• However, DoIT strongly recommends that faculty only use this tool for linking to existing Panopto videos and only creating new videos or editing existing ones in Yuja.

• Also, if you grade embedded quizzes with Panopto, the grade may disappear when our license ends after Spring Break. We are investigating this, but recommend that faculty download their Spring 26 Panopto grades to date beforehand. 

• Faculty and staff with small video collections (especially those without complex edits or quizzes) can self-migrate their own content at any time. It is not required or difficult, but it may be helpful to ensure your content is available for winter classes.

Campus Migration of All Panopto Content

Panopto is allowing for a free, one-time bulk migration of all existing video content to YuJa.

• Migration Timeline: The process began in late November, and we estimate it will conclude around mid January, allowing for the holiday break and technical delays. 

• Phase 1 (Panopto Export): Compiling a list of videos to migrate including associated metadata (titles, captions, edits, quizzes). 

• Phase 2 (YuJa Import): Importing and processing video content. Once YuJa has the list of videos from Panopto, we will notify the campus that import has started. 

• Access During Migration: You do NOT need to wait for the entire migration to finish. If you self-migrate before the bulk migration (Phase 1) begins, your imported Panopto content will simply be duplicated in your YuJa Media Management page. 

IMPORTANT: If you choose to create new videos in Panopto during or after the bulk migration, you will need to move your media to YuJa once the media is restored, and before our Panopto license expires, as there will not be a second bulk migration.

When Will Panopto Access End?

• Blackboard and myUMBC Access will end March 23, 2026 to download and move any remaining video content.

• Final Decommission: UMBC's contract with Panopto ends on March 25, 2026.

Training and Support

Instructional Technology is offering workshops and labs to help you get started with YuJa. Please review our upcoming schedule on myUMBC to register for an event.

• Log into YuJa: umbc.edu/go/yuja

• Review Documentation/FAQs:umbc.edu/go/yujafaqs

• Submit a Request Tracker (RT) support ticket: help.umbc.edu

Again, I want to acknowledge the challenge this transition has caused, but also thank you for patience as we work to complete it. If you have any questions or concerns not addressed above, please let me know.

Sincerely,

John Fritz, Ph.D.
Assoc. Vice President, Instructional Technology
Division of Information Technology (DoIT)

As UMBC continues strengthening digital accessibility across teaching and learning, many faculty have already taken steps to reduce, remake, and remediate existing documents, videos, and course resources. However, the most sustainable opportunity to support digital accessibility is to design new materials that are born accessible from the start, or "created in a way that allows people with disabilities to read content from the get-go, without retrofitting or reengineering (Benetech, 2017). 

Here are five practical strategies to help you create accessible course materials from day one.

1. Start with Structure, Not Style

Clear structure is the backbone of accessibility. Using built-in features in available platforms, such as headings, lists, paragraph styles, and slide layouts, allows screen readers and assistive technologies to interpret content correctly, in the exact order you intended it to be presented. These tools include Office 365, Google Workspace, Blackboard, and Sites.

Try this:

• Apply Heading styles in hierarchical order instead of manually adjusting font size to create sections.
• Use real bullet or numbered lists rather than typed dashes or tabbed text to organize content.
• When creating presentations, choose provided slide layouts instead of drawing your own text boxes.

Good structure ensures your documents and slides remain accessible no matter how they are exported or shared.

2. Use Meaningful Text Alternatives for Images

Images, charts, infographics, and icons must communicate their purpose to students who cannot perceive visual information. Alt text should describe meaning, not appearance.

Ask yourself:Why is this image here? What should students learn from it?

• For simple images, include 1-2 concise sentences of functional alt text. 
• For complex charts or diagrams, offer a short summary in the text and provide a longer description nearby (such as a caption) or as an optional linked resource. 
• If an image is decorative, mark it as decorative so assistive technologies skip it. Just don't use the decorative tag to avoid describing an image because that's not fair to students who need the information.

Intentional text alternatives reduce barriers and improve clarity for all learners. It not only ensures we meet ADA requirements, but it's just good communication.

3. Choose Accessible File Formats and Templates

The formats you choose can open doors -- or accidentally close them.

• Create content directly in Blackboard Ultra. Leverage the formatting tools in Ultra Documents and the rich text editor in Announcements, Tests, Assignments, and Discussions. Ultra is accessible by design so it's really hard to create inaccessible content!
• Create with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, HTML, or Google Docs as native content when possible; these formats support accessibility features more reliably than PDFs. It's also far easier to fix the original file than retrofit a PDF.
• If you must create a PDF, generate it from a structured, accessible source file rather than scanning or exporting flattened text.
• Consider using UMBC-approved accessible templates for syllabi, slides, and course documents.

Starting with the right format reduces the need for time-consuming repairs later when evaluating your documents using the 3-R framework.

4. Ensure Your Multimedia Works for Every Learner

Accessible multimedia goes beyond checking the "captions" box.

• Use captions for all videos. Automated captions are improving, but always review for accuracy and make corrections to avoid egregious errors in spelling and content.
• Provide transcripts when appropriate, especially for audio-only materials or longer lectures.
• Consider brief audio descriptions if essential visual information is not spoken aloud.

Tools like YuJa and Blackboard's updated video recorder for announcements and grading feedback make captioning easier than ever, and UMBC's accessibility resources can guide you through quality checks.

5. Build Courses with Flexibility and Clarity in Mind

Born-accessible materials align naturally with Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

• Offer multiple ways for students to access information (text, visuals, short video explanations).
• Use descriptive link text such as "Download the syllabus (PDF)" rather than "Click here."
• Keep navigation predictable with consistent module structures and clearly labeled activities.

These practices help all students -- whether they use assistive technologies, learn in non-traditional environments, or simply benefit from clearer design. Doing so not only supports UMBC's commitment to equitable learning under updated federal accessibility requirements, but also saves time, reduces future remediation, and improves the learning experience for every student.

Ready to take the first step? Visit UMBC's Digital Accessibility site or run an Ally course report today. Support is also available from Student Disability Services and Instructional Technology.

Video can be one of the most effective teaching tools you use, especially when every student can access the content. Captions and audio descriptions boost clarity, reinforce key ideas, and creative flexible learning pathways that benefit all learners. Compliance with the revised technical standards for the Americans with Disabilities Act is an added advantage, but the primary payoff is student success. And because these practices can fit naturally into your existing video recording workflows, even small improvements can make a meaningful difference in how students engage with your course.

Here are three practical ways you can make your videos more accessible using tools and workflows you already have.

1. Start with captions because everyone benefits!

Captions help students who are deaf or hard of hearing -- and they also help the students riding the bus, in the library, at work, or while a toddler naps across the room. Research shows:

• 80% of adults are more likely to finish a video with captions (Publicis Media, 2019)
• Most Gen Z students watch video in public -- 70% use captions when they are available (Mykhalevych, 2024)
• 75% of students use captioned videos as study aids (Linder, 2016)

Captions are universal design in action. Therefore, always make sure your videos minimally have captions available in the language that is spoken.

2. Always review and edit auto-captions

Sometimes accessibility is the difference between dinner and disaster. Here's an example from the Web Accessibility Initiative that shows how auto-captions can fail students. In one clip, the presenter said, "Broil on high for four to five minutes." But the auto-caption read, "Broil on high for 45 minutes."

One quick edit can completely change meaning. Auto-captions will eventually improve and advancements in AI and audio technology will help strengthen the quality and reliability. For now, it's important to review those auto-captions!

3. Add audio descriptions when visuals carry meaning

Captions make sound visible. Audio descriptions make visuals audible. If students need to see something to understand your content, such as a graph, a diagram, or a demonstration, that information must be spoken aloud with a description. Without audio description, when you say "As you can see here…" it does not provide clear enough information for someone who cannot see the graph. With audio description, one could say, "The line graph shows three trends over 20 years. The blue line increases from 10 to 45." 

In other words: if you closed your eyes and listened to your video, would you still learn something without seeing the content? If not, add the audio description. Accessible teaching is explicit teaching.

Accessible video matters. It takes about 15 minutes to fix captions for a 10-minute video and 30-45 minutes to add audio descriptions. Our new video platform, YuJa, allows you to generate auto-captions and edit them, and you can upload an audio description to publish a fully accessible video for your students. However, if you feel overwhelmed, start small. One video. One hour. That's it. The impact it has will not only meet legal requirements, but will also benefit 100 percent of all learners. 

Ready to take the first step? Visit UMBC's Digital Accessibility site or run an Ally course report today. Support is also available from Student Disability Services and Instructional Technology.

When it comes to improving digital accessibility, documents and PDFs are often the biggest barrier -- and the biggest opportunity. Whether you're uploading files to Blackboard, sharing materials with students, or distributing resources across campus, the accessibility of your documents directly affects usability, searchability, and equity.

That's where the Reduce → Remake → Remediate framework comes in. Think of it as a decision tree that helps you choose the right action for each file. Before you jump into fixing a stubborn PDF, start with the step that saves the most time and delivers the greatest impact.

Image 1: This infographic shows an inverted triangle divided into three levels to guide accessibility document fixes. The graphic visually emphasizes prioritizing reduction (top) and rebuilding (middle) over remediation (bottom) when addressing digital accessibility issues.

Here's how to use this approach in your everyday work.

1. Reduce: Remove What No Longer Serves Your Students

Before investing time in editing or remaking an inaccessible file, ask the simplest question: Do I still need this document?

• Has the content been replaced elsewhere in your course?
• Is it redundant with materials already in Blackboard?
• Is it outdated, duplicated, or no longer aligned to your learning goals?

If the answer is "no, I don't need it," the most accessible document is the one that no longer exists. Reducing cuts clutter, improves course navigation, and lowers your remediation workload immediately.

2. Remake: Start Fresh When You Have the Original Source

If the content is still important, your next question should be: Do I have the source file? If you do -- great! Remaking the document is usually the fastest and cleanest path to accessibility.

• Replace scanned PDFs with a properly structured Word or Google doc.
• Rebuild documents that contain inaccessible tables, images without alt text, or outdated formatting.
• Use your original PowerPoint instead of trying to fix a PDF export.

Why this matters: Rebuilt documents contain real headings, lists, reading order, alt text, and searchable text -- making them inherently more accessible (and easier to maintain in the future). Tools like Ally, Acrobat, or Microsoft Word and PowerPoint can validate your work, but starting with a clean source file does most of the heavy lifting.

3. Remediate: Fix Only When You Must

If you don't have the source file, or it cannot be recreated, then remediation is your last resort. Remediation involves correcting accessibility issues inside an existing document or PDF, which can be time-consuming and technically challenging. This may include:

• Adding tags or reading order to untagged PDFs
• Repairing scanned images of text
• Rebuilding inaccessible tables
• Fixing complex layouts or poorly embedded images

This step is sometimes unavoidable, especially for archived materials or documents that cannot be altered due to copyright ownership, accreditation, or historical requirements. But it should never be your first step.

This decision path ensures your time is spent where it creates the most value for students and reduces the long-term burden of maintaining inaccessible materials.

Ready to take the first step? Visit UMBC's Digital Accessibility site or run an Ally course report today. Support is also available from Student Disability Services and Instructional Technology.

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The 3-R Framework was adapted from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.