What is a community of practice (CoP)?

A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who "share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly".[1]

At UCSF, we deliberately created them with the goal of gaining knowledge related to a specific field. By sharing information and experiences, we can learn from each other, and sharpen your accessibility skills.

As you get comfortable, join one event where you can ask questions and start conversations. You can pay it forward by sharing accessibility tricks, tips, and strategies that have become part of your common practice at UCSF.

Here are some resources that we think would be helpful. If you have some to share, please contact [email protected].

Events

Two monthly events to sharpen your skills and meet working on accessibility:

• Digital Accessibility Office Hours
• Testing Website with Users with Disabilities

See our training page for events and recommended curriculum.

UCSF communications

We have multiple UCSF O365 Teams channels. If you click these links, you can open them in the Teams desktop or web app.

• Staff DEI Initiatives Collaborators
• Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA)
• Communicators Network
• IT Forum - Drupal Channel
• WIT@UCSF (Women in Tech)

Other ways we communicate is via UCSF Health Managers Weekly, IT News articles and the UCSF Drupal Users listserv.  

University of California system-wide communications

• UC Tech Slack Workspace Channels
  • #accessibility
  • #siteimprove
• UC email list ([email protected]). Join by sending a request to InfoHelp.

External communities

• ATHEN (Access Technology in Higher Education Network)
  ATHEN Mailing List, hosted by the University of Washington
• WebAIM
  Email Discussion List
• Siteimprove Community
  Message Boards (requires separate password)
• LinkedIn Learning – Learning Groups
  i.e. “Web Development Learning Group”