PBS Adult Learning Service and DALLAS TeleLearning present a live,
interactive, satellite teleconference

CRITICAL CHALLENGES IN DISTANCE EDUCATION:
A.D.A. ISSUES AND REQUIREMENTS
October 17, 2002 - 2:30-4pm ET

Program description
In Chinese, the word "challenge" is a combination of the symbols for
"danger" and "opportunity." Making courseware accessible for disabled
students is one of the challenges colleges and universities must confront
in serving students at a distance.
DANGER: A.D.A. requirements and related federal statutes apply to distance
learning. As of last year, federal laws regarding accessibility for
students using electronic and information technology are more stringent. As
the Chronicle of Higher Education has stated, institutions understand they
need to "include the virtual equivalents of wheelchair ramps when building
their online classrooms." Even though most institutions do not know how to
get started building those "ramps," it is a mistake to wait until a
disabled student enrolls to begin. And, it is not enough to provide
accessibility: the learning experience disabled students get must be
equivalent in quality to that received by other students.
OPPORTUNITY: Making distance learning courses accessible to the largest
number of people is the right thing to do. Understanding what the law
really means gives institutions more options in satisfying the requirements
of A.D.A. and related laws. Although it is not possible to design every
feature of every course to be accessible for all persons, regardless of
their physical or learning disabilities, there are course designs and
adaptations that can increase access and make courses work better for more
students. The concept of universal design can be used to make courseware
effective for more people regardless of their limitations. In addition,
courses that are designed to be more accessible generally work better for
all students, disabled or not.

Benefits:  What Attendees Will Learn
"       What the law does, and does not, require
"       How good course design and some low- or no-cost solutions can increase
access,
while decreasing the need for adaptive technologies in new courseware
"       What is involved in retro-fitting existing course materials
"       Basic information on adaptive technologies
"       Resources available to those designing courses with accessibility in mind

Panelist Biographies
Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D. directs project DO-IT (Disabilities,
Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology) at the University of
Washington. DO-IT promotes the success of students with disabilities in
postsecondary programs and careers, using technology as an empowering
tool. She is also Co-Director of AccessIT (the National Center on
Accessible Information Technology in Education), which serves to increase
the access of individuals with disabilities to information technology in
educational institutions at all academic levels nationwide. She has
published many articles and delivered presentations on the full inclusion
of individuals with disabilities in postsecondary education and distance
learning.

Norman Coombs, Ph.D., is professor emeritus at the Rochester Institute of
Technology, where he continues to teach distance learning courses in
history. He is also CEO of EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information),
which helps colleges, libraries and other institutions use adaptive
technology to make their computer and information systems fully accessible
to people with disabilities. Coombs, who is blind, actively consults with
universities, libraries and other institutions, has directed three National
Science Foundation grants, and makes presentations and publishes on the
topics of distance learning, access and adaptive technologies.

Salome Heyward, J. D., is a civil rights attorney with more than 20 years
experience in the field of disability discrimination law and disability
management. A well-known speaker and trainer, she has been a featured
presenter for organizations such as the Association of Higher Education and
Disability (AHEAD) and the International Learning Disabilities Association.
She is the author of Graduate Schools and the ADA and Higher Education and
Disability, as well as numerous articles. She is also frequently sought out
to provide legal background for news media such as The New York Times,
NBC-TV, and the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Cyndi Rowland, Ph.D., is the director of Keeping Web Accessibility in Mind
(WebAIM), which works to mitigate the enormous problems of inaccessible Web
sites in postsecondary settings (www.webaim.org). For several years, Dr.
Rowland has conducted Web accessibility research and worked on Web
accessibility efforts for those with disabilities, and is a frequent
speaker and author on these topics. WebAIM is housed at the Center for
Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University. Dr. Rowland also
directs other technology projects at the Center, and is the director of a
distance education program which prepares teachers in rural areas of Utah
for certification in early childhood special education.


Valuable post-broadcast interactive opportunity!
DALLAS Teleconferences has secured a commitment from ADA specialists at
Blackboard, WebCT, and eCollege, respectively, to be available via email
for one week following our October 17, 2002 teleconference for any
platform-specific questions viewers might have.

For more information or to license online: http://www.pbs.org/als/live


Questions?  Call 1-800-257-2578 or email [log in to unmask]

Check out EASI's online courses on accessibility:
Oct. 7 web design and Nov. Barrier-free E-learning
http://easi.cc/workshop.htm