EASI's Online Course: Barrier-free E-learning Starts Feb. 3 for a Month.
Registration and a syllabus are at: http://easi.cc/workshops/bfel.htm
There is also a link to a lesson sample.

 Course Instructor
 Norman Coombs, Ph.D.
CEO EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information)

The course is taught over the Internet using both e-mail and the Web.  All
lessons are asynchronous meaning no one has to be connected at any specific
time.  Learn from anywhere and at any time.

Everyone who completes the course will receive an EASI certificate of
 completion. Those requesting it will receive 3 continuing education units
 for doing the course work.. Finally, this course is an optional course for
 those working for the EASI/USM Certificate In accessible Information
 Technology.

 Course Description

 University, business and public schools all are adopting one or more forms
 of distance learning type technologies for delivering education and
 training. Sometimes this actual distance learning and sometimes it is part
 of campus courses. It is simultaneously praised and roundly condemned. In
 any case, it is sweeping across America and into other countries. One of
 the results of the rapidity of this explosive growth is that little
 attention has been paid to making these technologies accessible to people
 with various disabilities. Modern adaptive computer technology has the
 potential to make these technologies more accessible to such students than
 any previous form of education. However, the wrong technology choices mayy
 erect new and needless barriers to the full inclusion of these students in
 their ability to use of e-learning systems.
 The information in Barrier-free E-learning will be useful for
 administrators, instructional technology staff, instructional design staff
 and for any faculty who post content for their courses whether those are
 distance learning courses or merely online components of tradtional campus
 classes. Every participant will complete a course project that will have
 practical use at their institution. This will be a PowerPoint presentation
 aimed at some relevant group on their campus who could benefit from some
 portion of this course content. Participants will leave the course with a
 practical tool to assist them in influencing the accessibility of
 e-learning where they work. They will also receive a comprehensive
 handbook on accessible e-learning that they can share with colleagues.

 This month-long course will be taught by Professor Norman Coombs, a leader
 in e-learning for more than a decade, winner of Zenith's Master of
 Innovation award and New York State's CASE Teacher of the Year award in
 1990 both for his work in the use of this technology in innovative ways to
 provide an inclusive educational setting. Coombs estimates that he has
 taught some 4,000 students in more than 40 countries.

The course includes new material on the accessibility features of
courseware systems including WebCT, E-College and Blackboard.

 Course lessons and Assignments
 Lesson 1 Introduction
 Part 1 Types of E-learning technologies
 Part 2 Advantages and disadvantages of e-learning for students with
 disabilities
 Part 3 Disability-related legislation and e-learning
 Lesson 2 Adaptive technology interfaces
 Part 1 Alternative output technologies
 Part 2 Alternative input technologies
 Part 3 Interfacing adaptive technology and courseware
 Lesson 3 accessible web design
 Part 1 Web Access Initiative guidelines
 Part 2 Section 508 standards
 Part 3 Good web design is half of accessible design
 Lesson 4 Guest presenters share experiences and information
 Part 1 Presentations from several e-learning programs
 Part 2 Presentations by developers of existing e-learning guidelines
 Part 3 Presentations by designers of e-learning systems
 Lesson 5 Tips for faculty and content providers
 Part 1 Coombs ten tips for e-learning
 Part 2 Designing content to increase accessibility for all
 Part 3 Good teaching and clear communication is half of accessibility
 Lesson 6 accessible Internet Multimedia (audio, video, PowerPoint and
more)
 Part 1 Using media redundantly
 Part 2 SMIL! you're on the Internet (providing captions)
 Part 3 When to outsource captioning and transcribing activities
 Lesson 7 Beyond the online delivery of e-learning
 Part 1 Access for blind users to drawings, diagrams and charts
 Part 2 Access for blind users to technical texts
 Part 3 When to outsource technical text and graphic production
 Lesson 8 System-wide planning and designing for access
 Part 1 Campus-wide responsibility
 Part 2 Writing a campus accessibility policy
 Part 3 Developing a systematic funding plan
 Part 4 Networking on and off campus

 EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information) is a non-profit
 organization, and our mission is to make information technologies more
 accessible to users with disabilities.


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EASI February Courses:
Barrier         -free E-learning
Accessible Internet Multimedia
http://easi.cc/workshop.htm


                Norman Coombs, Ph.D.
CEO EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information)
http://www.rit.edu/~easi
http://easi-elearn.org