EASI is the premiere provider of online training on accessible information
technology.

Feb 4 marks the start of 2 online month-long training courses on accessible
web design.

EASI is introducing a new Internet voice chat feature as an added component
to its delivery.  This enables participants to talk in real time to their
class mates from across the country or across the world.  The course
content is on the web, and the lively, interactive e-mail discussions
between teacher and participants uses a listserv discussion.

      Beginners Barrier-free Web Design course
      This month-long course, given bimonthly, is designed to demonstrate
how to
      create web pages that are both visually appealing to all users and
fully
      accessible to users with print disabilities. The class does not teach
HTML
      as such but focuses on web design features relevant for
accessibility. It
      is ideal for designers who are not advanced web experts, for
      administrators wanting to understand web accessibility issues, for
      faculty, disabled student services staff, librarians and instructional
      technology staff. The course is based on the Section 508 standards
and on
      the work of the Web Accessibility Initiative. (This course is
required for
      the EASI/USM certificate.)
Register online http://easi.cc/workshops/easiweb.htm


      Advanced Barrier-free Web Design course
      The complexity of the Web has dictated the need for an advanced Web
course
      that addresses new design intricacies. Advancements in Web technologies
      can close the door for many users with disabilities, but in most cases,
      this situation is not necessary. This is an eight lesson course that
goes
      beyond dealing with graphics, tables, frames and the common access
      features. Advanced features like media, captioning, java applets and
other
      popular sophisticated tools will be addressed. This is ideal for
      experienced web designers with knowledge of HTML, for computer staff,
for
      information technology staff, for instructional staff. (This course is
      optional for the EASI/USM certificate.)
Register online http://easi.cc/workshops/advwbsyl.htm

Three continuing education units are available for each course.  Anyone
taking five courses will earn the Certificate in Accessible Information
Technology provided by EASI in conjunction with the University of Southern
Maine.

Norman Coombs