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                           CALL FOR ARTICLES
on PROMISING PRACTICES on Accessible Information Technology in Education
             for Information Technology and Disabilities
                           -----------------

A special issue of the Information Technology and Disabilities (ITD)
journal for Spring, 2005, will feature promising practices in promoting,
developing, procuring and using accessible information technology in
education. Consider submitting an article if you have a practice to share
in this arena and an indication of its success. The final product will be
a guidebook that can be used by practitioners, both those who work with
individuals with disabilities and those who work with technology in the
mainstream.

TOPICS
We are hoping to include representation from around the country as well
as from different levels of education (e.g., k-12 schools, technical
training, higher education), types of instruction (e.g., on-site,
web-based), and issues addressed (e.g., technical challenges, procurement
policies and practices, training and support).

Articles should describe practices that have been proven with rigorous
research or that have at least informal data (surveys, anecdotal
evidence, indicators that suggest institutional change) to suggest they
have been successful.

Listed below are descriptions of practices that would be appropriate for this
issue:
-A K-12 school district implements practices in support of a newly
adopted state policy that requires websites to meet accessibility
standards.
-A high school technology teacher incorporates accessibility issues into
her curriculum for teaching web design to high school students.
-A distance learning program implements a new policy on accessibility
that includes training, support documentation, and follow-up support.
-A college undertakes a competition for developing accessible websites
for nonprofit organizations.
-A school district implements accessibility as a requirement in the
procurement of all technology.

FORMAT
In order to make the practices documented in this issue of most use to
practitioners, we suggest that authors use a relatively consistent format:

Abstract
A short (100 words) paragraph about the practice and its results.

Introduction
What do we know from previous practices and the published literature
about the issue(s) addressed in this practice?

Background of the Institution
What are the characteristics of the institution in which this practice
was implemented?

Description of the Problem
What problem was addressed by this practice?

Description of the Practice
When was the new practice implemented? What steps were taken to
implement the practice?

Evaluation of the Practice
What indications are there that the practice was successful in reaching
its goal?

Lessons Learned
What was learned in this process that can benefit others who would like
to implement a similar practice in their institutions?

Conclusion
A summary of the practice and what was learned.

SUBMISSION
This special issue of ITD will be an easy-to-read practical guide of
promising practices that can be applied by others in the field. If you
have something to share that could benefit others as they attempt to make
information technology more accessible to individuals with disabilities
and you have indicators of its success, we encourage you to submit a
promising practice for this issue of ITD.

Authors considering contributions to this issue should send abstracts of
proposed articles to the guest editor, Sheryl Burgtahler, at
[log in to unmask] by November 15, 2004. A draft of the full article
must be submitted by January 30, 2005. All articles published in ITD are
peer reviewed, and are subject to possible rejection or revision based
upon peer reviewer comments. Authors will be given an opportunity to
update and revise their articles based upon peer review comments before
final publication. ITD general publication guidelines are available at
http://www.rit.edu/~easi/itd/guidelines.htm

GUEST EDITOR CONTACT INFORMATION
Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D.
Director, DO-IT, AccessSTEM, & UW Accessible Technology Services;
Co-Director, AccessIT
Computing & Communications
University of Washington, Box 355670
Seattle, WA 98195
206-543-0622          FAX 206-221-4171
http://staff.washington.edu/sherylb
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