EASI Free Webinar: A Model for Accessible LMS Discussion Boards Monday June 3: 11 Pacific, noon Mountain, 1 Central and 2 PM Eastern Presenters: 1. Hadi Rangin, Information Technology Accessibility & Collaboration coordinator Disability Resources & Educational Services University of Illinois 2. Michael McKelvey: Coordinator of Engagement Technology & New Media, Office for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education, College of Education, University of Illinois Despite significant improvement in overall accessibility of various Learning Management Systems in the past years, we have noted little or no noticeable progress in the accessibility of the discussion board/forum. A discussion forum remains one of the most complicated and difficult tools for learners with disabilities to use effectively. In response, we decided to create a rough prototype of a more accessible discussion forum, one that draws on our experience and knowledge as accessibility and instructional technology/design specialists, and uses our collective understanding of how various LMS systems have approached this component. Our suggested design attempts to provide solutions for many of the perennial, cumbersome accessibility/usability issues that affect LMS discussion forums. Perhaps the most important of these solutions addresses their most fundamental function of organizing and grouping forums, topics, threads, and messages in such a way that all users, including assistive technology users, can easily identify a desired object/location, navigate to it, and interact effectively with it. Register now for the Webinar on this ground-breaking model accessible discussion board Monday is ALMOST here!! <http://easi.cc/clinic.htm/#june>http://easi.cc/clinic.htm/#june . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . It's never too late to become what you might have been. George Eliot Once you choose hope, anything's possible. Christopher Reeve Norman Coombs [log in to unmask] Making Online Teaching Accessible: Inclusive Course Design for Students with Disabilities by Norman Coombs published by Jossey-Bass Oct 10,2010 http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470499044.html