Conference Announcement Sept. 30 to Oct. 2
The TLT Group and EASI presents:
The EASI
Regional Workshop
EASI
Equal Access to Software and Information
September 30 - October 2nd, 1999
Students with Disabilities:
Empower them by Enabling Access to Computer and Information
Technologies
Hosted by
OAKLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Oakland Community College Community College
Orchard Ridge Campus
Farmington Hills, Michigan
What is EASI's mission?
EASI's mission is to empower people with disabilities by
providing them with effective, usable information about
adaptive computing technology and information access. This
is a rapidly evolving field, and having new and updated
information about technology has become a critical
requirement for people with disabilities. EASI is not about
technology, it is about people - and how to help the
greatest number of people achieve their goals through
technology.
What is TLT's Mission?
The TLT Group's mission is to motivate and enable
institutions and individuals to improve teaching and
learning with technology, while helping them cope with
continual change.
How can you register a team?
There are several ways to register for this workshop:
Register ($275) on-line at the TLT website www.tltgroup.org
Fax (541-346-3545) or (541-346-3509), or mail the
registration form to:
1999 EASI Workshop OCC
1277 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1277
Contact Conference Services at 800-280-6218
Whom should you send?
In the past, meeting the needs of students with disabilities
was usually assigned to either to computer support services
or to disabled student services. Today's decentralized
computing systems means computers are spread across the
campus and are increasingly part of most college courses.
Support for the computer needs of these students must also
be campus wide.
We know from experience that it takes a strong collaborative
effort to initiate change, so we encourage you to send a
team of individuals to the EASI Regional workshop. By
sending at least two individuals, you will greatly enhance
your institution's ability to move from plan to action once
back at your home institution. This could include people
such as:
instructional technology staff administrators
computer support staff librarians
disabled student services staff faculty
adaptive technologists chief information officer
learning development personnel
Although we encourage teams, it is ok to send one person to
represent your campus.
Who will present?
Norman Coombs, Ph.D. is professor emeritus from the
Rochester Institute of Technology where he taught history
for 36 years. He pioneered RIT's distance learning program
and was given Zenith's "Master of innovation" award for his
uses of distance learning to mainstream students with
disabilities and also was chosen as New York State "Teacher
of the Year" award in 1990 for using computers in teaching.
He has been the Chair of EASI (Equal Access to Software and
information) since 1993. EASI has been awarded two grants by
the National Science Foundation to collect and disseminate
information on providing access to the fields of science and
math for students and professionals with disabilities.
What is an EASI Regional Workshop
STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONALS WITH DISABILITIES
HAVE THE SAME RIGHT TO ACCESS INFORMATION AS ANYONE ELSE.
An EASI workshop provides your institution with the
opportunity to learn about adaptive hardware and software
that will empower your students with disabilities to access
computer and information technologies. These tools will
provide them with a level playing field that will permit
their full participation in your school's educational
programs. Integrating these technologies into the experience
of students with disabilities will require the cooperation
of technologists, librarians, faculty, disabled student
service providers and administrators This seamless approach
is consistent with the mandates of the Americans with
Disabilities
The program will combine both information sessions,
content-based presentations and small working groups that
will help you take general information and adapt it to the
unique circumstances of your campus. Information sessions
will cover the nature of disabilities, types of adaptive
computing technology, benefits of integrating these
technologies on your campus, impact on teaching and learning
and creating accessible web based materials. These
presentations will show how providing these special
adaptations will facilitate different learning styles and
enrich the educational environment for everyone.
Small working groups will enable you to analyze the present
situation on your campus and compare with other schools.
Groups will create a vision of what adaptive technology
service would be appropriate to provide fur their student
needs. Campus teams will create an action plan to bring back
to their institution.
Oakland Community College is an institution of higher
education committed to using technology to provide academic
excellence and accessibility for all.
For almost a decade, the TLT Group has supported EASI as
they compile and distribute information about the critical
issues surrounding adapted technology and information
access.
EASI programs demonstrate how this adapted technology
provides worlds of opportunity for users with disabilities.
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