Sept. 4 2000.
Provided by EASI a core activity of the TLT Group

Today, more than half of American college courses involve the use of
e-mail, and more than a third use the Internet.  When web pages are
designed using universal design principles, this provides better access to
education for students with disabilities than ever before.  However, if the
wrong design choices are made, these students can be denied an education
altogether.  Besides being a tragedy for these students, colleges and
universities may find themselves on the unpleasant end of an encounter with
the Office of Civil Rights.

(EASI was recognized last month by receiving the Francis Joseph Campbell
award at the American Library Association for its work in helping libraries
make information technology systems more accessible to customers with
disabilities.)

This four-week workshop explains the World Wide Web Consortium's guidelines
for accessible design.  The workshop is taught by instructors experienced
in adaptive computer technology and experienced in distance learning.  It
is taught with e-mail and the web.  It includes the use of some multimedia
requiring you to download the RealPlayer to hear and view material.  (All
media is transcribed.)  It is not a course in HTML, but teaches principles
and features necessary to make your HTML pages accessible.  It focuses on 2
different audiences: web designers who know HTML but want to learn how to
design with access in mind and those who do not design web sites but want
to know how to pursuade web designers that accessibility is possible.  The
workshop uses both text and multimedia to present information.  It permits
your working at your own pace while facilitating interaction with your
fellow participants.  Previous online workshops have reached over 4,000
people in more than 3 dozen countries.

For information on workshop fees or how to register, go to:
http://www.rit.edu/~easi/workshop.htm
(Special rates are available for groups and TLT Roundtables)

You can earn 3 continuing education units from the Rochester Institute of
Technology.

Topics covered include:

Lesson 1. Introduction:
This will include: advantages of the web for people with disabilities;
problems of the web; the law and web access; the WAI (Web Access Initiative

Lesson 2. Dealing with general design principles for accessibility: This
will include: layout for clarity and simplicity; design for rapid
comprehension; and layout for navigation;

Lesson 3. Dealing with graphics and other visual features:
This will include: graphics; pictures; icons; graphical links; use of
colors; and how to provide accessibility for users who are blind, low
vision or have learning disabilities.

Lesson 4. Dealing with audio and the audio portion of video content: This
will include: the need to provide text transcriptions for deaf and
hard-of-hearing; the use of synchronized text with audio and video; and the
use of descriptive video.

Lesson 5. Dealing with W3 style sheets and mark up features:
This will include: cascading style sheets; HTML 4.0 markup features in
general but especially those enhancing accessibility.

Lesson 6. Dealing with older browsers and with special screen reader
features:
This will include how to use new HTML features in ways that gracefully
transform pages when accessed with older browsers or by special adaptive
software that reformats pages based on its HTML coding.

Lesson 7. Dealing with user control issues:
This will include an explanation of how to use the user control features of
HTML 4.0.

Lesson 8. Validation for HTML and for accessibility features:

EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information) is a non-profit organization,
a core activity of the Teaching, Learning and Technology Group and
affiliated with the
American Association for Higher Education. Our mission is to help make
information technologies more accessible to users with disabilities.