EASI (Equal Access to Software
and Information) is sponsoring free Webcasts on November 11 and November
14.
Nov. 11: 3 live presentations broadcast from the Accessing Higher Ground
Conference held in Boulder. The presentations are:
(Note: all times are Mountain time)
Accessibility of Online Resources in Academic Libraries,
Axel Schmetzke, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
9:15a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
Panel: Current Trends in Electronic Books,
Norm Coombs, Judith Dixon, Janice Carter, Steve Noble
10:30 a.m. -11:30 a.m.
Library e-Journal Accessibility A Usability Study,
Ron Stewart, Oregon State University (OSU)
11:40 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
On Nov. 11, there will be a link at the top of the EASI Home page at
either:
http://easi.cc
or
http://www.rit.edu/~easi
We regret that no one will be available by phone or email that day to
provide any help if needed. We will be busy at the conference and
not have time to respond to anyone. If you register in advance, you
will later get a link to the recordings. Register at
http://easi.cc/forms/ahg.htm
Nov. 14 at 2 PM Eastern
Online Learning, Its History, Accessibility and Future Prospects
Presenter: Norman Coombs
Coombs was an early distance learning pioneer more than 20 years ago and
received a number of awards for this work including being selected the NY
State Teacher of the Year for this work. From the beginning, Coombs saw
its potential to create a level learning space for users with
disabilities and has actively advocated for such accessibility.
This hour-long presentation will give a brief history of distance
learning technologies. It will review the struggle for accessibility and
outline its progress till now. A decade ago, courseware systems did not
take the accessibility of their platforms very seriously. The law did not
directly relate to them. However, as universities expanded their distance
learning offerings, they began to require that the courseware systems
make their Web interfaces accessible. They have made significant progress
towards this goal, but major areas of concern still require attention so
the systems are both accessible and easy to use. Many of the remaining
modifications promise to make the systems more friendly for
everyone.
At the same time, a number of institutions have received grants enabling
them to focus on enhancing the accessibility of distance learning.
Besides making courseware accessible, much work is being done to assist
course providers to improve the accessibility of the course content.
Those registering for this free Webcast will have an excellent
introduction to today's state-of-the-art accessibility in online
learning. This will be followed by a fee-based 4-part, detailed series of
4 presentations giving training and specific skills in how to create
accessible course content.
Register for the free Online Learning Web Conference
http://easi.cc/dec15.htm
Fee-based 4-part series on Accessible Online Learning ($150)
Nov. 28, Dec. 5, 12 and 19
Norman Coombs will host 4 hour-long presentations with several
nationally-known leaders in making online learning more accessible an
more user friendly.
November 28 at 2 PM Eastern, Presentation 1:
Introduction: History and Current State of Online Learning
Presenter: Norman Coombs
(NOTE! registering will give you access to the 4 live presentations as
well as their recordings. Participants will also be enrolled in a
listserv discussion to promote further interaction).
Coombs brings the unusal perspective of someone who began teaching online
a decade before the Web came into existence and reflects on the impact of
these technical changes both on the nature of online learning itself and
on their impact on users with disabilities.
December 5 at 2 PM Eastern, Presentation 2:
Online Learning: Best Practice and Best Policies
Presenters: Robert Todd and Cyndi Rowland
In this presentation, Coombs will be joined by Robert Todd of Georgia
Tech and Cyndi Rowland of Utah State University. They will focus on
defining best practice in online learning and the importance of clear
policies defining commitment to accessible online learning.
December 12 at 2 PM Eastern, Presentation 2:
Enhanced Accessibility Using Microsoft Accessibility Wizard
Presenters: John Gunderson and Dan Linder
Course content designers rarely work directly with HTML Web code or even
with software designed to create HTML. They use standard authoring
software, unrelated to the Web, and trust it to output acceptable content
for the Web, but word processors, and similar software almost never
output content for the Web that meets accessibility needs. This wizard,
however, will enable someone to do that without learning HTML
accessibility.
December 19 at 2 Eastern, Presentation 4:
Remaining Courseware Problems and Final Tips for Faculty
Presenters: Norman Coombs and Guests will outline remaining problem
areas(discussion boards, white boards and chat), and they will also
outline strategies to assist non-technical faculty in preparing
accessible content and in evaluating its actual accessibility.
Read more about this fee-based series and locate online registration
at
http://easi.cc/forms/distance.htm