EASI NEWS FOR YOU 11/97 State of Technology and Education EASI: Equal Access to Software and Information http://www.rit.edu/~easi During this past year colleges and universities have made a significant increase in their uses of information technology in their courses according to the annual survey conducted by Kenneth Green. At EASI we ponder what are the implications for students with disabilities. We believe it is important and draw your attention to our online workshops to help with this issue. (see workshop information at the bottom of this newsletter.) Technology resources -- e-mail, the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW), and multimedia -- are increasingly common components of the instructional experience for American college students, according to the 1997 Campus Computing Survey, a national study of the use of information technology in higher education. Additionally, growing numbers of campuses now have a computer competency or computer instruction requirement for all their undergraduates. This year's survey reveals that almost one-third (32.8 percent) of all college courses use e-mail, up from 25 percent in 1996 and 8 percent in 1994. Fully one-fourth (24.8 percent) of all classes draw on resources available on the Internet, compared to 15.3 percent in 1996. And more than an eighth (13.4 percent) of all college courses use some form of multimedia resources, up from 8.4 percent in 1996 and 4 percent in 1994. EASI is concerned that much of the most recent educational technology is being developped without adequate attention to its being accessible to disabled students. If it is designed with us in mind, we can participate in education as never before. If not, we may be closed out of learning more than ever. Schools and colleges are required to make education accessible to students with disabilities, but software companies are not under this law. If schools neglect to ask about access features in the software, the designers will overwhelm them with all the 'bells and whistles' of their products. When a college later needs to modify it to meet the ADA requirements, the software company will not be eager to make the modification or to share the source code. It is imparative that educational institutions are aware of the law and of access issues. EASI is working to get our concerns heard in acaemia, and we need all of you to add your voices to ours. Ask if your schools and colleges consider the accessibility of software before purchasing it. Starting December 1, EASI will conduct 2 online workshops to help insure access to educational technology. EASI-web is a 4-week online workshop on web design. Recent findings by the Office of Civil Rights have stressed the need for educational webs to be accessible. Computer staff, disabled student staff, librarians, administrators and faculty all need to understand how to design web pages for universal access. They need not know how to write HTMl code, but they need to understand the problems and solutions. (Registration $60) Adapt-it is a 4-week online workshop covering the basics of adaptive computer and information technology. This is not for technicians so much as for administrators, support staff, librarians, faculty and ADA compliance officers. Obviously, technicians will also benefit from having the larger picture. (Registration $150 including manual and video) Syllabi for these and other workshops are on the web www.rit.edu/~easi/workshops.html or email Dr. Norman Coombs [log in to unmask] To keep current on information technology and disability issues, join the EASI online discussion. Send email to [log in to unmask] with one line of text: subscribe easi (and your name) Librarians will benefit from the axslib-l list. Send email to [log in to unmask] with one line of text: subscribe axslib-l (and your name). EASI also sponsors an electronic journal: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND DISABILITIES. To receive it quarterly, send email to [log in to unmask] with one line of text: subscribe itd-jnl (and your name). The December issue will be a special on K-12 education and problems specific to science and math. EASI: Equal Access to Software and Information (An Affiliate of the American Association for Higher Education) EASI's mission is to serve as a resource to the education community by providing information and guidance in the area of access-to-information technologies by individuals with disabilities. We stay informed about developments and advancements within the adaptive computer technology field and spread that information to colleges, universities, K-12 schools, libraries and into the workplace. Currently, EASI is the recipient of a National Science Foundation grant to disseminate information on access for disabled persons to science, engineering and math. Our membership is composed of people from colleges, universities, businesses and other institutions. They include computing staff, disabled student services staff, librarians, faculty, administrators, vendors, representatives of professional associations, private consultants, heads of both non-profit and for-profit organizations, faculty and staff from K-12 schools, and students. People with disabilities must have the same access to information and resources as everyone else.