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Presenter(s)
Mark Harniss, Ph.D.
Center for Technology and Disability Studies
University of Washington
Box 357920
Seattle, WA 98195-7920
USA
Phone: 206-685-0289
Fax: 206-543-5771
Email: mharniss@u.washington.edu
Dagmar Amtman, Ph.D.
Center for Technology and Disability Studies
University of Washington
Box 357920
Seattle, WA 98195-7920
USA
Phone: 206-685-4181
Fax: 206-543-4779
Email: dagmara@u.washington.edu
If you work in an educational setting, or if you have a child in school, you've probably noticed how prevalent information technology has become in education. Webpages provide information about school activities to students, parents, employees, and the community. Students use the Web to do research or to access entire courses online. Many classrooms use educational multimedia and software of one type or another.
Information technology (IT) can open doors for people with disabilities in educational settings. Students can research topics from home rather than going to the library, they can choose to attend some classes online rather than in a physical classroom, they can register for classes online rather than waiting in line at a building on campus, and they can have text read to them electronically rather than struggling with a large textbook. All these choices reduce the demand of educational situations and allow students with disabilities to participate more easily in educational settings.
Despite these advantages, technology developers and programmers who are unaware of accessibility issues can create barriers for people with disabilities. Tools developed to increase productivity and improve access to information sometimes do the opposite for individuals with disabilities. Websites that are not designed accessibly can block access to information, online courses that require the use of inaccessible tools (e.g., chat or whiteboards) can block participation, and software that requires that users be able to use a mouse can create barriers for some people. In addition, information technology must be designed to work with assistive technology in order to provide access for AT users.
Accessible information technology can save time and work in the long run, and at the same time, provide meaningful and timely access for students with disabilities. Designing electronic environments is similar to designing physical environments. An architect can design an inaccessible building that can be entered only by using stairs, or she can design an accessible building that can be entered using stairs, but also has built-in ramps and elevators. A student or an instructor who uses a wheelchair (that is, assistive technology) will be able to get to the class and participate fully if the building is accessible from the beginning. If the building is not accessible, costly modifications will need to be made later, to accommodate students and instructors with disabilities. The same concepts hold true for information technology. Developing an accessible application from the ground up is far easier than trying to retrofit a website or a software application.
To raise awareness about these issues, we developed a short video that addresses accessible information technology in education. In this video, we describe the potential accessible information technology (IT) holds for people with disabilities and the barriers that they have faced in accessing content in educational settings prior to the advent of IT. We then talk about barriers still experienced by people with disabilities because IT is inaccessible. Finally, we discuss the changes that can be made to reduce these barriers. The concepts are conveyed using the voices of individuals with disabilities as well as experts in the field of assistive technology and information technology.
The video is intended to raise awareness about accessible information technology in education and is appropriate for the following individuals:
* Higher education faculty, instructors, administration, staff,
* Community college instructors, administration, and staff,
* Educational technology staff and technical staff
* K-12 teachers, administrators and staff?
* Policymakers,
* Parents,
* Advocates.
The video could also be used as an element of a more extensive training session on accessible information technology in education.
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