Editors: A complete conference agenda is posted on the Web at .
Disability Services at the University of Colorado at Boulder will host the third annual conference on Accessing Higher Ground: Assistive Technology in Higher Education Nov. 15-17.
The conference in Boulder and Longmont will feature some of the top experts in the country talking about the most pressing issues concerning access to the Internet and education for individuals with disabilities, said Howard Kramer, coordinator of CU聮s Assistive Technology Lab.
Pre-conference activities, held Nov. 15 on the CU-Boulder campus, will include lectures on teaching over the Internet accessibly and making classrooms and campuses technologically accessible for people with visual, physical and learning disabilities. Hands-on workshops on Web site design and popular screen-reading software also will be offered.
Main conference activities will be held Nov. 16-17 at the Raintree Plaza Hotel in Longmont. The keynote speaker, Janice Hertz of Microsoft聮s Accessible Technology Group, will speak from 8:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 16.
"As the presence of colleges and universities on the Web grows exponentially, the importance of making distance education, academic Web pages and campus information technology accessible is crucial to ensure equal access to education for students with disabilities," Kramer said. "Because of the Americans with Disabilities Act, this is not only an access issue, but a legal issue."
More than 25 workshops will be presented, including several by nationally renowned speakers. Workshops will include:
* "Accessible Web Site Creation" by Mike Paciello of WebABLE! Solutions
* "How To Teach Over the Web Accessibly and Advanced Distance Education Tools for All Our Learners" by Laurie Harrison of the Adaptive Technology Resource Center, University of Toronto
* "Creating and Maintaining Accessible Libraries" by Lisette Volkmar of Arizona State University
* "Recorded Textbooks and the Future in Digital Talking Books for the Blind and Students with Learning Disabilities" by Vicki Vogli-Phelps of Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic, Denver
* "Federal Law and Access to Technology" by Faith Gross, Colorado Regional Affiliate to the Rocky Mountain ADA Technical Assistance Center
* "AT Issues in Post Secondary Education: Making the Classroom and Campus Accessible" by Ron Stewart, Oregon State University and Leah Vickery, Center on Disabilities, California State University, Northridge
The conference is sponsored by CU-Boulder's Office of Diversity and Equity, the Vice Chancellor's Office for Student Affairs, the Information Technology Council and the Colorado/Wyoming Consortium of Support Programs for Students with Disabilities.
The Raintree Plaza Conference Center is RTD accessible and CU-Boulder students and employees with a valid Eco Pass can ride the bus to Longmont for free.
For a complete agenda, workshop listing or registration form, visit the conference Web site at or contact Disability Services at (303) 492-8671 (V/TTY). Reduced registration rates are available for students, faculty and staff.
The Assistive Technology Lab, housed within the Department of Disability Services, conducts workshops for faculty, staff and students. For more information, visit the Web site at or call (303) 492-8671.