Editors: Vendors with various equipment, including closed circuit TV and voice recognition software, will be available to photograph or videotape from noon to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 14, all day Nov. 15 and until noon Nov. 16 in the main lobby of the Coors/Events Conference Center. A workshop featuring demos of tactile graphics for the blind will be from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at the center, room 3, and a special session on interfacing various hardware for blind users will be Nov. 15 from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., also in room 3. A complete conference agenda is attached.
"Accessing Higher Ground," a conference on Assistive Technology in Higher Education, will meet at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Millennium Hotel Boulder from Nov. 14 through Nov. 16.
Program coordinators at the CU-Boulder AT Lab and Disability Services will bring together national leaders in the field of assistive technology to educate students, staff, faculty and the community on the availability and potential benefits of assistive technology in education.
According to Howard Kramer, AT Lab coordinator, the enactment of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act has made Web accessibility more significant at CU and other campuses. Section 508, effective last June, requires federal agencies and their contractors to provide information technology, including Web pages, that is accessible to people with disabilities.
"Now, it's not only something we should do, but it's mandated by federal legislation," Kramer said.
Doug Wakefield of the U.S. Access Board and author of the Section 508 Guidelines for Web Access will discuss "Implementation of Section 508 in the University Environment" at a half-day workshop during the pre-conference and at other sessions during the main conference.
The keynote speaker for the conference, Dr. Lawrence Scadden, is the former senior program director in science education at the National Science Foundation.
Scadden has spent the past two decades identifying and funding projects that provide equal access to science, education and technology for people with disabilities.
A number of hands-on workshops will address Web access, including "Creating Accessible Web Pages and Multimedia Using DreamWeaver and Other Tools" and "Web Access: Evaluation and Repair Tools and Utilities." The former will be taught by John Dennett and David Underwood of CU-Boulder and the latter by Laurie Harrison of the University of Toronto.
More than 35 other workshops will be presented throughout the conference, several by people with disabilities, on topics including compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and legal and policy issues and accommodations for students with learning disabilities, visual impairments and physical disabilities.
The conference will conclude with a panel discussion by assistive technology users in the university setting.
The AT conference is sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Equity, the Vice Chancellor's Office for Student Affairs, the Information Technology Council, the Coleman Institute, the President's Fund for Diversity Programming and the Colorado/Wyoming Consortium of Support Programs for Students with Disabilities.
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). Partial scholarships also are available for CU-Boulder students, faculty and staff.
The Assistive Technology Lab, housed in the department of Disability Services, enables students to access computer systems, information resources and on-line services such as the Web and other Internet services. Workshops for faculty, staff and students are available. For more information, visit the Web site at or call (303) 492-8672.
Assistive Technology in Higher Education
"Accessing Higher Ground"
Pre-Conference Agenda
Wednesday, November 14, 2001
Boulder Campus
7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Check-In (Coors Events/Conference Center)
7:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast (Events Center -- Lower Lobby)
9:00 a.m.-noon
* EASI: Accessible Web Site Creation - Beginners, Norm Coombs, EASI & Cyndi Rowland, Ph.D., WebAim (Engineering Center ECME 107)
*JAWS for Windows, Advanced Features and Access to the Internet, Dave Wilkinson, Freedom Scientific (Coors Event/Conferences Center - Room 3)
*Web Access - Evaluation and Repair Tools and Utilities, Laurie Harrison, ATRC, University of Toronto (Folsom Stadium 350)
*Lecture: Implementation of Section 508 in the University Environment, Doug Wakefield, U.S. Access Board (Coors Event/Conference Center, Room 4)
Noon-1:30 p.m.
Lunch (on your own)
1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
ß EASI: Advanced Web Design, Dick Banks & Greg Banks, EASI (Engineering Center ECME 107)
* EASI: The Tiger Tactile Graphics and Braille Embosser, John and Carolyn Gardner, ViewPlus Technologies, Inc. (Coors Event/Conference Center, Room 3)
* Creating Accessible Web Pages and Multimedia using DreamWeaver and other Tools, John Dennett and David Underwood, University of Colorado
(Folsom Stadium 350)
*Technology and the Law, Collaborating for Success, Paul Grossman, OCR, and Laurie Vasquez, SBCC (Coors Event/Conference Center, Room 4)
Keynote Address and Dinner
Wednesday, November 14, 2001
Millennium Hotel, Boulder Century Room
5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
Cash bar
6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Dinner
7:15 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Introductions: Ron Stump, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Keynote: Dr. Lawrence Scadden, National Science Foundation
Main Conference
Thursday, November 15, 2001
Coors Events/Conference Center, Boulder Campus
7:00 a.m.-5:15 p.m.
Check-in (Lower Lobby)
7:00 a.m.-8:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
7:45 a.m.-5:15 p.m.
Breakout Sessions
7:45 a.m.-8:45 a.m.
*Courseware Accessibility- The Saga Continues, Laurie Harrison, Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, University of Toronto
*Adults with Multiple Learning Disabilities and Technological Accommodations, James Bailey, University of Oregon
* Assistive Technology (AT): Professional Development and Endorsement of Qualifications for AT Providers, Leah Vickery, Center on Disabilities, CSUN
9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
* Access to Online Learning and Other Educational Technologies, Larry Goldberg and Geoff Freed, National Center for Accessible Media (teleconference session)
* Enhanced Reading, Writing and Study Strategies with WYNN, Rene Clark, Freedom Scientific
*The ABCs of C-print & Other Technology Services for Deaf & HOH Students, Karen Boyd, CU-Boulder
10:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
* Techniques and Applications for Making Web-Based Physics Multimedia Accessible, Larry Goldberg and Geoff Freed, National Center for Accessible Media (teleconference session)
* DO-IT: Improving Postsecondary Outcomes for Students with Disabilities: The Faculty Role, Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington (part 1 of 2)
*The Changing Role of AT Labs in Higher Education, Terry Thompson, North Carolina State University
Special Session: Interfacing JAWS to Various Hardware, Dave Wilkinson, Freedom Scientific (part 1 of 2)
11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
* Section 508 in the University Environment, Doug Wakefield, U.S. Access Board (part 1 of 2)
*DO-IT: Making Distance Learning Courses Accessible to Everyone, Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington (part 2 of 2)
*Getting Started with AT: A roundtable discus-sion on the basics of pro-viding AT ser-vices and accommo-da-tions in higher education, Marla Roll, Colorado State University
Special Session: Interfacing JAWS to Various Hardware, Dave Wilkinson, Freedom Scientific (part 2 of 2)
12:15 p.m.-1:45 p.m.
Lunch (on your own)
1:45 p.m.-2:45 p.m.
*Section 508 in the University Environment, Doug Wakefield, U.S. Access Board (part 2 of 2, ends at 2:30 p.m.)
*FlashPlus and the Accessible Graphing Calculator - Math for All Kids, John & Carolyn Gardner, ViewPlus Technologies, Inc.
*Starting an Assistive Tech-nology Research Center, James Avery, Melinda Piket-May, CU-Boulder
3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
*Panel: Going the Distance: Including All Our Learners, Paul Grossman, Laurie Vasquez, Laurie Harrison (part 1 of 2, ends at 5:15 p.m.)
* Accessible Courseware, Norm Combs, EASI
* Determining Assistive Technology Needs of Students Transitioning to Higher Education, Al Noll, University of Wisconsin-Stout (part 1 of 2)
Special Lab: Reading and Writing Success with WYNN - a Hands-on Lab, Rene Clark, Freedom Scientific (part 1 of 2)
4:15 p.m.-5:15 p.m.
* Panel: Going the Distance: Including All Our Learners, Paul Grossman, Laurie Vasquez, Laurie Harrison (part 2 of 2)
* The Electronic Text Boost for Students with Learning Disabilities, Low Vision, or Blindness- "Scan / Read / Achieve," Brian Richwine, Indiana University
*Determining Assistive Technology Needs of Students Transitioning to Higher Education, Al Noll, University of Wisconsin-Stout (part 2 of 2)
Special Lab: Reading and Writing Success with WYNN - a Hands-on Lab, Rene Clark, Freedom Scientific (part 2 of 2)
7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Special Evening Event: Panel: TECHNOLOGY, DESIGN and the EXTRAORDINARY BODY: Do technology and the Internet connect or separate, humanize or dehumanize?
Friday, November 16, 2001
7:00 a.m.- 8:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
8:00 a.m.-noon
Breakout Sessions
8:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
*Accessibility of Online Resources in Higher Edu-cation-Problems and Strategies for Change, Axel Schmetzke, University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point
*Legal Issues and Student Accommodation - the Big Picture, Paul Grossman, OCR, San Francisco (part 1 of 2)
* Kurzweil 3000-Reading, Writing & Web Access for Students with Learning Disabilities, Jackie Wheeler, Kurzweil Educational Systems
9:00 a.m.-10:45 a.m., Special Session: EASI: Accessible Science Labs, Dr. Karen Milchus, Georgia Tech
9:45 a.m.-10:45 a.m.
* Making Gender and Disability Visible in Distance Education: Enabling Equity, Dr. Tanis Doe, Education for Disability and Gender Equity- Disabled Women's Alliance
* 1 Coordinator + 200 Students = Creative Technology!, Lisa Kenyon, Patty Pratz, Laramie County Community College
* Music Technologies and resources for the Blind Musician, Vision Teacher and Mainstream Music Educator, Bill McCann (part 1 of 2)
11:00 a.m.-noon
* From Policy to Practice: Imple-menting Web Accessibility Policy at the University of Texas at Austin, John Slatin, Institute for Technology & Learning, UTA
* Current Advances in "High and Low" Technology (for Vision Disabilities), Jim Misner, Beyond Sight, Inc.
* Music Technologies and resources for the Blind Musician, Vision Teacher and Mainstream Music Educator, Bill McCann (part 2 of 2)
Special Session: EASI: Accessible Science Labs, Dr. Karen Milchus (partial repeat of
9 a.m. session)
12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
Buffet Lunch (Millennium Hotel Boulder)
12:55 p.m.-1:55 p.m.
Student Panel: Navigating the Institutional Barriers to AT Access, Moderator: Dean Colby, Ph.D. candidate, School of Journalism, CU-Boulder
2:00 p.m.- 2:15 p.m.
Concluding Remarks: Chancellor Richard L. Byyny, M.D., CU-Boulder