Liz Miller & Kara Zirkle George Mason University – Assistive Technology Initiative Accessing Higher Ground (AHG) – November 2011

 Manager  Coordinator, IT Accessibility  Coordinator, Accessible Media  Program Support Specialist  2 Accessible Media Assistants

Office of Disability Services Accessible Text and Media Services for Students AT Assessments/Training for Students Community Outreach with local public schools Office of Equity & Diversity Services Accessible Text and Media Services for Staff/Faculty AT Assessments/Training for Staff/Faculty University-Wide Training Initiatives University Libraries AT Labs Training & Consultation Learning Services Sharing of adaptive technology AT Assessments/Training for students (registered/unregistered) Training for LS staff

 Mason community (with or without documentation)  Informal assessments  Overview of AT available for personal use  Faculty, staff and students with documented disabilities  Faculty/Staff - registered with the Office of Equity and Diversity Services (OEDS)  Students – registered with the Office of Disability Services (ODS)

 Informal AT assessments  Training – software and equipment  Training and technical resources  Accessible text & media  Web accessibility testing and accessibility workshops

Accessible text production Accessible text production Accessible media production Accessible media production Options for students on campus, in the classroom and at home, including Universal Design Options for students on campus, in the classroom and at home, including Universal Design Web accessibility Web accessibility

Learning Disabilities, Visual Impairments and Mobility Impairments

To qualify to receive material in alternative formats, students, staff and faculty must have a documented “print” related disability. (Referrals are made by our Office of Disability Services and our ADA Coordinator.)  Learning disabilities related to reading  Visual impairments  Some mobility impairments  Some other cognitive impairments

 AccessText  Bookshare – University Partner  VA HEAT

Much easier than it used to be!  AccessText  Publisher Look-up Service  BiblioVault  Individual websites

 Project of AccessText  org/fedsearch.php org/fedsearch.php  Searches:  AccessText Network  Alternative Media Access Center  Bookshare  CourseSmart  Learning Ally  National Library Service

 Cut  Scan (high speed)  Capture Perfect - TIFF  OCR  ABBYY Pro  OmniPage Pro  Adobe Acrobat Pro  Read & Write Gold  WYNN  (Other schools may utilize Kurzweil, Dolphin, etc.)  Format – PDF, Word, RTF, Text, WYNN  Burn files to cd  Rebind

Students are encouraged to sign up for individual memberships  Bookshare – or students can request books through our free organizational membership (We are also university partners.)  Learning Ally – cd players available for loan  NLS – National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped Image from:

Students may scan or run basic OCR on their own materials – with software at home or using WYNN or Read & Write Gold with flatbed scanners on campus.

New project of 2011

 Working closely with  University libraries  Distance Education  Office of Disability Services  Best practices for faculty & instructional designers:  Pick legal media  Pick the most accessible option first  Provide supporting materials  Turn on Closed Captions

 Closed captioning  Transcription  Synchronization  Hearing Impairments – access  Comprehension, visual learners  Those who have difficulty with note taking  ESL Image from

 (Vendors for video description)  Docsoft  Docsoft:AV  Docsoft:TE  Proofing & troubleshooting  Returns  SkyDrive,  Flashdrives, DVDs  Streaming server (in progress)  Online request system  Research  Library & copyright info  Online searches  NCH software  Prism Video File Converter  SoundTap Streaming Audio Recorder  Debut Video Capture  Golden Videos  Flash Lynx Video Download Software Professional

 Accommodations  Pilot project – Summer 2011  Training with 2 graduate student assistants  1 Instructional Designer for Distance Education  YouTube  Recordings from our TV station  Other  iTunes U  Promotional materials on website  Distance Education  Other...  Issues:  Video Description  Delivery of projects  Copyrighted materials

Equipment & Software

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 Computer  Screen Magnification  Screen Readers  Voice Recognition  Head/Eye Controlled Input  On Screen Keyboards  Touch Screens  Communication  Amplification  TDD/TTY Devices  Learning  Visual Learning  Writing software  Vision  Magnifiers  Braille Embossers  Braille Displays  Mobility  Adjustable Desks  Large Key/Print Keyboards  Trackballs & Joysticks From: Workstationshttp:// Workstations

 AT Labs – Libraries at each campus  WYNN Wizard  Read & Write Gold  JAWS  ZoomText  Dragon Naturally Speaking  CCTV  Flatbed Scanner

 Campus supported AT software in computer lab classrooms and testing  Student purchased AT software for personal laptops  CCTVs  iPad apps

 TextHelp Read & Write Gold  PC or Mac ($30 with Mason ID at Patriot Computers)  Bookshare (free membership)  Victor Reader Soft (free)  READ:OutLoud (free)  Read2Go app ($20)  Learning Ally ($100 membership)  ReadHear software (free)  DAISY Players (cost varies)  Learning Ally Audio App ($20)  NLS (free membership)  Digital and cassette player options  Other  Free software & demos  Low to high cost AT

 Text readers  i.e. Natural Reader, ReadPlease  Screen readers  i.e. System Access to Go, NonVisual Desktop Access  Demos  Students can try before they buy  X minutes, hours or days  Download from web: ▪ JAWS ▪ Read & Write Gold ▪ ZoomText  Request cd from website: ▪ WYNN

 Designing facilities and services in such a way to meet the needs for people with a broad range of abilities, disabilities, and other characteristics (i.e., age, reading ability, culture, etc.) reduces the need for special accommodations for patrons and even employees.  In the event that accommodations are needed, staff should be able to support individuals with disabilities, respond to specific accommodations requests, and know who to contact if they have disability-related questions.

 Are staff trained in policies and procedures for providing accommodations to people with disabilities?  What is your plan? Is it written? Updated?  Are staff knowledgeable about other organizations, such as Talking Book and Braille libraries, that provide services to patrons with disabilities?  Do you have a readily available resource? Handout? Online?  Can the library’s electronic and information resources (i.e., web pages, online catalogs, databases, etc) be accessed by a variety of accessible technologies?  Have you had your resources tested?  Do videos developed or used in the library have captions?

 Increasing number of distance education courses…  PDF Accessibility Wizard (PAW)  Plug-in installs directly into Adobe Acrobat  Allows document creators to convert a scanned PDF document into a tagged, accessible PDF document  Accessible Wizard for MS Office (not yet compatible with Office 2010)  Plug-in installs directly into any MS Office app (i.e., Word, PPT)  Walks document creator through issues within document and how to make them accessible

 Built-in tools – PC & Mac, Firefox Browser  Audio Books & e-Books  Bundled tools – Read & Write Gold  Web

 PC  Keyboard shortcuts  Magnifier  Contrast settings  Narrator  On screen keyboard  Mouse keys, filter keys, sticky keys  Dictionary, thesaurus, spelling /grammar check  Ease of Access Center  Speech recognition  Text size  Touch  “Speak” in Office 2010  Mac  Keyboard shortcuts  Magnification  Contrast settings  VoiceOver  Mouse Keys, Slow Keys, Sticky Keys  Text to speech  Talking calculator & clock  On screen keyboard  Inkwell  Dictionary, thesaurus, spelling /grammar check, word completion  Speech recognition

Firefox  Some accessibility features are dependent on the version of Firefox  Free accessibility add-ons  Firefox Accessibility Extension  Glazoom – magnifier  No color  N-Abled Web Accessibility Toolbar  Page Zoom Buttons  Extensions for Firefox:  Fire Vox – screen reader  MozBraille – screen reader (beta at present, not yet fully accessible – plans to offer Braille, text to speech and magnified output) Image from - Adobe Reader & Acrobat  “Read Out Loud”

 Public domain works  i.e. Project Gutenberg  Audio Books  i.e. Audible.com  Commercial  Amazon (Kindle)  Apple (iPad)  Barnes & Noble (Nook)  Sony (Reader)  DAISY  Players and software (i.e. Learning Ally) **Important consideration: These resources vary in accessibility but work well for individual students on a case-by-case basis.

Free Software  Amazon  Kindle for PC – ebook software for PC  Kindle App for iPhone & iPod Touch  Barnes & Noble  eReader for Barnes & Noble eBooks  Download for iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, Mac and PC  knfb Reading Technology  Blio – eReader software with text-to- speech  Download for PCs, iPhone, iPod  LexCycle  Stanza – ebook app for iPhone & iPod Touch  Stanza Desktop – ebook reader for Mac or PC

 TextHelp Read & Write Gold  PC and Mac versions  Reading and writing tools  Helpful for ESL  MP3 creation  Voice recognition  Scanning  Screenshot Reader  Research and study tools  Inspiration-like tool  DAISY Reader  Web apps

 The Web has become a key resource for:  classroom education, distance learning;  job searching, workplace interaction;  civic participation, government services;  news, information, commerce, entertainment  It is displacing traditional sources of information and interaction  schools, libraries, print materials, discourse of the workplace;  some of the traditional resources were accessible; some not.  An accessible Web means unprecedented access to information for people with disabilities.

Virginia has state-specific laws governing the accessibility of government created and procured technology (Code of Virginia § "Procurement of Information Technology", Code of Virginia § "Information Technology Access Act", Code of Virginia § "Virginians with Disabilities Act"). These have been put into state-wide standards for Universities and agencies, which can be found on the VITA website. VITA website Just recently DoJ ADA created a settlement agreement with Fairfax County, VA to ensure accessibility of both physical and online material.DoJ ADA created a settlement agreement with Fairfax County, VA

 Do you use a Learning Management System? Do you add content to the course? Are you posting documents, videos, etc.?  Do you use technology for your class assignments (i.e. blogs, websites, wikis, etc.)?  Are you the author of a book used in class?  Do you use visuals in the classroom that give important information pertaining to the class?  Do you use webinars, other classroom capture or conferencing technology?

 Do you influence or decide on technology purchases?  Do you develop websites, applications or documentation?  Do you oversee computer classroom settings?  Do you manage others who may work on the above mentioned?  Do you work in multimedia or telecommunications?

 Posting,  Distributing,  Creating/Developing,  Using,  Maintaining. Inaccessible material!

 Assistive technology is not a substitute for accessible material!  AT + Accessible Materials = Equal Access  Everyone is involved and anyone can be affected.

Assistive Technology Initiative (ATI) 4400 University Drive MSN 6A11 Fairfax, VA Phone: Fax: Web:

 Accessible Text Resources:  Accessible Media Resources:  Free to High Cost AT Resource Documents:  Captioning & Video Description Resources:  Universal Design