This is a reply to Allison Courtney and all of the other
replies/quries that my comment about the Adapt-it workshop engendered.
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Workshop on Adapting Computers for Persons With Disabilities
This is the syllabus from a previous presentation. Future workshops
may differ, but they will be largely modeled on this outline.
Adapt-it Instructors:
Norman Coombs
[log in to unmask]
Rochester Institute of Technology
Richard Banks
[log in to unmask]
University of Wisconsin-Stout
Course Materials:
All required materials will be delivered electronically over the
Internet.
Supplemental materials:
Closing The Gap produces an excellent print catalogue of
technological devices to assist persons with disabilities. It can be
purchased from: Closing the Gap, P.O. Box 68, Henderson, MN 56044,
(612) 248-3294.
Course Skills:
The major skill required to participate in the workshop is the use of
email. Participants are assumed to have a working familiarity with
email or you would not have signed up for the course. While everything
we do to help you explore the Internet and locate online disability
resources can be done using email, much of it can be done easier and
better using other telecommunications tools. We plan to make use of
the Web, gopher, ftp and perhaps telnet. If you do not know whether or
not you have access to such capabilities, check with your computer
systems staff. However, in this online workshop we will demonstrate
that email is the little giant of the Internet.
The purpose of Adapt-it is to provide an introductory overview of
adaptive computing for persons with disabilities. It is not concerned
with how to plug a piece of hardware into a computer or how to install
a specialized package of software. The focus is on the need for a
systematic program for adapting the entire computing and information
technology facilities of a college, school, business or other
institution.
In 1995, EASI was awarded a dissemination grant from the National
Science Foundation to collect and disseminate adaptive materials to
increase the numbers of disabled students and professionals in the
fields of science, engineering and math. This workshop will touch on
the topic. Other specialized SEM workshops will be announced shortly.
Adapt-it II has a focus on operating systems and menu systems as well
as designing accessible web pages. It is for people who have
intermediate computer skills and is more technical than the Adapt-it
workshop.
Besides providing a rationale for having a strategic plan to provide
these services and besides providing examples of how such services
transform the productivity of students and professionals with
disabilities, this workshop gives an overview of the wide variety of
alternative input and output systems available. It also teaches
participants how and where to locate the most recent, relevant
information on disabilities located on the Internet. This most
valuable skill permits workshop graduates to remain current in the
field even after the course has concluded. This overview information
and the Internet search skills will enable workshop participants to
develop plans for their institution as it seeks to meet both the needs
of individuals with disabilities and meet the requirements of recent
disability and civil rights legislation.
We urge you to be active in the workshop. There are two ways you can
interact with us. One, use the reply command to the relevant day's
assignment. This reply will be rebroadcast to the entire class and
become part of our group interaction. Two, send personal mail to the
instructors.
We will begin the workshop a couple days early by sending the syllabus
and also introductions of your teachers. Please send us an
introduction of yourself in return. In your intro to us, please
include at least the following items:
1 name and title 2 institution including address and phone 3 a brief
description of your interest in adaptive computing 4 a brief
description of your institutions state of disability access
Course Schedule:
Lesson 1: Introduction and Definitions Assignment 1: Introduction
Assignment 2: "Liberation Technology" Assignment 3: Definitions Of
Disabilities Assignment 4: Technical Definitions Assignment 5: A
Word About Developmental Disabilities Assignment 6: Useful Internet
Discussion Lists
Lesson 2: Demographics and Reasons to Adapt Assignment 1: Why Adapt?
Assignment 2: It's The Right Thing To Do Assignment 3: It Makes
Economic Sense Assignment 4: Disability Resources Via the World Wide
Web
Lesson 3: It's the Law Assignment 1: Introduction and Architectural
Barriers Act Assignment 2: Rehabilitation Act Assignment 3: The Tech
Act Assignment 4: Education of All Handicapped Children Act
Assignment 5: Americans With Disabilities Act (Part 1) Assignment 6:
The Americans With Disabilities Act (part 2)
Lesson 4: Physical Access Assignment 1: Lab and Workstation Location
Assignment 2: Worksations and Physical Access Assignment 3: Support
Considerations and Documentation Assignment 4: Information Technology
and Disabilities (Special Issue)
Lesson 5: Alternate Input Issues Assignment 1: Computer-related
Definitions Assignment 2: Input issues for Blind and Low Vision
Impaired Assignment 3: Input and Physical-Mobility Impairment
Assignment 4: Physical Impairments and Suggested Software Assignment
5 Input and Hearing Impairments - Speech Impairments Assignment 6:
Traumatic Brain Injured Assignment 7: Learning Disabilities and Input
Issues
Lesson 6: Alternate Output Issues Assignment 1: Output Issues for
Blind/Low Vision Users Part 1 Assignment 2: Checklist for Screen
Reading Programs Assignment 3: Output Issues for Blind and Low Vision
Users Part 2 Assignment 4: Comparison of OCR Scanners Assignment 5:
Physical Impairments: Traumatic Brain Injury and Output Assignment 6:
Remaining Populations
Lesson 7: Compensatory Strategies and Lab Etiquette Assignment 1:
Definition and Introduction Assignment 2 Suggestions for Using
Computers as Compensatory Tools Assignment 3: Lab Etiquette
Assignment 4: "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"
Assignment 5: Sharing Compensatory Stories
Lesson 8: Putting It All Together Assignment 1 Sample Workstations
Assignment 2 Computer Considerations Assignment 3: The General
Accessible Workstation Assignment 4: IBM and Compatible Resource
Guide Assignment 5: Mac Access Resources Assignment 6: Dealing With
Windows
Lesson 9: Planning and Funding Assignment 1: Introduction and
Funding Assignment 2: Who are the Key Players? Assignment 3: Making
Plans Assignment 4: Sample Job Description
The registration fee for this interactive, email-delivered workshop is
$125 (Recently increased, Check this out before you pay AM.) paid to AAHE (The American Association for Higher Education).
For information on the course or if you wish to register, send e-mail
to Norman Coombs [log in to unmask]
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