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Northwest ADA/IT Center Seeks Accessible Technology in Education
What is Electronic and Information Technology and how can it be made accessible to everyone?
by the Northwest ADA/IT Center
June 17, 2002
In our rapidly changing world, many of us now rely more and more on online resources and other electronic and information technology (E&IT). The Northwest ADA/IT Center is developing expertise in the area of accessible electronic and information technology, especially as it applies to educational entities. Computers, multimedia, software, electronic communication, the Web and other E&IT are commonplace in educational institutions today. The ability to access and use this technology has become essential to assure full participation of students and staff with disabilities in academic and other school related activities. This article is designed to help sort out the array of new terms being used. We've provided examples to help you master this new area with us.
What is electronic and information technology?
Electronic and information technology (E&IT) includes products that store, process, transmit, convert, duplicate or receive electronic information. Examples of E&IT include copiers, fax machines, information kiosks, computers, software and operating systems, websites and telecommunications products.
What may make electronic and information technology inaccessible to people with disabilities?
E&IT may be inaccessible to people with disabilities if it provides only one way for users to gain access to or manipulate information. Accessible E&IT allows people with limited dexterity who cannot manipulate print materials to access information independently. It allows people who are deaf or hard of hearing to communicate directly with hearing people via email, instant messaging or online chat. It allows people who are blind to access information at the same time it becomes available to others.
What is accessible electronic and information technology?
Accessible E&IT uses universal design principles and assistive technology so that each user is able to interact with technology in ways that work best for them. Some examples of accessible E&IT: accessible software applications allow the user to operate the mouse alone, the keyboard alone or a combination of the two; accessible videos provide captions in addition to spoken text. This allows users with hearing impairments to understand the information being presented in the video. An accessible website provides a description for all non-text elements such as audio, video, animation, graphical buttons and image maps. An accessible copy machine can be operated in more than one way using keypads, touch screens or voice recognition.
What additional information will be available?
In partnership with the National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education (AccessIT), the Northwest ADA/IT Center will have access to training materials (including powerpoint presentations), informational materials (including case studies, procurement policies and best practices) and technical information (covering topics such as different accessibility standards, checklists and legal issues). There are many new and exciting possibilities and the Northwest ADA/IT Center is looking forward to assisting educational entities in understanding their legal obligations and sharing their best practices.
Reprinted from The Northwest ADA/IT News - the quarterly newsletter of the Northwest Americans with Disabilities Act/Information Technology Center. Located at Oregon Health & Science University, we serve as the Region X Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center for Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Consult our website for up-to-date information on the Americans with Disabilities Act and accessible information technology: http://www.nwada.org.
The Northwest ADA/IT Center is committed to accessibility. To receive Center material, newsletters and updates in alternate format (computer disk, large print, audio tape or Braille), please contact us toll free at (800) 949-4232 or by email: nwada@ohsu.edu.
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