Who Should Attend

Accessing Higher Ground focuses on the implementation and benefits of Assistive Technology in the university and college setting for sensory, physical and learning disabilities.  Other topic areas include legal and policy issues, including ADA and 508 compliance, and making campus media and information resources, including Web pages and library resources, accessible.

This conference is intended for disability services providers in the post-secondary setting, assistive technologists, Web designers and programmers interested in accessibility, special educators, college administrators responsible for legal policy related to disability and accommodation, rehabilitation counselors and persons with disabilities.

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 What's New

• More  hands-on workshops

• More breakout sessions

• Computer Lab

• More vendors

• 508 and Legal Sessions!

• Assistive Technology Services Round-Table

Preconference - Section 508 Compliance in the University Setting, WEB and Multimedia Access, Tactile Graphics, Hands-on Jaws Training

The preconference on Wednesday, November 14, from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, offers three tracks of  hands-on or lecture-only workshops, all on the CU-Boulder Campus.

Hands-on Workshops

As part of the EASI Mini Institute, both introductory and advanced classes on Accessible Web Design will be offered.  Also through EASI, John and Carolyn Gardner will present a session on the Tiger Tactile Graphics and Braille Embosser. Laurie Harrison of the University of Toronto will present Web Access - Evaluation and Repair Tools and Utilities.  Other hands-on sessions include Creating Accessible Web Pages and Multimedia Using DreamWeaver and Other Tools and JAWS for Windows, Advanced Features and Access to the Internet.

Lectures

Doug Wakefield, author of the Access Board's 508 regulations, will discuss implementation of Section 508 in the university setting and the Web and AT implications.  Paul Grossman, Office of Civil Rights, and Laurie Vasquez, Santa Barbara City College, will also present Technology and the Law, Collaborating for Success.

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Keynote Speaker:

Lawrence Scadden, Senior Program Director in Science Education, National Science Foundation

Dr. Lawrence Scadden is the Senior Program Director in Science Education at the National Science Foundation.  Dr. Scadden has spent most of the past two decades fighting for equal access to science, education and technology for people with disabilities.  Dr. Scadden received his doctorate degree in experimental psychology from the Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco.  In 1979 he was appointed deputy director of a newly created federal agency (now an office within the Department of Education) on disability research. He was invited to head NSF's disability initiative in 1991.  In that role, he has spent more than ten years helping identify and fund projects that will improve access to science and math for students with disabilities.

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EASI Mini Institute

EASI's mission is to serve as a resource to the education community by providing information and guidance in the area of access to information technologies by individuals with disabilities.  EASI will offer a series of special sessions on Web Access and access to science and math.  EASI session topics include:

• Accessible Web Site Creation

• The Tiger Tactile Graphics and Braille Embosser

• Accessible Course-Ware

• Accessible Science Labs

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