8.0380 E-Workshop on Adaptive Computing (1/108)
Elaine Brennan (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Sat, 11 Mar 1995 12:45:47 EST
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 8, No. 0380. Saturday, 11 Mar 1995.
Date: Fri, 10 Mar 1995 15:47:05 -0500 (EST)
From: PROF NORM COOMBS <NRCGSH@RITVAX.BITNET>
Subject: Next E-mail workshop on adaptive computing for persons with
The seventh e-mail workshop on adaptive computing and access to
information technology delivered by EASI and RIT will begin April 17.
"This is the most valuable workshop I have ever attended" "Learning how
to find material on disabilities on the internet for myself was the most
helpful part of the workshop." "Hearing what is happening at other
schools from other people in my situation was invaluable"
These comments are typical of workshop participants in the November
1994 internet e-mail delivered workshop on making computing and
information technology accessible for persons with disabilities.
** Next e-mail workshop begins April 17. Subscribe now!
Future workshops will beging on July 10, September 25, November 29,
January 29 1996 and April 15, 1996.
EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information), in cooperation with the
Rochester Institute of Technology, is providing an email-delivered
workshop on making computing facilities and information technology more
readily accessible to individuals with physical disabilities. All
materials are delivered over the Internet, and the course lasts for
three weeks. Registration is $125, and RIT grants a certificate of
completion at the conclusion of the course.
Below is an edited version of an article describing the workshop
from the RIT Information Systems and Computing Newsletter.
-< Adapt-it Workshop >-
Current attendees of an on-line workshop are "surfing the Internet" to
participate in "Adapt-it: Adapting Information Technology & Computing,"
to find information about access to information for people with
disabilities. Spurred by the American Disabilities Act, access for
people with
disabilities has become an important issue at academic, government, and
business facilities around the country. Attended by academic
administrators and disability advocates in industry and business,
participants have come from over a dozen foreign countries including
Germany, Spain, Thailand, Australia, Canada, and almost all 50 states.
The workshop is being presented as a collaborative effort between Norman
Coombs, an RIT history professor and chair of EASI (Equal Access to
Software and Information), Richard Banks, an adaptive technologist at
the University of Wisconsin-Stout's library and moderator of EASI's
AXSLIB1 (the leading Internet discussion list on library and adaptive
technology), and RIT's Educational Technology Center. The workshop is
supported by network resources provided by Information Systems and
Computing.
Run on a quarterly basis, the first workshop was offered in January
1994. The content includes:
o Reasons to Adapt
o Legislative History
o Americans with Disabilities Act
o Lab Environment
o Alternate Output Systems
o Alternate Input Systems
o Computing as Compensatory Devices
o Planning and Funding
So the course would be accessible to the greatest number of people, Dr.
Coombs chose e-mail to deliver the workshop.
"I had always thought that a single stream discussion wouldn't
work." Delighted to be proven wrong, e-mail allowed attendees from K-12,
businesses, libraries, and Fidonet tojoin the course, which was a
first-time experience for the majority of attendees.
Dr. Coombs called the course "extremely successful," and the comments of
people submitting post-workshop evaluations echoed his feeling.
"Well worth both the time and money spent." "This course was a great
opportunity." "This has been a great workshop. I have gotten so many new
resources to tap." "I thoroughly enjoyed the content, format, and
instructors. I learned a great deal more than I expected to." "The
format was a little fast-paced, I really had to scramble to keep up."
To see a current syllabus for the workshop, send e-mail to
listserver@listserv.isc.rit.edu with this one line of text:
info workshop
The fee for the workshop is $125. To register, send e-mail to
listserver@listserv.isc.rit.edu with this one line of text:
sub adapt-it (and your first and last names in quotes.)
You will receive an automatic reply informing you that you are
part of the discussion list and also providing full payment information.
For more information, write to either: Norman Coombs nrcgsh@rit.edu or
Dick Banks rbanks@uwstout.edu