[Athen] Fwd: Blind Faculty

[Ron Stewart]

Good afternoon,

Just a slight modification to the recommendation Terri makes, given that we
have a list policy of not engaging in commercial activities this should
occur off list.  If ATHEN members are interested and able to do this kind of
function then I would rather you contact Arlene directly.

Secondly there are several AT Professional and ATHEN members that currently
work for vendors and resellers, or that have in their careers.  These folks
have a very high level of professional integrity and would not give you the
type of advice assumed in this response, though there are bad apples in
every bunch.  These kind of blanket assumptions are a disservice to the
field, and uncessesarily limit the options of the consumer.  A good rule of
thumb is to not buy your products from the consultant you are using, this
will prevent this kind of conflict of interest issue from arising.

This is really a buyer beware kind of thing, as I have learned the hard way.
My recommendation would be to contact folks in the field who's opinions you
trust, or are recognized leaders in the field and have them help you in your
research.  You will find that in most instances that the same names come up
again and again, and that these folks come from a variety of current job
situations, College and University staff, full time consultants, and yes
even employees of the dreaded vendors.

Ron Stewart

-----Original Message-----
From: athen-bounces at athenpro.org [mailto:athen-bounces at athenpro.org] On
Behalf Of Terri Hedgpeth
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 12:45 PM
To: Access Technologists in Higher Education Network; giczkows at nova.edu
Subject: Re: [Athen] Fwd: Blind Faculty

Hello Arlene,
One very important factor to keep in mind, in choosing a consultant to
perform the evaluation, is for that individual to be an independent AT
professional. Meaning you don't want someone from Freedom Scientific, GW
Micro, Freedom Box, Dolphin, etc. If you have someone from any specific
vendor, you can bet they will make their product fit or tell you there
isn't a solution. And a forced fit is not a good idea unless there is
absolutely no other option. There are a number of wonderfully talented
Assistive Technology (AT) professionals that could do the job such as
Jeff Senge from Cal State Fullerton, and even many of those on this list
serve. 
I would recommend that you put a bid of sorts out on this list defining
what you need done and ask people to contact you if they are interested
or if they know someone who is not a specific screen-reader vendor.

Good luck,
Terri


Dr. Terri Hedgpeth
Academic Research Professional
CUbiC #376, iCare
(480) 727-8133 V
(480) 965-1885 Fax
CUbiC.asu.edu
http://www.fulton.asu.edu/fulton/


-----Original Message-----
From: athen-bounces at athenpro.org [mailto:athen-bounces at athenpro.org] On
Behalf Of Ed. Rosenthal
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 6:13 AM
To: 'Access Technologists in Higher Education Network'
Subject: Re: [Athen] Fwd: Blind Faculty

I think there are several good assistive technology consultants in
Florida, and I don't know if Freedom Scientific does that type of
consulting but if they do I think Dina's suggestion is a good one.  You
also may want to try contacting a consultant named: Harris Rosensweig
who works with the ITG group out of Falls Church Virginia.  They do a
lot of federal government work, and he is very conversant with AT in
general, and accommodations for blind low vision individuals and
specific.  He can be reached at:

ITG
2745 Hartland Rd
Falls Church, VA 22043
(703) 698-8282 x293
Harris.Rosensweig at itgonline.com

Edward S. Rosenthal, President and CEO, Next Generation Technologies
Inc.
20006 Cedar Valley Rd. #101, Lynnwood, WA 98036
Phone: 425-744-1100 extension 15; Fax: 425-778-5547
E-Mail: edward at ngtvoice.com
Skype: erossore
WWW: ngtvoice.com

This document was generated using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Medical
version
9.5 speech recognition software and/or handwriting recognition on a
Motion LE 1600 tablet PC.  Please disregard any remaining
misrecognitions.




-----Original Message-----
From: athen-bounces at athenpro.org [mailto:athen-bounces at athenpro.org] On
Behalf Of dina.rosenbaum at carroll.org
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 5:25 AM
To: Access Technologists in Higher Education Network
Subject: Re: [Athen] Fwd: Blind Faculty


>with Freedom Scientific being in FL why would you not use them? (they

produce JAWS)

 Greetings, all -

>

> I'm posting this for a colleague on the DSSHE listserv.  If you have 

> helpful advice for her regarding JAWS compatibility with any of the 

> software she lists below, as well as a few moments to spare, please 

> respond directly to:

>

> Arlene Giczkowski <giczkows at nova.edu>

>

> Thanks!

>

> Stacy

>

> ----- Forwarded message from Arlene Giczkowski <giczkows at NOVA.EDU>

-----

>     Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 12:54:16 -0400

>     From: Arlene Giczkowski <giczkows at NOVA.EDU>

> Reply-To: Arlene Giczkowski <giczkows at NOVA.EDU>

>  Subject: Blind Faculty

>       To: DSSHE-L at LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU

>

> Greetings!  I am assisting our HR department in getting some feedback 

> regarding accessibility for one of our faculty.  This professor works 

> in the graduate school for psychology.  He is blind and currently uses



> JAWS.

> He is

> reporting displeasure with the compatibility of JAWS with our current 

> platforms and databases.  These specifically include: Banner, WebCT,

> WebStar, and the research database ProQuest.   This faculty member

took

> it

> upon himself to get a proposal and quote from a consultant group in CA



> (NSU is in FL).  The quote came out to $9,600 for 64 hours to do an 

> assessment of the technology accessibility issues and make 

> recommendations. (This did not include travel/hotel/meals, etc)

>

>

>

> I have several questions to pose to this diverse and experienced

group.

>

>

>

> 1. Is this an excessive or competitive quote?  I believe it comes out 

> to be $150/hour

>

> 2. Is there alternative software that may better suit his needs or be 

> more compatible with the technology?

>

> 3. Does anyone know of a local or regional consulting company that is 

> reputable so we can seek other proposals?  Our main campus is in the 

> Fort Lauderdale area.

>

>

>

> Any guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated.

>

>

>

> Arlene Giczkowski, M.S. Ed.

>

> Director, Student Disability Services

>

> Nova Southeastern University

>

> (954) 262-7189

>

> http://www.nova.edu/disabilityservices

>

>

>

> Confidentiality Notice:  This e-mail, including attachments, may 

> include confidential and/or proprietary information and may be used 

> ONLY by the person or entity to which it is addressed. Any 

> unauthorized dissemination, distribution or copying is prohibited.  If



> you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and 

> permanently delete the message.

> Thank you.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> This list is intended to serve as a forum for higher education 

> professionals involved in the delivery of services to students with 

> disabilities in higher education. Any commercial posts or posts that 

> are deemed by the listowner to be inappropriate for the list will 

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>

> ----- End forwarded message -----

>

>

> Stacy Smith

> Adaptive Technology Specialist, Disability Support Services

> 532-6441

> stacylee at ksu.edu

>

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~

>

> One does not need buildings, money, power, or status to practice the 

> Art of Peace. Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the 

> place to train.

>

> --Morehei Ueshiba

>

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