[Athen] EASI Webinar: The Future of E--books Is Here!

[Prof Norm Coombs]

The point of the Webinar is to outline the current state of NIMAS which is 
the K-12 standard in the IDEA legislation.  Of course, my personal interest 
is more higher ed but I believe this event is monumental and needs 
treatment.  Also, An hour goes by quickly.  If we hope to get into any 
depth, 2 people is probably all we can cover.

I'd love to do a follow-up on how to expand this to higher ed.

ANY VOLUNTEERS????
At 07:27 AM 5/1/2007, you wrote:

>My apologies to all!  I previously posted this last week, but with the 

>wrong subject line, so thought I'd try again.

>

>Norm, this sounds like a very interesting workshop!  Thanks for providing 

>it.

>

>I do have one concern which is that there is no representation from two 

>key players - postsecondary education dss and APA (American Publishers 

>Association) - in this workshop. Since NIMAS is the standard for K-12 and 

>not postsecondary ed, was anyone from the AHEAD eText inititive involved 

>or invited?  It would just seem appropriate to have someone who represents 

>postsecondary ed involved in this along with the individuals who are 

>scheduled.

>

>Soapbox for any who wish to lend an ear:  It seems that we have several 

>different groups working on this issue, but the groups are not 

>communicating with one another!  Ex: Group 1 - we have the AHEAD eText 

>Initiative which has the main players at the table talking, Group 2 - this 

>EASI workshop group, Group 3 - a group of individuals who are blind who 

>recently went to Washington to talk directly with senators and 

>representatives about needing legislation mandating that publishers 

>provide eText in a specific standard (I think they too had jumped on the 

>NIMAS bandwagon).  I'm sure there are other groups out there.  Rather than 

>having umpteen smaller groups picking away at the problem, it would seem 

>more feasible for us to band together.  More power in numbers!

>

>OK – I'm stepping off my soap box and getting back to proctoring finals.

>Thanks all!

>

>Heidi Scher, M.S., CRC

>Counselor/Coordinator of Disability Services

>Arkansas State University - Beebe

>

>

>

>>Message: 7

>>Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2007 09:08:52 -0700

>>From: Prof Norm Coombs 

>><<mailto:norm.coombs at GMAIL.COM>norm.coombs at GMAIL.COM> (by way of Prof Norm

>>         Coombs  <<mailto:norm.coombs at gmail.com> norm.coombs at gmail.com>)

>>Subject: [Athen] EASI Webinar: The Future of E--books Is Here!

>>To: <mailto:athen at athenpro.org>athen at athenpro.org

>>Message-ID: <<mailto:6.0.3.0.2.20070426090743.022b50f0 at pop.gmail.com> 

>>6.0.3.0.2.20070426090743.022b50f0 at pop.gmail.com>

>>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>>

>>--=====================_88253984==.ALT

>>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

>>

>>EASI Webinar: The Future of E--books Is Here!

>>

>>Accessible E-textbooks for Students: May 1 2 PM Eastern

>>Presenters:

>>Nicole Gaines, NIMAC Manager, American Printinghouse for the Blind

>>Julia Myers, Director, Resource Services and NIMAC, American Printing House

>>for the Blind,

>>Skip Stahl, Project Director, NIMAS Development Center, Center for Applied

>>Special Technology

>>

>>President Bush signed the Individuals with Disabilities Education

>>Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) on December 3, 2004 which, among other

>>things, mandated

>>the provision of textbooks and instructional materials in accessible

>>formats for students who are blind or print disabled. While the legislation

>>relates to K-12 students, we believe that the more that publishers are

>>creating accessible e-textbooks for K-12 that they will inevitably expand

>>to a broader audience. If not, there will be an outcry from K-12 students

>>as they transition into higher education wanting the same quality of

>>support for their studies. This will be like dropping a pebble into the

>>water. The wave will expand to include higher ed and the general

>>public.  Learning about this dramatic e-book revolution is important for

>>all of us.

>>

>>This presentation will focus on NIMAS, (National Instructional Materials

>>Accessibility Standard), the role of APH, (American Printinghouse for the

>>Dlind)

>>and the role of CAST, (Center for Applied Special Technology).

>>

>>The National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) is a file

>>repository for core print textbooks and related instructional materials

>>required for

>>use by blind or other persons with print disabilities in elementary and

>>secondary schools in the U.S. and its territories. These National

>>Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) source file sets can

>>be used to create specialized formats, such as braille, large print, audio,

>>or digital text. The NIMAC opened in December 2006.

>>

>>CAST is the home of the NIMAS Development Center and the NIMAS Technical

>>Assistance Center, Cooperative agreements with the Office of Special

>>Education Programs, United States Department of Education.

>>

>>While this Webinar is free, you need to register in advance to guarantee a

>>seat in the room. (Those who register, whether or not they attend, will

>>afterwards

>>receive a link to the recording.  When you connect over the Internet to the

>>Webinar room, you can listen to the presenters and watch as supporting Web

>>pages are pushed to reinforce the presentation.  The audience can also make

>>comments or ask questions either by using a mic to talk or by writing into

>>the room's text window.

>>

>>

>>To read more and register to reserve a seat and to get login information

>>for this free event, go to:

>><http://easi.cc/clinic.htm>http://easi.cc/clinic.htm

>>

>>

>>Look for other future Webinars on that page.  We have several being

>>finalized and they should be on that page very soon.

>>The EASI month-long, online courses on accessible Information Technology

>>for May are:

>>Barrier-free Information Technology (4-week online course starting May 7)

>>http//easi.cc/workshop.htm

>>Creating and Repurposing More Accessible Content (4-week online course

>>starting May 7)

>>http//easi.cc/workshop.htm

>>

>>

>>Norman Coombs

>>CEO EASI

>>

>>-----------------------

>>Check out EASI's New Synchronous Clinics:

>><http://easi.cc/clinic.htm>http://easi.cc/clinic.htm

>>

>>EASI Home Page <http://www.rit.edu/%7Eeasi>http://www.rit.edu/~easi

>>Online Courses and Clinics 

>><http://easi.cc/workshop.htm>http://easi.cc/workshop.htm

>>To sign off this list

>>send e-mail to 

>><mailto:listserv at listserv.icors.org>listserv at listserv.icors.org saying

>>signoff itd-jnl

>>

>

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      ----------------------------------------
Webinar Series on Accessible Powerpoint starting April 19
http//easi.cc/clinic.htm

May Courses
Barrier-free Information Technology (4-week online course starting May 7)
http//easi.cc/workshop.htm
Creating and Repurposing More Accessible Content (4-week online course 
starting May 7)
http//easi.cc/workshop.htm

Norman Coombs, Ph.D.
CEO EASI (http//easi.cc)
22196 Caminito Tasquillo
Laguna Hills CA 92653
(949) 855-4852 (Pacific time zone)



                  
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