[Athen] FW: Accessibility @ EDUCAUSE: Telconference May 12 @ 1pm Eastern

[Terrill Thompson]

Hey ATHEN folk, 

I'm forwarding this email that I sent to the EDUCAUSE IT Accessibility Constituent Group. There are big things brewing at EDUCAUSE related to accessibility at the national conference. EDUCAUSE is the leading organization related to information technology in higher education, and their national conference attracts thousands of participants and hundreds of exhibitors. These are people who need to learn about and embrace the cause of technology accessibility, and this year we have a good opportunity to raise awareness (described below). 

Given this, we'll need people who work in the accessible technology field to help at the conference (October 12-15, Anaheim):
http://net.educause.edu/E10

We also need to start planning, which is what the May 12 teleconference is all about. I've brought teleconference information forward for your convenience, but for additional background please see the forwarded email. 

Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Time: 1pm Eastern, noon Central, 11am Mountain, 10am Pacific
Dial: 1.877.944.2300 with code 99231#

I hope you can join us on May 12, and I hope to see you all in Anaheim! 

Terrill Thompson
Technology Accessibility Specialist
DO-IT, UW Accessible Technology
UW Information Technology
University of Washington
tft at uw.edu | 206/221-4168


-----Original Message-----
From: The EDUCAUSE IT Accessibility Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:ITACCESS at LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Terrill Thompson
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 11:05 AM
To: ITACCESS at LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: [ITACCESS] Accessibility @ EDUCAUSE: Telconference May 12 @ 1pm Eastern

To members of the IT Accessibility Constituent Group: 

We have set up a teleconference to discuss our specific plans for promoting IT Accessibility at the EDUCAUSE national conference: 

Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Time: 1pm Eastern, noon Central, 11am Mountain, 10am Pacific
Dial: 1.877.944.2300 with code 99231#

Recent discussions on the list regarding our organizing an accessibility-related presence at the EDUCAUSE national conference have taken a new turn: EDUCAUSE leadership has stepped forward with an interest in coordinating this effort as an official EDUCAUSE activity. Jon Gunderson and I met by voice today with Garth Jordan, EDUCAUSE Vice President of Operations; Carolyn Coleman, EDUCAUSE Corporate Relations Manager; and Lida Larson, EDUCAUSE Regional Professional Development Program Manager and liaison to our constituent group. In this meeting, we agreed on a general direction, but now need to fill in the details. 

The general direction is this: 

1. EDUCAUSE will have an IT Accessibility "Island" (not the official name necessarily) - an area dedicated to IT accessibility, located inside the Exhibit Hall but distinct from vendor booths. 

2. EDUCAUSE will handle the financing of this area, so we can focus on content rather than fundraising. They may recruit corporate sponsors, especially targeting those companies that we identify as having demonstrated a commitment to accessibility.

3. It will be staffed full-time during Exhibit Hall hours by volunteers (i.e., members of this constituent group). 

4. We will use the area to provide informal interactions such as one-on-one consultation on accessibility, disability simulations, etc., but may also schedule more formal trainings or demonstrations at specific advertised times. Corporate sponsors may or may not be involved in delivering these presentations (this is something we need to decide). 

5. EDUCAUSE (specifically, Carolyn) will help us to work out logistical details such as optimum placement, size, and promotional strategies, but before proceeding with that we must first identify the specific activities that will be conducted in this space. 

Let us know if you have any questions. Otherwise, please bring your ideas for relevant conference activities to the teleconference on May 12. 

Thanks!
 
Terrill Thompson
Technology Accessibility Specialist
DO-IT, UW Accessible Technology
UW Information Technology
University of Washington
tft at uw.edu | 206/221-4168

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