From sherylb at uw.edu Wed Dec 2 08:05:34 2020 From: sherylb at uw.edu (Sheryl Burgstahler) Date: Wed Dec 2 08:06:56 2020 Subject: [Athen] Fwd: Here's a Question for You References: Message-ID: <2F1A931D-8FA2-4EC3-B5BD-9362EB5E99FE@uw.edu> Respond to Judy Vessel if you are interested in this opportunity. Begin forwarded message: From: Judy Vesel > Subject: Here's a Question for You Date: December 2, 2020 at 6:42:14 AM PST To: "Sheryl E. Burgstahler" > Sheryl: I've become involved in a proposal and need a faculty member in computer science (or the like) with a research interest in designing learning technologies for inclusive classrooms. Please see below. Do you know of anyone who might be willing to do this or someone who might know of such a person? The person we had dropped out due to COVID. Thanks, _Judy Overview: Improving the Accuracy of STEM Speech to Text Transcription with a Graphemic Text Editor is an exploratory project with the goal of broadening participation of students in the middle grades and high school with disabilities in remote and face-to-face STEM teaching and learning experiences that incorporate life science content. With this project, Bridge Multimedia, Syncro Services Digital Media, and a faculty member in computer science with a research interest in designing learning technologies for inclusive classrooms will develop a proof-of-concept grapheme-based speech-to-text transcription editor app extension. The editor will provide teachers and their students with technology that corrects many of the speech-to-text transcription errors that occur in ~80-90% of print text output that involves life scien -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From montagj at mtc.edu Thu Dec 3 07:04:25 2020 From: montagj at mtc.edu (JENIFER MONTAG) Date: Thu Dec 3 07:04:39 2020 Subject: [Athen] MS Sharepoint Surveys accessiblity? Message-ID: Hello All, I have only used SurveyMonkey for surveys before, as they have proven to be the most accessible. However, I am sure that other companies have begun to implement accessibility in their systems (or at least, I am hoping that over the past 10 years, that is the case). At my institution, I have been directed to develop surveys for students in MS Sharepoint, moving away from SurveyMonkey. Since I have not used Sharepoint Surveys yet, I wanted to see if others are using it and how the accessibility is before I use it (and to also help the institution not implement it as the survey tool for the campus if there are accessibility issues). Any on-the-ground feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Jen Jenifer Montag Director, Disability Services MTC Perkins Grant Administrator Marion Technical College Phone: 740-386-4222 Email: montagj@mtc.edu ________________________________ This message and any response to it may constitute a public record, and therefore may be available upon request in accordance with Ohio public records law. (ORC 149.43) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From armstrongdeborah at fhda.edu Thu Dec 3 07:35:27 2020 From: armstrongdeborah at fhda.edu (Deborah Armstrong) Date: Thu Dec 3 07:36:04 2020 Subject: [Athen] I am speaking at NVDACON Message-ID: This Saturday, the free NVDACON will be of interest to your students who use Windows and screen readers. My talk is again about learning foreign languages using NVDA --- >From the web page: Learning New Languages and Reading with multiple languages(Follow-up to last year's session) Getting ready to learn a new language requires extra steps for an NVDA user, but NVDA is the most versatile screen reader when it comes to working with multiple languages. In this talk, I will go over the Windows settings and NVDA add-ons that assist with the process. There will be plenty of time for questions and users who work with multiple languages will be given time to chime in with their expertise. The talk is suited for beginners as well as advanced users who can enrich our community's knowledge. Some topics covered include: changing to an international keyboard, setting up Windows one-core for different languages, using the SwitchSynth and the Braille Extender add-ons to assist in language learning and how to mark up a document to read properly in another language. We will also cover the quick dictionary add-on for those who need to translate between source and target languages. http://www.nvdacon.org I also have a handout they will post which I'm encouraging people to publicly share. --Debee -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cassandra.tex at humboldt.edu Thu Dec 3 09:02:07 2020 From: cassandra.tex at humboldt.edu (Cassandra L Tex) Date: Thu Dec 3 09:02:44 2020 Subject: [Athen] For Those Campuses Using Notetaking Express (NTE) Message-ID: <6883271d6797eea835683e05870b0576@mail.gmail.com> Hi All, Sorry for the cross posting?for those of you using Notetaking Express (NTE) to provide notes for your students, I would love your opinions on the following? We have slowly implemented NTE for notetaking when we have been unable to secure a peer notetaker for a student. I am currently managing notes from NTE for 14 classes. I pull down the Zoom recordings, send them to NTE, get notified when the notes are ready, download the notes, and then deliver to students via a shared folder on Google drive. It is a bit cumbersome, but our staff is stretched thin, and we don?t have the resources to train students to do this independently right now. In addition, students only have links to Zoom sessions?with NTE, you need to upload audio or video ? which I have access to as an administrator for Zoom. Here?s my issue?.in NTE you select the turnaround time you want (24, 48 or 72-hour turnaround). This not only lets the notetakers know how quickly the notes should be completed, but NTE uses this setting for invoicing. We have selected the 24 hour turnaround time. There are times when the notes are not completed within the 24 hour turnaround time, and my argument is that we should not be charged the premium cost if the notes are not delivered within the 24 hour timeframe. NTE knows exactly when the video/audio was uploaded, and they know exactly when the notes are completed and the email sent indicating the notes are ready. The invoicing should be based on these timestamps, not on the turnaround-time setting selected (in my opinion). Of course, if students were doing this independently, we would not know how often NTE does not fulfill the notes within the 24 hour timeframe because they would not take the time to note the times for the various steps. I have actually taken the time to note the various timestamps along the way. In the beginning of the semester, NTE was pretty good with sticking to the 24 hour timeframe. In November, however, 73.5% of the videos uploaded did not adhere to the 24 hours, and in many cases, took longer than 72 hours. My questions for those of you using NTE: ? Were you aware that the setting for turnaround time is also used for invoicing? ? Do you think the pricing charged to your university should be on actual time it takes for delivery of notes or based on the initial setting for the turnaround time? ? Does it concern you that you are being overcharged by NTE if the notes are not delivered within the desired timeframe? o It may not seem like a lot, but if you add up one or two classes here and there, multiply by the number of students you have using NTE and then think about the all universities across the country using NTE?the figure seems quite significant to me. Curious about your thoughts and opinions? Thanks! Cassandra Humboldt State University -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From smarositz at csudh.edu Thu Dec 3 14:35:15 2020 From: smarositz at csudh.edu (Stephen Marositz) Date: Thu Dec 3 14:35:36 2020 Subject: [Athen] MS SharePoint Surveys accessibility? Message-ID: Hello Do you mean Microsoft forms with a group in SharePoint https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-forms-blog/office-365-group-in-microsoft-forms/ba-p/200371 Or, The forms you can make with SharePoint lists. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powerapps/maker/canvas-apps/customize-list-form Either way, both can be made accessibly although, as a screen reader user myself, I found the SharePoint lists cumbersome. Apologies though, it's been about a year since I looked at them and I can't remember why exactly. Both have their advantages. HTH Alex Marositz J.D. ATAC Information Security and Compliance Office Information Technology California State University, Dominguez Hills E: samarositz@csudh.edu https://www.csudh.edu/it/security-compliance/ From: athen-list On Behalf Of JENIFER MONTAG Sent: Thursday, December 3, 2020 7:04 AM To: athen-list@u.washington.edu Subject: [Athen] MS Sharepoint Surveys accessiblity? Hello All, I have only used SurveyMonkey for surveys before, as they have proven to be the most accessible. However, I am sure that other companies have begun to implement accessibility in their systems (or at least, I am hoping that over the past 10 years, that is the case). At my institution, I have been directed to develop surveys for students in MS Sharepoint, moving away from SurveyMonkey. Since I have not used Sharepoint Surveys yet, I wanted to see if others are using it and how the accessibility is before I use it (and to also help the institution not implement it as the survey tool for the campus if there are accessibility issues). Any on-the-ground feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Jen Jenifer Montag Director, Disability Services MTC Perkins Grant Administrator Marion Technical College Phone: 740-386-4222 Email: montagj@mtc.edu ________________________________ This message and any response to it may constitute a public record, and therefore may be available upon request in accordance with Ohio public records law. (ORC 149.43) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From montagj at mtc.edu Fri Dec 4 12:08:12 2020 From: montagj at mtc.edu (JENIFER MONTAG) Date: Fri Dec 4 12:08:49 2020 Subject: [Athen] thank you for feedback on Sharepoint Form accessibility Message-ID: Hello Alex, Thank you for your feedback and insight. As this is my first time using SharePoint for the survey, I'm not clear which format is the one I will be using for the survey. Thank you for the resources on the two different formats. I will take a look at those and hopefully figure out which one is the format I will be using. Thank you, Jen -----Original Message----- From: athen-list On Behalf Of athen-list-request@mailman12.u.washington.edu Sent: Friday, December 4, 2020 3:01 PM To: athen-list@u.washington.edu Subject: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] athen-list Digest, Vol 179, Issue 3 Send athen-list mailing list submissions to athen-list@u.washington.edu To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to athen-list-request@mailman12.u.washington.edu You can reach the person managing the list at athen-list-owner@mailman12.u.washington.edu When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of athen-list digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: MS SharePoint Surveys accessibility? (Stephen Marositz) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2020 22:35:15 +0000 From: Stephen Marositz To: Access Technology Higher Education Network Subject: Re: [Athen] MS SharePoint Surveys accessibility? Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hello Do you mean Microsoft forms with a group in SharePoint https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-forms-blog/office-365-group-in-microsoft-forms/ba-p/200371 Or, The forms you can make with SharePoint lists. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powerapps/maker/canvas-apps/customize-list-form Either way, both can be made accessibly although, as a screen reader user myself, I found the SharePoint lists cumbersome. Apologies though, it's been about a year since I looked at them and I can't remember why exactly. Both have their advantages. HTH Alex Marositz J.D. ATAC Information Security and Compliance Office Information Technology California State University, Dominguez Hills E: samarositz@csudh.edu https://www.csudh.edu/it/security-compliance/ From: athen-list On Behalf Of JENIFER MONTAG Sent: Thursday, December 3, 2020 7:04 AM To: athen-list@u.washington.edu Subject: [Athen] MS Sharepoint Surveys accessiblity? Hello All, I have only used SurveyMonkey for surveys before, as they have proven to be the most accessible. However, I am sure that other companies have begun to implement accessibility in their systems (or at least, I am hoping that over the past 10 years, that is the case). At my institution, I have been directed to develop surveys for students in MS Sharepoint, moving away from SurveyMonkey. Since I have not used Sharepoint Surveys yet, I wanted to see if others are using it and how the accessibility is before I use it (and to also help the institution not implement it as the survey tool for the campus if there are accessibility issues). Any on-the-ground feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Jen Jenifer Montag Director, Disability Services MTC Perkins Grant Administrator Marion Technical College Phone: 740-386-4222 Email: montagj@mtc.edu ________________________________ This message and any response to it may constitute a public record, and therefore may be available upon request in accordance with Ohio public records law. (ORC 149.43) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ athen-list mailing list athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list ------------------------------ End of athen-list Digest, Vol 179, Issue 3 ****************************************** ________________________________ This message and any response to it may constitute a public record, and therefore may be available upon request in accordance with Ohio public records law. (ORC 149.43) From dabrus at purdue.edu Mon Dec 7 05:06:10 2020 From: dabrus at purdue.edu (Brusnighan, Dean A.) Date: Mon Dec 7 05:07:06 2020 Subject: [Athen] Job posting: Senior Assistive Technology Specialist Message-ID: Good morning everyone, Purdue University is hiring a senior assistive technology specialist to fill my position after I retire at the end of December. They'll have a great team to work with, a supervisor that supports accessibility, and no shortage of issues to work on. You can view the posting directly or visit the Purdue jobs page and search for job #12131. Please share with folks who might be interested. Thanks! Dean Dean Brusnighan Assistive Technology Specialist Purdue University 765-494-9082 dabrus@purdue.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kerscher at montana.com Mon Dec 7 07:17:43 2020 From: kerscher at montana.com (kerscher@montana.com) Date: Mon Dec 7 07:18:47 2020 Subject: [Athen] FW: DAISY Music Braille Project: Accessible Music and Audio Technology workshop and email group In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <006801d6ccac$200de0f0$6029a2d0$@montana.com> Dear Higher Ed folks, I thought this would be of interest to many of your students who are blind and in the music field. In the music braille project, distribution of music braille files are being standardized, and tools are being developed. The list mentioned below is an additional activity. Best George From: Sarah Morley Wilkins Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 5:25 AM To: musicbraille@daisy.org Subject: DAISY Music Braille Project: Accessible Music and Audio Technology workshop and email group Dear friends of the DAISY Music Braille Project, We thought you might like to know about/promote this workshop and email group (organized by a colleague in the UK, but open worldwide): VIBE is a group of blind and partially sighted musicians and for anyone interested in accessible music, and audio technology, Whether you sing or play for leisure, study or as a profession, in any genre, VIBE will put you in touch with others who can answer questions or suggest solutions, and generally help each other out. We have covered topics including performance, visual presentation, online promotion, tips for playing different instruments, and access to music and audio software and equipment. The simplest way to join is via the Email group. We also run monthly Zoom events, and the next one will be presented by Andr? Louis, the accomplished keyboard player and music tech trainer, who will talk about Komplete Kontrol, the accessible way to use software synthesisers, the Logic digital audio workstation (DAW), and Jamulus, which lets musicians play together online without the usual time-lag problems. This will be on Friday 18 December from 11 to 12:30 UTC. To join the Email group and stay informed, send an Email to this address: vibe-request@freelists.org In the subject line write: subscribe ? You are receiving this email because you asked to be kept informed about the DAISY Music Braille Project. If you?d like to be removed, or wish to add someone, please email us at musicbraille@daisy.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From raford3 at hfcc.edu Mon Dec 7 07:56:10 2020 From: raford3 at hfcc.edu (Rachel Ford) Date: Mon Dec 7 07:56:39 2020 Subject: [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat Message-ID: Hello All, With our faculty working from home, I've run into an issue where some faculty don't have access to Acrobat Pro to create accessible PDFs. Does anyone have a good alternative to Acrobat or just generally using PDFs? Any suggestions would be really helpful. Thank you, Rachel Ford Web Accessibility Manager Henry Ford College -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dhayman at olympic.edu Mon Dec 7 08:10:30 2020 From: dhayman at olympic.edu (Hayman, Douglass) Date: Mon Dec 7 08:11:00 2020 Subject: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Rachel, My institution provided me with a laptop to work from home which has both Microsoft Office and also Acrobat Pro to let me work on remediation of documents. Are your remote staff having to use their own computers? Doug Hayman IT Accessibility Coordinator Information Technology Olympic College dhayman@olympic.edu (360) 475-7632 (currently working remotely and don't have access to this phone) From: athen-list On Behalf Of Rachel Ford Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 7:56 AM To: athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu Subject: [EXTERNAL] - [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat CAUTION: This email came from a non-OC system or external source. Beware of phishing and social engineering! Hello All, With our faculty working from home, I've run into an issue where some faculty don't have access to Acrobat Pro to create accessible PDFs. Does anyone have a good alternative to Acrobat or just generally using PDFs? Any suggestions would be really helpful. Thank you, Rachel Ford Web Accessibility Manager Henry Ford College -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From markgr at buffalo.edu Mon Dec 7 08:39:29 2020 From: markgr at buffalo.edu (Greenfield, Mark) Date: Mon Dec 7 08:40:02 2020 Subject: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <65101064-58DF-4F19-84B0-557D37C1B7B0@buffalo.edu> We are exploring the use of AxesPDF (https://www.axes4.com/). It doesn?t require Acrobat Pro, and in my experience is easier to use than Acrobat Pro. Remediating PDFs has been an ongoing challenge for us because we don?t have a campus-wide license for Acrobat Pro and most faculty don?t have it. Mark Mark A. Greenfield Web Accessibility Officer Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 406 Capen Hall State University of New York at Buffalo Buffalo, N.Y. 14260 telephone: (716)645-2811 e-mail: markgr@buffalo.edu From: athen-list on behalf of "Hayman, Douglass" Reply-To: Access Technology Higher Education Network Date: Monday, December 7, 2020 at 11:12 AM To: Access Technology Higher Education Network Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat Rachel, My institution provided me with a laptop to work from home which has both Microsoft Office and also Acrobat Pro to let me work on remediation of documents. Are your remote staff having to use their own computers? Doug Hayman IT Accessibility Coordinator Information Technology Olympic College dhayman@olympic.edu (360) 475-7632 (currently working remotely and don?t have access to this phone) From: athen-list On Behalf Of Rachel Ford Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 7:56 AM To: athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu Subject: [EXTERNAL] - [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat CAUTION: This email came from a non-OC system or external source. Beware of phishing and social engineering! Hello All, With our faculty working from home, I?ve run into an issue where some faculty don?t have access to Acrobat Pro to create accessible PDFs. Does anyone have a good alternative to Acrobat or just generally using PDFs? Any suggestions would be really helpful. Thank you, Rachel Ford Web Accessibility Manager Henry Ford College -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From adwershing at pstcc.edu Mon Dec 7 08:47:15 2020 From: adwershing at pstcc.edu (Wershing, Alice D.) Date: Mon Dec 7 08:47:35 2020 Subject: [Athen] Job description for creating alternate descriptions Message-ID: Hello, I hope everyone is doing well. I'm looking for an example of a job description for someone who would create alternate descriptions for images. If you have one, please share. Also any resources you can point me to where I might find examples would be greatly appreciated. Alice Schedule a training session Alice D. Wershing, M.Ed., A.T.P., C.P.A.C.C. Disability Services, Technology Specialist TNecampus Accessibility Specialist Pellissippi State Technical Community College 865-694-6751 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From raford3 at hfcc.edu Mon Dec 7 11:21:54 2020 From: raford3 at hfcc.edu (Rachel Ford) Date: Mon Dec 7 11:22:15 2020 Subject: [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat Message-ID: Hi Doug, My concern is actually our faculty (teachers), because many of them are using personal machines and don't have access to campus for the time being. I'm looking at every alternative I can think of (such as not using PDFs, ways to create PDFs without Acrobat). Rachel Ford Web Accessibility Manager Henry Ford College [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat Hayman, Douglass dhayman at olympic.edu Mon Dec 7 08:10:30 PST 2020 ________________________________ Rachel, My institution provided me with a laptop to work from home which has both Microsoft Office and also Acrobat Pro to let me work on remediation of documents. Are your remote staff having to use their own computers? Doug Hayman IT Accessibility Coordinator Information Technology Olympic College dhayman at olympic.edu> (360) 475-7632 (currently working remotely and don't have access to this phone) From: athen-list > On Behalf Of Rachel Ford Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 7:56 AM To: athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu Subject: [EXTERNAL] - [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat CAUTION: This email came from a non-OC system or external source. Beware of phishing and social engineering! Hello All, With our faculty working from home, I've run into an issue where some faculty don't have access to Acrobat Pro to create accessible PDFs. Does anyone have a good alternative to Acrobat or just generally using PDFs? Any suggestions would be really helpful. Thank you, Rachel Ford Web Accessibility Manager Henry Ford College -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From foreigntype at gmail.com Mon Dec 7 11:27:10 2020 From: foreigntype at gmail.com (foreigntype@gmail.com) Date: Mon Dec 7 11:27:49 2020 Subject: [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Rachel, Is it possible for your IT dept. to set up open portal access for faculty to use Acrobat Pro while everyone's out working remotely and don't have access to campus computers? Wink Harner Accessibility Consultant/Alternative Text Production The Foreign Type Portland OR foreigntype@gmail.com 480-984-0034 This email was dictated using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Please forgive quirks, misrecognitions, or errata . Virus-free. www.avast.com <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> On Mon, Dec 7, 2020 at 11:22 AM Rachel Ford wrote: > Hi Doug, > > > > My concern is actually our faculty (teachers), because many of them are > using personal machines and don?t have access to campus for the time being. > I?m looking at every alternative I can think of (such as not using PDFs, > ways to create PDFs without Acrobat). > > > > Rachel Ford > > Web Accessibility Manager > > Henry Ford College > > > > [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat > > Hayman, Douglass dhayman at olympic.edu > > Mon Dec 7 08:10:30 PST 2020 > ------------------------------ > > Rachel, > > My institution provided me with a laptop to work from home which has both > Microsoft Office and also Acrobat Pro to let me work on remediation of > documents. Are your remote staff having to use their own computers? > > Doug Hayman > IT Accessibility Coordinator > Information Technology > Olympic College > dhayman at olympic.edu > at olympic.edu > > > (360) 475-7632 (currently working remotely and don't have access to this > phone) > > From: athen-list > On > Behalf Of Rachel Ford > Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 7:56 AM > To: athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu > > Subject: [EXTERNAL] - [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat > > CAUTION: This email came from a non-OC system or external source. Beware > of phishing and social engineering! > > Hello All, > > With our faculty working from home, I've run into an issue where some > faculty don't have access to Acrobat Pro to create accessible PDFs. Does > anyone have a good alternative to Acrobat or just generally using PDFs? Any > suggestions would be really helpful. > > Thank you, > > Rachel Ford > Web Accessibility Manager > Henry Ford College > _______________________________________________ > athen-list mailing list > athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu > http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chagnon at pubcom.com Mon Dec 7 11:53:34 2020 From: chagnon at pubcom.com (chagnon@pubcom.com) Date: Mon Dec 7 11:55:04 2020 Subject: [Athen] Job description for creating alternate descriptions In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <007a01d6ccd2$a5c15e40$f1441ac0$@pubcom.com> We suggest our clients call the position an "Accessibility Editor." One of the tasks is writing Alt-text for graphics, but other tasks include: * Writing Metadata / File Properties (the Subject/Description is very important). * Writing Captions and Summaries when appropriate. * Maintaining the hierarchy of heading levels throughout the document. * Maintaining clear, plain language. * Ensuring a logical reading order. - - - Bevi Chagnon | Designer, Accessibility Technician | Chagnon@PubCom.com - - - PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing consulting . training . development . design . sec. 508 services Upcoming classes at www.PubCom.com/classes - - - Latest blog-newsletter - Simple Guide to Writing Alt-Text From: athen-list On Behalf Of Wershing, Alice D. Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 11:47 AM To: ATHEN mailing list Subject: [Athen] Job description for creating alternate descriptions Hello, I hope everyone is doing well. I'm looking for an example of a job description for someone who would create alternate descriptions for images. If you have one, please share. Also any resources you can point me to where I might find examples would be greatly appreciated. Alice Schedule a training session Alice D. Wershing, M.Ed., A.T.P., C.P.A.C.C. Disability Services, Technology Specialist TNecampus Accessibility Specialist Pellissippi State Technical Community College 865-694-6751 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chagnon at pubcom.com Mon Dec 7 12:03:05 2020 From: chagnon at pubcom.com (chagnon@pubcom.com) Date: Mon Dec 7 12:03:47 2020 Subject: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat In-Reply-To: <65101064-58DF-4F19-84B0-557D37C1B7B0@buffalo.edu> References: <65101064-58DF-4F19-84B0-557D37C1B7B0@buffalo.edu> Message-ID: <007f01d6ccd3$f9eea260$edcbe720$@pubcom.com> We find that Microsoft?s built-in PDF export utility (in Office 365) does a much better job, comparable to Acrobat?s PDF Maker plug-in which comes with Acrobat Pro. In most cases, MS?s matches Acrobat?s conversion. And it?s free. But your IT department will have to make sure they keep MS Office up to date: earlier versions of their PDF export utility were awful. Another alternative is FoxIt?s PDF plugin, but given that FoxIt makes the one built into Microsoft Office, why would you pay for what?s essentially the same product? Question: wouldn?t it make more sense (and cents!) to train your faculty and staff in how to make accessible documents? Doing the job right from the start is always more cost effective than remediating everything after it?s made. It?s a teach-a-person-to-fish strategy. ? ? ? Bevi Chagnon | Designer, Accessibility Technician | Chagnon@PubCom.com ? ? ? PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing consulting ? training ? development ? design ? sec. 508 services Upcoming classes at www.PubCom.com/classes ? ? ? Latest blog-newsletter ? Simple Guide to Writing Alt-Text From: athen-list On Behalf Of Greenfield, Mark Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 11:39 AM To: Access Technology Higher Education Network Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat We are exploring the use of AxesPDF (https://www.axes4.com/). It doesn?t require Acrobat Pro, and in my experience is easier to use than Acrobat Pro. Remediating PDFs has been an ongoing challenge for us because we don?t have a campus-wide license for Acrobat Pro and most faculty don?t have it. Mark Mark A. Greenfield Web Accessibility Officer Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 406 Capen Hall State University of New York at Buffalo Buffalo, N.Y. 14260 telephone: (716)645-2811 e-mail: markgr@buffalo.edu From: athen-list > on behalf of "Hayman, Douglass" > Reply-To: Access Technology Higher Education Network > Date: Monday, December 7, 2020 at 11:12 AM To: Access Technology Higher Education Network > Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat Rachel, My institution provided me with a laptop to work from home which has both Microsoft Office and also Acrobat Pro to let me work on remediation of documents. Are your remote staff having to use their own computers? Doug Hayman IT Accessibility Coordinator Information Technology Olympic College dhayman@olympic.edu (360) 475-7632 (currently working remotely and don?t have access to this phone) From: athen-list > On Behalf Of Rachel Ford Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 7:56 AM To: athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu Subject: [EXTERNAL] - [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat CAUTION: This email came from a non-OC system or external source. Beware of phishing and social engineering! Hello All, With our faculty working from home, I?ve run into an issue where some faculty don?t have access to Acrobat Pro to create accessible PDFs. Does anyone have a good alternative to Acrobat or just generally using PDFs? Any suggestions would be really helpful. Thank you, Rachel Ford Web Accessibility Manager Henry Ford College -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From adietrich at cornell.edu Mon Dec 7 13:24:47 2020 From: adietrich at cornell.edu (Andrea L. Dietrich) Date: Mon Dec 7 13:25:10 2020 Subject: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat In-Reply-To: <007f01d6ccd3$f9eea260$edcbe720$@pubcom.com> References: <65101064-58DF-4F19-84B0-557D37C1B7B0@buffalo.edu> <007f01d6ccd3$f9eea260$edcbe720$@pubcom.com> Message-ID: Using Microsoft?s built-in tools is great if you?re starting from scratch building the document. But often we work on remediating preexisting PDF files (I work a lot with document conversion for students, and we get publisher PDFs.) Are there any good tools to use if you?re forced to start with a PDF file? Or is it better to convert the PDF to Word, fix up the order and such, and then turn that into a PDF? -Andi :) From: athen-list On Behalf Of chagnon@pubcom.com Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 3:03 PM To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network' Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat We find that Microsoft?s built-in PDF export utility (in Office 365) does a much better job, comparable to Acrobat?s PDF Maker plug-in which comes with Acrobat Pro. In most cases, MS?s matches Acrobat?s conversion. And it?s free. But your IT department will have to make sure they keep MS Office up to date: earlier versions of their PDF export utility were awful. Another alternative is FoxIt?s PDF plugin, but given that FoxIt makes the one built into Microsoft Office, why would you pay for what?s essentially the same product? Question: wouldn?t it make more sense (and cents!) to train your faculty and staff in how to make accessible documents? Doing the job right from the start is always more cost effective than remediating everything after it?s made. It?s a teach-a-person-to-fish strategy. ? ? ? Bevi Chagnon | Designer, Accessibility Technician | Chagnon@PubCom.com ? ? ? PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing consulting ? training ? development ? design ? sec. 508 services Upcoming classes at www.PubCom.com/classes ? ? ? Latest blog-newsletter ? Simple Guide to Writing Alt-Text From: athen-list > On Behalf Of Greenfield, Mark Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 11:39 AM To: Access Technology Higher Education Network > Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat We are exploring the use of AxesPDF (https://www.axes4.com/). It doesn?t require Acrobat Pro, and in my experience is easier to use than Acrobat Pro. Remediating PDFs has been an ongoing challenge for us because we don?t have a campus-wide license for Acrobat Pro and most faculty don?t have it. Mark Mark A. Greenfield Web Accessibility Officer Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 406 Capen Hall State University of New York at Buffalo Buffalo, N.Y. 14260 telephone: (716)645-2811 e-mail: markgr@buffalo.edu From: athen-list > on behalf of "Hayman, Douglass" > Reply-To: Access Technology Higher Education Network > Date: Monday, December 7, 2020 at 11:12 AM To: Access Technology Higher Education Network > Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat Rachel, My institution provided me with a laptop to work from home which has both Microsoft Office and also Acrobat Pro to let me work on remediation of documents. Are your remote staff having to use their own computers? Doug Hayman IT Accessibility Coordinator Information Technology Olympic College dhayman@olympic.edu (360) 475-7632 (currently working remotely and don?t have access to this phone) From: athen-list > On Behalf Of Rachel Ford Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 7:56 AM To: athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu Subject: [EXTERNAL] - [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat CAUTION: This email came from a non-OC system or external source. Beware of phishing and social engineering! Hello All, With our faculty working from home, I?ve run into an issue where some faculty don?t have access to Acrobat Pro to create accessible PDFs. Does anyone have a good alternative to Acrobat or just generally using PDFs? Any suggestions would be really helpful. Thank you, Rachel Ford Web Accessibility Manager Henry Ford College -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chagnon at pubcom.com Mon Dec 7 17:02:47 2020 From: chagnon at pubcom.com (chagnon@pubcom.com) Date: Mon Dec 7 17:03:19 2020 Subject: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat In-Reply-To: References: <65101064-58DF-4F19-84B0-557D37C1B7B0@buffalo.edu> <007f01d6ccd3$f9eea260$edcbe720$@pubcom.com> Message-ID: <011201d6ccfd$d7f4dfb0$87de9f10$@pubcom.com> Andrea D. asked: ?Are there any good tools to use if you?re forced to start with a PDF file?? Note: this is a long, detailed answer. Sure, but it?s going to depend on: 1. How complex the document is, 2. Whether it was created in InDesign, Word, or PowerPoint ? or something else. Reading orders get botched up with documents from InDesign and PowerPoint, unless the creator has had specific training in how to make them accessible. And those from non-Adobe/non-Microsoft programs just don?t get accessibility at all and are a ripping mess to correct. 3. And whether it has maths and STEM in it. Therefore, there is no magic wand that will fix all your files with one magic keystroke. Today, anyone using MS Word should be able to generate a simple accessible Word document and matching accessible PDF without any extra effort, other than using a good accessible Word template and having a 2-3 hour training session in how to do it. It?s not rocket science! Stop the hemorrhaging of your institution?s funds! Get your staff trained immediately and reduce the drain of money and time. Remediate the original source file when you can, and especially if it will be re-used later for another document. Invest your time wisely for maximum benefit. OK, so when you can?t remediate the source file and it?s a doozie of a PDF, some of the tools we find helpful are: * Acrobat?s built-in remediation tools, like AutoTag and Preflight. And you need training in how to use them. * CommonLook PDF, is especially good with correcting tables. And you need training in how to use it. * AxesPDF Quick Fix is meh, IMHO. And you need training in how to use it. * Outside remediation cloud-based technologies. Today, vendors are crawling out of the woodwork claiming that their A I (artificial intelligence) will magically create accessible PDFs in seconds and cost you pennies. Artificial Intelligence is not yet very intelligent, especially for those problematic documents. We still need humans to determine what?s in a PDF, how it should be tagged and presented, and what a logical reading is for that document. My firm recommends only a handful of companies to our clients, and if you?re interested, contact me off list for our recommendations. I?m not here in Athen to promote one over the other. Bottom line: start fixing the problem rather than buying expensive band aids. Otherwise you?ll eventually run out of money. ? ? ? Bevi Chagnon | Designer, Accessibility Technician | Chagnon@PubCom.com ? ? ? PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing consulting ? training ? development ? design ? sec. 508 services Upcoming classes at www.PubCom.com/classes ? ? ? Latest blog-newsletter ? Simple Guide to Writing Alt-Text From: Andrea L. Dietrich Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 4:25 PM To: chagnon@pubcom.com; Access Technology Higher Education Network Subject: RE: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat Using Microsoft?s built-in tools is great if you?re starting from scratch building the document. But often we work on remediating preexisting PDF files (I work a lot with document conversion for students, and we get publisher PDFs.) Are there any good tools to use if you?re forced to start with a PDF file? Or is it better to convert the PDF to Word, fix up the order and such, and then turn that into a PDF? -Andi :) From: athen-list > On Behalf Of chagnon@pubcom.com Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 3:03 PM To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network' > Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat We find that Microsoft?s built-in PDF export utility (in Office 365) does a much better job, comparable to Acrobat?s PDF Maker plug-in which comes with Acrobat Pro. In most cases, MS?s matches Acrobat?s conversion. And it?s free. But your IT department will have to make sure they keep MS Office up to date: earlier versions of their PDF export utility were awful. Another alternative is FoxIt?s PDF plugin, but given that FoxIt makes the one built into Microsoft Office, why would you pay for what?s essentially the same product? Question: wouldn?t it make more sense (and cents!) to train your faculty and staff in how to make accessible documents? Doing the job right from the start is always more cost effective than remediating everything after it?s made. It?s a teach-a-person-to-fish strategy. ? ? ? Bevi Chagnon | Designer, Accessibility Technician | Chagnon@PubCom.com ? ? ? PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing consulting ? training ? development ? design ? sec. 508 services Upcoming classes at www.PubCom.com/ classes ? ? ? Latest blog-newsletter ? Simple Guide to Writing Alt-Text From: athen-list > On Behalf Of Greenfield, Mark Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 11:39 AM To: Access Technology Higher Education Network > Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat We are exploring the use of AxesPDF (https://www.axes4.com/). It doesn?t require Acrobat Pro, and in my experience is easier to use than Acrobat Pro. Remediating PDFs has been an ongoing challenge for us because we don?t have a campus-wide license for Acrobat Pro and most faculty don?t have it. Mark Mark A. Greenfield Web Accessibility Officer Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 406 Capen Hall State University of New York at Buffalo Buffalo, N.Y. 14260 telephone: (716)645-2811 e-mail: markgr@buffalo.edu From: athen-list > on behalf of "Hayman, Douglass" > Reply-To: Access Technology Higher Education Network > Date: Monday, December 7, 2020 at 11:12 AM To: Access Technology Higher Education Network > Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat Rachel, My institution provided me with a laptop to work from home which has both Microsoft Office and also Acrobat Pro to let me work on remediation of documents. Are your remote staff having to use their own computers? Doug Hayman IT Accessibility Coordinator Information Technology Olympic College dhayman@olympic.edu (360) 475-7632 (currently working remotely and don?t have access to this phone) From: athen-list > On Behalf Of Rachel Ford Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 7:56 AM To: athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu Subject: [EXTERNAL] - [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat CAUTION: This email came from a non-OC system or external source. Beware of phishing and social engineering! Hello All, With our faculty working from home, I?ve run into an issue where some faculty don?t have access to Acrobat Pro to create accessible PDFs. Does anyone have a good alternative to Acrobat or just generally using PDFs? Any suggestions would be really helpful. Thank you, Rachel Ford Web Accessibility Manager Henry Ford College -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From foreigntype at gmail.com Mon Dec 7 19:09:08 2020 From: foreigntype at gmail.com (foreigntype@gmail.com) Date: Mon Dec 7 19:09:27 2020 Subject: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat In-Reply-To: <011201d6ccfd$d7f4dfb0$87de9f10$@pubcom.com> References: <65101064-58DF-4F19-84B0-557D37C1B7B0@buffalo.edu> <007f01d6ccd3$f9eea260$edcbe720$@pubcom.com> <011201d6ccfd$d7f4dfb0$87de9f10$@pubcom.com> Message-ID: Thanks for a good, detailed and honest response Bevi. Wink On Mon, Dec 7, 2020 at 5:03 PM wrote: > Andrea D. asked: > > ?Are there any good tools to use if you?re forced to start with a PDF > file?? > > > > Note: this is a long, detailed answer. > > Sure, but it?s going to depend on: > > 1. How complex the document is, > 2. Whether it was created in InDesign, Word, or PowerPoint ? or > something else. Reading orders get botched up with documents from InDesign > and PowerPoint, unless the creator has had specific training in how to make > them accessible. And those from non-Adobe/non-Microsoft programs just don?t > get accessibility at all and are a ripping mess to correct. > 3. And whether it has maths and STEM in it. > > Therefore, there is no magic wand that will fix all your files with one > magic keystroke. > > Today, anyone using MS Word should be able to generate a simple accessible > Word document and matching accessible PDF without any extra effort, other > than using a good accessible Word template and having a 2-3 hour training > session in how to do it. It?s not rocket science! > > Stop the hemorrhaging of your institution?s funds! Get your staff trained > immediately and reduce the drain of money and time. Remediate the original > source file when you can, and especially if it will be re-used later for > another document. Invest your time wisely for maximum benefit. > > OK, *so when you can?t remediate the source file and it?s a doozie of a > PDF*, some of the tools we find helpful are: > > - Acrobat?s built-in remediation tools, like AutoTag and Preflight. > And you need training in how to use them. > - CommonLook PDF, is especially good with correcting tables. And you > need training in how to use it. > - AxesPDF Quick Fix is meh, IMHO. And you need training in how to use > it. > - Outside remediation cloud-based technologies. Today, vendors are > crawling out of the woodwork claiming that their A I (artificial > intelligence) will magically create accessible PDFs in seconds and cost you > pennies. Artificial Intelligence is not yet very intelligent, especially > for those problematic documents. We still need humans to determine what?s > in a PDF, how it should be tagged and presented, and what a logical reading > is for that document. My firm recommends only a handful of companies to our > clients, and if you?re interested, contact me off list for our > recommendations. I?m not here in Athen to promote one over the other. > > Bottom line: start fixing the problem rather than buying expensive band > aids. Otherwise you?ll eventually run out of money. > > > > *? ? ?* > > Bevi Chagnon *| *Designer, Accessibility Technician* |* > Chagnon@PubCom.com > > *? ? ?* > > *PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing* > > consulting ? training ? development ? design ? sec. 508 services > > *Upcoming classes* at www.PubCom.com/*classes* > > > *? ? ?* > > Latest blog-newsletter > ? *Simple Guide > to Writing Alt-Text > * > > > > *From:* Andrea L. Dietrich > *Sent:* Monday, December 7, 2020 4:25 PM > *To:* chagnon@pubcom.com; Access Technology Higher Education Network < > athen-list@u.washington.edu> > *Subject:* RE: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat > > > > Using Microsoft?s built-in tools is great if you?re starting from scratch > building the document. But often we work on remediating preexisting PDF > files (I work a lot with document conversion for students, and we get > publisher PDFs.) Are there any good tools to use if you?re forced to start > with a PDF file? Or is it better to convert the PDF to Word, fix up the > order and such, and then turn that into a PDF? > > > > -Andi :) > > > > *From:* athen-list *On > Behalf Of *chagnon@pubcom.com > *Sent:* Monday, December 7, 2020 3:03 PM > *To:* 'Access Technology Higher Education Network' < > athen-list@u.washington.edu> > *Subject:* Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat > > > > We find that Microsoft?s built-in PDF export utility (in Office 365) does > a much better job, comparable to Acrobat?s PDF Maker plug-in which comes > with Acrobat Pro. > > In most cases, MS?s matches Acrobat?s conversion. And it?s free. > > > > But your IT department will have to make sure they keep MS Office up to > date: earlier versions of their PDF export utility were awful. > > > > Another alternative is FoxIt?s PDF plugin, but given that FoxIt makes the > one built into Microsoft Office, why would you pay for what?s essentially > the same product? > > > > Question: wouldn?t it make more sense (and cents!) to train your faculty > and staff in how to make accessible documents? Doing the job right from the > start is always more cost effective than remediating everything after it?s > made. > > > > It?s a teach-a-person-to-fish strategy. > > > > *? ? ?* > > Bevi Chagnon *| *Designer, Accessibility Technician* |* > Chagnon@PubCom.com > > *? ? ?* > > *PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing* > > consulting ? training ? development ? design ? sec. 508 services > > *Upcoming classes* at www.PubCom.com/*classes* > > > *? ? ?* > > Latest blog-newsletter > ? *Simple Guide > to Writing Alt-Text > * > > > > *From:* athen-list *On > Behalf Of *Greenfield, Mark > *Sent:* Monday, December 7, 2020 11:39 AM > *To:* Access Technology Higher Education Network < > athen-list@u.washington.edu> > *Subject:* Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat > > > > We are exploring the use of AxesPDF (https://www.axes4.com/). It doesn?t > require Acrobat Pro, and in my experience is easier to use than Acrobat > Pro. Remediating PDFs has been an ongoing challenge for us because we > don?t have a campus-wide license for Acrobat Pro and most faculty don?t > have it. > > > > Mark > > > > Mark A. Greenfield > Web Accessibility Officer > > Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion > 406 Capen Hall > State University of New York at Buffalo > Buffalo, N.Y. 14260 > > > > telephone: (716)645-2811 > e-mail: markgr@buffalo.edu > > > > > > > > *From: *athen-list on > behalf of "Hayman, Douglass" > *Reply-To: *Access Technology Higher Education Network < > athen-list@u.washington.edu> > *Date: *Monday, December 7, 2020 at 11:12 AM > *To: *Access Technology Higher Education Network < > athen-list@u.washington.edu> > *Subject: *Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat > > > > Rachel, > > > > My institution provided me with a laptop to work from home which has both > Microsoft Office and also Acrobat Pro to let me work on remediation of > documents. Are your remote staff having to use their own computers? > > > > Doug Hayman > > IT Accessibility Coordinator > > Information Technology > > Olympic College > > dhayman@olympic.edu > > (360) 475-7632 (currently working remotely and don?t have access to this > phone) > > > > *From:* athen-list *On > Behalf Of *Rachel Ford > *Sent:* Monday, December 7, 2020 7:56 AM > *To:* athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu > *Subject:* [EXTERNAL] - [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat > > > > CAUTION: This email came from a non-OC system or external source. Beware > of phishing and social engineering! > > > > Hello All, > > > > With our faculty working from home, I?ve run into an issue where some > faculty don?t have access to Acrobat Pro to create accessible PDFs. Does > anyone have a good alternative to Acrobat or just generally using PDFs? Any > suggestions would be really helpful. > > > > Thank you, > > > > Rachel Ford > > Web Accessibility Manager > > Henry Ford College > > > _______________________________________________ > athen-list mailing list > athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu > http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list > -- Wink Harner Assistive Technology Consulting and Training Alternative Text Production Portland OR. foreigntype@gmail.com 480-984-0034 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Doug.Mantle at kings.uwo.ca Tue Dec 8 10:14:14 2020 From: Doug.Mantle at kings.uwo.ca (Doug Mantle) Date: Tue Dec 8 10:14:51 2020 Subject: [Athen] FW: [N.O.A.T.] The Future of Dragon as AT - Webinar Announcement - Friday, December 11, 2020 at 1:30pm Eastern In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <2B7730A6FD2DFE499F4A8A1099627D8D743F2F42@kucexch01.kings.kucits.ca> Good day! The Network of Assistive Technologists invites you to join us for an upcoming webinar ? Friday, December 11, 2020 @ 1:30pm Eastern. The Future of Dragon as Assistive Technology Please see details of the event below and on the N.O.A.T. Events Site Apologies for cross postings. N.O.A.T. events are open to all AT Professionals and our goal is to circulate the invitation to as many as possible. Take care, Doug Mantle, Assistive Technology Support Specialist, STARS Learning Lab Co-ordinator Accessibility, Counselling and Student Development - Accessibility Services - Student Affairs King's University College at Western University 266 Epworth Avenue London, Ontario, Canada N6A 2M3 P. 519-433-3491 ext. 4579 | P. 1-800-265-4406 | F. 519-963-1013 Doug.Mantle@Kings.UWO.ca | www.kings.uwo.ca Currently I am working remotely and available by email and pre-arranged phone or Zoom meetings only. Please be advised that this email is only monitored during regular office hours. During peak times of the academic year, replies may be delayed. If a reply is not received within 3 business days, please resend your message. If your matter is urgent, please contact the Accessibility, Counselling and Student Development office at acsd@kings.uwo.ca From: noat@googlegroups.com On Behalf Of Network of Assistive Technologists Sent: Thursday, December 3, 2020 9:02 PM To: NOAT@googlegroups.com Subject: [N.O.A.T.] The Future of Dragon as AT - Webinar Announcement - Friday, December 11, 2020 at 1:30pm Eastern Good day! You are invited to join The Network of Assistive Technologists on Friday, December 11 at 1:30pm Eastern, as we welcome Nuance - The makers of Dragon. The Future of Dragon as Assistive Technology Recently Dragon has been in the AT News, rumoured to be making substantial changes to their products and pricing. If implemented, these changes would have an immense negative impact on those we support. Join The Network of Assistive Technologists as we welcome Jamey Klein, Account Executive, Dragon Enterprise Sales, Mike Millward, Senior Dragon Product Manager, and Ed McGuiggan, General Manager of the Dragon Professional & Consumer business. Jamey, Mike, and Ed will be addressing these recent rumours, discussing our concerns, as well as reviewing the Dragon product roadmap and collecting overall feedback to help shape the future of Dragon. All members of the Assistive Technology Professionals community are invited to join us on Friday, December 11, 2020 at 1:30pm Eastern. For full details and to register, please visit the N.O.A.T. Events Site. We look forward to seeing you online Friday, December 11, 2020 at 1:30pm Eastern. Take care, Doug Mantle, Founder | The Network of Assistive Technologists www.NOAT.ca | info@NOAT.ca -- [https://www.kings.uwo.ca/kings/assets/Image/email/accessibility-counselling.png] King?s University College is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. Please contact us if you have any particular accommodation requirements or require information in an alternate format. ________________________________ Confidentiality Notice: The contents of this communication, including any attachment(s), are confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient (or are not receiving this communication on behalf of the intended recipient), please notify the sender immediately and delete or destroy this communication without reading it, and without making, forwarding, or retaining any copy or record of it or its contents. Thank you. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jiatyan at stanford.edu Tue Dec 8 10:31:38 2020 From: jiatyan at stanford.edu (Jiatyan Chen) Date: Tue Dec 8 10:31:52 2020 Subject: [Athen] Position Announcement - Digital Accessibility Consulting Engineer Message-ID: <63BAB925-D5B2-489E-A39D-2971CC5E7B3D@stanford.edu> Hello all, The Stanford Online Accessibility Program is seeking a Digital Accessibility Consulting Engineer to be part of an expanding team focusing on technology accessibility and building a culture of inclusion for individuals with disabilities. This role involves providing technical expertise to the university community on developing, using, maintaining, and procuring accessible digital products and services as well as developing and delivering education on digital accessibility topics. More information about the Digital Accessibility Consulting Engineer role and how to apply is available at:http://m.rfer.us/STANFORDhXfCp7 -- Jiatyan Chen Stanford Online Accessibility Program (SOAP) Manager University IT Stanford University From foreigntype at gmail.com Tue Dec 8 12:21:46 2020 From: foreigntype at gmail.com (foreigntype@gmail.com) Date: Tue Dec 8 12:22:35 2020 Subject: [Athen] Upcoming changes to Dragon NS Message-ID: A drastic change has been announced regarding the future of Dragon NS as assistive technology in the near future. NOAT technology association is sponsoring a webinar with Nuance execs coming up soon to discuss the impact Nuance's proposed changes will have for the product and its availability. The upshot is that Nuance has announced they're moving away from a stand-alone individual license for laptops/desktops and only offering the cloud-based subscription version of Dragon Anywhere. MHO is that this does not serve the disabled community or the community with spotty, unreliable, or non-existent internet/wifi access and I've written in as part of a national petition of DSS service providers to demand (request strongly) that Nuance continue to offer downloadable single user laptop or desktop options. If you and/or your colleagues want to learn more about this and want to have the chance to speak up to Nuance directly, please join in on this webinar: FROM NOAT: The Future of Dragon as Assistive Technology Recently Dragon has been in the AT News, rumoured to be making substantial changes to their products and pricing. If implemented, these changes would have an immense negative impact on those we support. Join The Network of Assistive Technologists as we welcome Jamey Klein, Account Executive, Dragon Enterprise Sales, Mike Millward, Senior Dragon Product Manager, and Ed McGuiggan, General Manager of the Dragon Professional & Consumer business. Jamey, Mike, and Ed will be addressing these recent rumours, discussing our concerns, as well as reviewing the Dragon product roadmap and collecting overall feedback to help shape the future of Dragon. All members of the Assistive Technology Professionals community are invited to join us on Friday, December 11, 2020 at 1:30pm Eastern. For full details and to register, please visit the N.O.A.T. Events Site. We look forward to seeing you online Friday, December 11, 2020 at 1:30pm Eastern Wink Harner Accessibility Consultant/Alternative Text Production The Foreign Type Portland OR foreigntype@gmail.com 480-984-0034 This email was dictated using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Please forgive quirks, misrecognitions, or errata . Virus-free. www.avast.com <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From clt3 at humboldt.edu Tue Dec 8 13:47:45 2020 From: clt3 at humboldt.edu (Cassandra Tex) Date: Tue Dec 8 13:48:04 2020 Subject: [Athen] Upcoming changes to Dragon NS In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <36ce50d2a10b8ad9691cc9365526a269@mail.gmail.com> Hi All, Regarding the Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking conversation. Though I am not a certified ATP, non-ATP?s can join the RESNA listserv. I received this today from the RESNA listserv? Hope the it?s the same information that is shared on Dec. 11 *From:* RESNA's Assistive Technology Forum *On Behalf Of *Raymond Grott *Sent:* Tuesday, December 08, 2020 1:35 PM *To:* AT-FORUM@LIST.RESNA.ORG *Subject:* UPDATE on Dragon software product line and opportunity for input Dear AT Forum and RESNA Connect members: The draft letter to Nuance regarding possible changes to the Dragon product line that we posted to this group has resulted in some positive discussions. Alan Cantor, Jane Berliss-Vincent, and Ray Grott met yesterday with the General Manager for the Dragon Professional and Consumer Business and a Senior Product Manager who reports to him. Here are a few key take-aways: Despite whatever confusion may have been generated in communication with their vendors, Nuance is fully committed to maintaining and continuing their ?desktop? products for the non-medical market (Dragon Home, Dragon Professional Individual, and Dragon Professional Group). They are also rolling out their cloud-based Dragon Professional Anywhere solution, which will help them meet the needs of those enterprise accounts that are looking for a solution that is easier to deploy across a large organization and that takes up fewer desktop computing resources?albeit without command and control features that are only available on a local installation. Because of development and other costs, they will be increasing the retail price of Dragon Home, from $150 to $200 USD, and DPI from $300 to $500. Dragon Professional Anywhere will be priced at $40/mo on a subscription-only basis for individual users. (We didn?t discuss the pricing for site licenses and enterprise users, as that is not of interest to us. However, we did learned that educational institutions qualify for academic discounts on DPG.) Nuance is not only committed to providing solutions that enhance accessibility and usability, they also maintain a desire to keep their product within reach of those who need this tool as an accommodation for physical and cognitive needs. They acknowledge our concern that these users often have limited income and are proposing a pricing structure where the current $240 pricing for the Academic version will be extended to this broader group of users. It is likely that this will be managed through their reseller networks. Note that this is not in place yet. They expressed a serious desire to hear about and address software bugs and usability problems. We shared a few choice ones with them and encouraged them to establish a better pipeline for receiving this input. We also stressed the need for them to hire users with disabilities to test new releases for issues, as they may often do so in ways that a programmer conducting a feature run through would not. Finally, all parties are keen on connecting Nuance?s project management team with RESNA members and other Dragon users and AT specialists to discuss product features and possible enhancements. We told them that the RESNA leadership would be happy to facilitate a virtual meeting for this purpose and we will be sharing contact information between them. You will be hearing more about this in the near future. Alan, Jane, and Ray *From:* athen-list *On Behalf Of *foreigntype@gmail.com *Sent:* Tuesday, December 08, 2020 12:22 PM *To:* athen-list@u.washington.edu *Subject:* [Athen] Upcoming changes to Dragon NS A drastic change has been announced regarding the future of Dragon NS as assistive technology in the near future. NOAT technology association is sponsoring a webinar with Nuance execs coming up soon to discuss the impact Nuance's proposed changes will have for the product and its availability. The upshot is that Nuance has announced they're moving away from a stand-alone individual license for laptops/desktops and only offering the cloud-based subscription version of Dragon Anywhere. MHO is that this does not serve the disabled community or the community with spotty, unreliable, or non-existent internet/wifi access and I've written in as part of a national petition of DSS service providers to demand (request strongly) that Nuance continue to offer downloadable single user laptop or desktop options. If you and/or your colleagues want to learn more about this and want to have the chance to speak up to Nuance directly, please join in on this webinar: *FROM NOAT: The Future of Dragon as Assistive Technology* Recently Dragon has been in the AT News, rumoured to be making substantial changes to their products and pricing. If implemented, these changes would have an immense negative impact on those we support. Join The Network of Assistive Technologists as we welcome *Jamey Klein*, Account Executive, Dragon Enterprise Sales, *Mike Millward*, Senior Dragon Product Manager, and *Ed McGuiggan*, General Manager of the Dragon Professional & Consumer business. Jamey, Mike, and Ed will be addressing these recent rumours, discussing our concerns, as well as reviewing the Dragon product roadmap and collecting overall feedback to help shape the future of Dragon. *All members of the Assistive Technology Professionals community are invited to join us on Friday, December 11, 2020 at 1:30pm Eastern.* *For full details and to register, please visit the N.O.A.T. Events Site.* We look forward to seeing you online Friday, December 11, 2020 at 1:30pm Eastern Wink Harner Accessibility Consultant/Alternative Text Production The Foreign Type Portland OR foreigntype@gmail.com 480-984-0034 This email was dictated using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Please forgive quirks, misrecognitions, or errata . Virus-free. www.avast.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From raford3 at hfcc.edu Tue Dec 8 14:10:13 2020 From: raford3 at hfcc.edu (Rachel Ford) Date: Tue Dec 8 14:10:31 2020 Subject: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat Message-ID: Hi Bevi (and everyone!), Thank you for the great information, and confirming basically what I've decided to do (at least for now). My institution does have the Office 365 license and we do keep it up to date. :) Thank you all for your help! Rachel Ford Web Accessibility Manager Henry Ford College Message: 3 Date: Mon, 7 Dec 2020 20:02:47 -0500 From: To: "'Andrea L. Dietrich'" , "'Access Technology Higher Education Network'" Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat Message-ID: <011201d6ccfd$d7f4dfb0$87de9f10$@pubcom.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Andrea D. asked: ?Are there any good tools to use if you?re forced to start with a PDF file?? Note: this is a long, detailed answer. Sure, but it?s going to depend on: 1. How complex the document is, 2. Whether it was created in InDesign, Word, or PowerPoint ? or something else. Reading orders get botched up with documents from InDesign and PowerPoint, unless the creator has had specific training in how to make them accessible. And those from non-Adobe/non-Microsoft programs just don?t get accessibility at all and are a ripping mess to correct. 3. And whether it has maths and STEM in it. Therefore, there is no magic wand that will fix all your files with one magic keystroke. Today, anyone using MS Word should be able to generate a simple accessible Word document and matching accessible PDF without any extra effort, other than using a good accessible Word template and having a 2-3 hour training session in how to do it. It?s not rocket science! Stop the hemorrhaging of your institution?s funds! Get your staff trained immediately and reduce the drain of money and time. Remediate the original source file when you can, and especially if it will be re-used later for another document. Invest your time wisely for maximum benefit. OK, so when you can?t remediate the source file and it?s a doozie of a PDF, some of the tools we find helpful are: * Acrobat?s built-in remediation tools, like AutoTag and Preflight. And you need training in how to use them. * CommonLook PDF, is especially good with correcting tables. And you need training in how to use it. * AxesPDF Quick Fix is meh, IMHO. And you need training in how to use it. * Outside remediation cloud-based technologies. Today, vendors are crawling out of the woodwork claiming that their A I (artificial intelligence) will magically create accessible PDFs in seconds and cost you pennies. Artificial Intelligence is not yet very intelligent, especially for those problematic documents. We still need humans to determine what?s in a PDF, how it should be tagged and presented, and what a logical reading is for that document. My firm recommends only a handful of companies to our clients, and if you?re interested, contact me off list for our recommendations. I?m not here in Athen to promote one over the other. Bottom line: start fixing the problem rather than buying expensive band aids. Otherwise you?ll eventually run out of money. ? ? ? Bevi Chagnon | Designer, Accessibility Technician | Chagnon@PubCom.com ? ? ? PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing consulting ? training ? development ? design ? sec. 508 services Upcoming classes at https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.PubCom.com/classes__;!!MgW1hd0liSoK!A5VWF1BAgAG2gsMtuMEHnUJPb2pKp2tIAN0ZXmYFNXQI5f6Wfu4pZ83w-o1Vjgw4$ ? ? ? Latest blog-newsletter ? Simple Guide to Writing Alt-Text From: Andrea L. Dietrich Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 4:25 PM To: chagnon@pubcom.com; Access Technology Higher Education Network Subject: RE: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat Using Microsoft?s built-in tools is great if you?re starting from scratch building the document. But often we work on remediating preexisting PDF files (I work a lot with document conversion for students, and we get publisher PDFs.) Are there any good tools to use if you?re forced to start with a PDF file? Or is it better to convert the PDF to Word, fix up the order and such, and then turn that into a PDF? -Andi :) From: athen-list > On Behalf Of chagnon@pubcom.com Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 3:03 PM To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network' > Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat We find that Microsoft?s built-in PDF export utility (in Office 365) does a much better job, comparable to Acrobat?s PDF Maker plug-in which comes with Acrobat Pro. In most cases, MS?s matches Acrobat?s conversion. And it?s free. But your IT department will have to make sure they keep MS Office up to date: earlier versions of their PDF export utility were awful. Another alternative is FoxIt?s PDF plugin, but given that FoxIt makes the one built into Microsoft Office, why would you pay for what?s essentially the same product? Question: wouldn?t it make more sense (and cents!) to train your faculty and staff in how to make accessible documents? Doing the job right from the start is always more cost effective than remediating everything after it?s made. It?s a teach-a-person-to-fish strategy. ? ? ? Bevi Chagnon | Designer, Accessibility Technician | Chagnon@PubCom.com ? ? ? PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing consulting ? training ? development ? design ? sec. 508 services Upcoming classes at https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.PubCom.com/__;!!MgW1hd0liSoK!A5VWF1BAgAG2gsMtuMEHnUJPb2pKp2tIAN0ZXmYFNXQI5f6Wfu4pZ83w-hPQcmFp$ classes ? ? ? Latest blog-newsletter ? Simple Guide to Writing Alt-Text From: athen-list > On Behalf Of Greenfield, Mark Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 11:39 AM To: Access Technology Higher Education Network > Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat We are exploring the use of AxesPDF (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.axes4.com/__;!!MgW1hd0liSoK!A5VWF1BAgAG2gsMtuMEHnUJPb2pKp2tIAN0ZXmYFNXQI5f6Wfu4pZ83w-gj_Ngcs$ ). It doesn?t require Acrobat Pro, and in my experience is easier to use than Acrobat Pro. Remediating PDFs has been an ongoing challenge for us because we don?t have a campus-wide license for Acrobat Pro and most faculty don?t have it. Mark Mark A. Greenfield Web Accessibility Officer Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 406 Capen Hall State University of New York at Buffalo Buffalo, N.Y. 14260 telephone: (716)645-2811 e-mail: markgr@buffalo.edu From: athen-list > on behalf of "Hayman, Douglass" > Reply-To: Access Technology Higher Education Network > Date: Monday, December 7, 2020 at 11:12 AM To: Access Technology Higher Education Network > Subject: Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat Rachel, My institution provided me with a laptop to work from home which has both Microsoft Office and also Acrobat Pro to let me work on remediation of documents. Are your remote staff having to use their own computers? Doug Hayman IT Accessibility Coordinator Information Technology Olympic College dhayman@olympic.edu (360) 475-7632 (currently working remotely and don?t have access to this phone) From: athen-list > On Behalf Of Rachel Ford Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 7:56 AM To: athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu Subject: [EXTERNAL] - [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat CAUTION: This email came from a non-OC system or external source. Beware of phishing and social engineering! Hello All, With our faculty working from home, I?ve run into an issue where some faculty don?t have access to Acrobat Pro to create accessible PDFs. Does anyone have a good alternative to Acrobat or just generally using PDFs? Any suggestions would be really helpful. Thank you, Rachel Ford Web Accessibility Manager Henry Ford College From foreigntype at gmail.com Tue Dec 8 14:44:06 2020 From: foreigntype at gmail.com (foreigntype@gmail.com) Date: Tue Dec 8 14:45:02 2020 Subject: [Athen] Upcoming changes to Dragon NS In-Reply-To: <36ce50d2a10b8ad9691cc9365526a269@mail.gmail.com> References: <36ce50d2a10b8ad9691cc9365526a269@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Yes, Casandra, it's the same webinar info from NOAT in re changes to Dragon NS. Wink Harner Accessibility Consultant/Alternative Text Production The Foreign Type Portland OR foreigntype@gmail.com 480-984-0034 This email was dictated using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Please forgive quirks, misrecognitions, or errata . Virus-free. www.avast.com <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> On Tue, Dec 8, 2020 at 1:48 PM Cassandra Tex wrote: > Hi All, > > Regarding the Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking conversation. Though I am > not a certified ATP, non-ATP?s can join the RESNA listserv. I received > this today from the RESNA listserv? > > > > Hope the it?s the same information that is shared on Dec. 11 > > > > *From:* RESNA's Assistive Technology Forum *On > Behalf Of *Raymond Grott > *Sent:* Tuesday, December 08, 2020 1:35 PM > *To:* AT-FORUM@LIST.RESNA.ORG > *Subject:* UPDATE on Dragon software product line and opportunity for > input > > > > Dear AT Forum and RESNA Connect members: > > The draft letter to Nuance regarding possible changes to the Dragon > product line that we posted to this group has resulted in some positive > discussions. Alan Cantor, Jane Berliss-Vincent, and Ray Grott met yesterday > with the General Manager for the Dragon Professional and Consumer Business > and a Senior Product Manager who reports to him. Here are a few key > take-aways: > > > > Despite whatever confusion may have been generated in communication with > their vendors, Nuance is fully committed to maintaining and continuing > their ?desktop? products for the non-medical market (Dragon Home, Dragon > Professional Individual, and Dragon Professional Group). > > > > They are also rolling out their cloud-based Dragon Professional Anywhere > solution, which will help them meet the needs of those enterprise accounts > that are looking for a solution that is easier to deploy across a large > organization and that takes up fewer desktop computing resources?albeit > without command and control features that are only available on a local > installation. > > > > Because of development and other costs, they will be increasing the retail > price of Dragon Home, from $150 to $200 USD, and DPI from $300 to $500. > Dragon Professional Anywhere will be priced at $40/mo on a > subscription-only basis for individual users. (We didn?t discuss the > pricing for site licenses and enterprise users, as that is not of interest > to us. However, we did learned that educational institutions qualify for > academic discounts on DPG.) > > > > Nuance is not only committed to providing solutions that enhance > accessibility and usability, they also maintain a desire to keep their > product within reach of those who need this tool as an accommodation for > physical and cognitive needs. They acknowledge our concern that these users > often have limited income and are proposing a pricing structure where the > current $240 pricing for the Academic version will be extended to this > broader group of users. It is likely that this will be managed through > their reseller networks. Note that this is not in place yet. > > > > They expressed a serious desire to hear about and address software bugs > and usability problems. We shared a few choice ones with them and > encouraged them to establish a better pipeline for receiving this input. We > also stressed the need for them to hire users with disabilities to test new > releases for issues, as they may often do so in ways that a programmer > conducting a feature run through would not. > > > > Finally, all parties are keen on connecting Nuance?s project management > team with RESNA members and other Dragon users and AT specialists to > discuss product features and possible enhancements. We told them that the > RESNA leadership would be happy to facilitate a virtual meeting for this > purpose and we will be sharing contact information between them. You will > be hearing more about this in the near future. > > > > Alan, Jane, and Ray > > > > > > > > *From:* athen-list *On > Behalf Of *foreigntype@gmail.com > *Sent:* Tuesday, December 08, 2020 12:22 PM > *To:* athen-list@u.washington.edu > *Subject:* [Athen] Upcoming changes to Dragon NS > > > > A drastic change has been announced regarding the future of Dragon NS as > assistive technology in the near future. NOAT technology association is > sponsoring a webinar with Nuance execs coming up soon to discuss the impact > Nuance's proposed changes will have for the product and its availability. > > The upshot is that Nuance has announced they're moving away from a > stand-alone individual license for laptops/desktops and only offering the > cloud-based subscription version of Dragon Anywhere. > > MHO is that this does not serve the disabled community or the community > with spotty, unreliable, or non-existent internet/wifi access and I've > written in as part of a national petition of DSS service providers to > demand (request strongly) that Nuance continue to offer downloadable single > user laptop or desktop options. > > If you and/or your colleagues want to learn more about this and want to > have the chance to speak up to Nuance directly, please join in on this > webinar: > > *FROM NOAT: The Future of Dragon as Assistive Technology* > > Recently Dragon has been in the AT News, rumoured to be making substantial > changes to their products and pricing. If implemented, these changes would > have an immense negative impact on those we support. > > Join The Network of Assistive Technologists as we welcome *Jamey Klein*, > Account Executive, Dragon Enterprise Sales, *Mike Millward*, Senior > Dragon Product Manager, and *Ed McGuiggan*, General Manager of the Dragon > Professional & Consumer business. > > Jamey, Mike, and Ed will be addressing these recent rumours, discussing > our concerns, as well as reviewing the Dragon product roadmap and > collecting overall feedback to help shape the future of Dragon. > > *All members of the Assistive Technology Professionals community are > invited to join us on Friday, December 11, 2020 at 1:30pm Eastern.* > > *For full details and to register, please visit the N.O.A.T. Events Site.* > > We look forward to seeing you online Friday, December 11, 2020 at 1:30pm > Eastern > > > > > > Wink Harner > > Accessibility Consultant/Alternative Text Production > > The Foreign Type > > Portland OR > foreigntype@gmail.com > 480-984-0034 > > This email was dictated using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Please forgive > quirks, misrecognitions, or errata . > > > > > > > Virus-free. www.avast.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > athen-list mailing list > athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu > http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Doug.Mantle at kings.uwo.ca Tue Dec 8 15:07:17 2020 From: Doug.Mantle at kings.uwo.ca (Doug Mantle) Date: Tue Dec 8 15:07:40 2020 Subject: [Athen] Upcoming changes to Dragon NS In-Reply-To: <36ce50d2a10b8ad9691cc9365526a269@mail.gmail.com> References: <36ce50d2a10b8ad9691cc9365526a269@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2B7730A6FD2DFE499F4A8A1099627D8D743F311B@kucexch01.kings.kucits.ca> Thank you Wink for your post. Thank you Cassandra for yours as well. As the Founder of The Network of Assistive Technologists (N.O.A.T.) I can confirm that the webinar session this Friday, December 11th that is being hosted by N.O.A.T. will indeed communicate and explore the information shared on the RESNA list. N.O.A.T. has been in communications with Nuance for a while now regarding this situation, expressing many of the same concerns of the RESNA membership. As a representative of our membership, and in general, the wider AT community, I met with seven executives from Nuance on November 19th. Their response echoes what RESNA has posted from their recent meeting. The N.O.A.T. meeting and continued conversations have led to the webinar we are hosting this coming Friday. All N.O.A.T. members, and members of multiple other discussion lists, ATHEN and RESNA included, have received an invitation to the meeting. Details can be found on the N.O.A.T. Events website, along with a registration link. Please note, our live attendance is capped at 100. If you are unable to attend, or space fills up prior to your registering, a recording is expected to be posted afterwards. Please consider joining us and hearing directly from Nuance executives as to the future of Dragon. As we will hear their plans, they are indeed very much interested in our feedback, both on the product roadmap and our experiences ? good and bad ? as Assistive Technologists and users. Sincerely, Doug Mantle www.NOAT.ca | info@NOAT.ca From: athen-list On Behalf Of Cassandra Tex Sent: Tuesday, December 8, 2020 4:48 PM To: Access Technology Higher Education Network Subject: Re: [Athen] Upcoming changes to Dragon NS Hi All, Regarding the Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking conversation. Though I am not a certified ATP, non-ATP?s can join the RESNA listserv. I received this today from the RESNA listserv? Hope the it?s the same information that is shared on Dec. 11 From: RESNA's Assistive Technology Forum > On Behalf Of Raymond Grott Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2020 1:35 PM To: AT-FORUM@LIST.RESNA.ORG Subject: UPDATE on Dragon software product line and opportunity for input Dear AT Forum and RESNA Connect members: The draft letter to Nuance regarding possible changes to the Dragon product line that we posted to this group has resulted in some positive discussions. Alan Cantor, Jane Berliss-Vincent, and Ray Grott met yesterday with the General Manager for the Dragon Professional and Consumer Business and a Senior Product Manager who reports to him. Here are a few key take-aways: Despite whatever confusion may have been generated in communication with their vendors, Nuance is fully committed to maintaining and continuing their ?desktop? products for the non-medical market (Dragon Home, Dragon Professional Individual, and Dragon Professional Group). They are also rolling out their cloud-based Dragon Professional Anywhere solution, which will help them meet the needs of those enterprise accounts that are looking for a solution that is easier to deploy across a large organization and that takes up fewer desktop computing resources?albeit without command and control features that are only available on a local installation. Because of development and other costs, they will be increasing the retail price of Dragon Home, from $150 to $200 USD, and DPI from $300 to $500. Dragon Professional Anywhere will be priced at $40/mo on a subscription-only basis for individual users. (We didn?t discuss the pricing for site licenses and enterprise users, as that is not of interest to us. However, we did learned that educational institutions qualify for academic discounts on DPG.) Nuance is not only committed to providing solutions that enhance accessibility and usability, they also maintain a desire to keep their product within reach of those who need this tool as an accommodation for physical and cognitive needs. They acknowledge our concern that these users often have limited income and are proposing a pricing structure where the current $240 pricing for the Academic version will be extended to this broader group of users. It is likely that this will be managed through their reseller networks. Note that this is not in place yet. They expressed a serious desire to hear about and address software bugs and usability problems. We shared a few choice ones with them and encouraged them to establish a better pipeline for receiving this input. We also stressed the need for them to hire users with disabilities to test new releases for issues, as they may often do so in ways that a programmer conducting a feature run through would not. Finally, all parties are keen on connecting Nuance?s project management team with RESNA members and other Dragon users and AT specialists to discuss product features and possible enhancements. We told them that the RESNA leadership would be happy to facilitate a virtual meeting for this purpose and we will be sharing contact information between them. You will be hearing more about this in the near future. Alan, Jane, and Ray From: athen-list > On Behalf Of foreigntype@gmail.com Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2020 12:22 PM To: athen-list@u.washington.edu Subject: [Athen] Upcoming changes to Dragon NS A drastic change has been announced regarding the future of Dragon NS as assistive technology in the near future. NOAT technology association is sponsoring a webinar with Nuance execs coming up soon to discuss the impact Nuance's proposed changes will have for the product and its availability. The upshot is that Nuance has announced they're moving away from a stand-alone individual license for laptops/desktops and only offering the cloud-based subscription version of Dragon Anywhere. MHO is that this does not serve the disabled community or the community with spotty, unreliable, or non-existent internet/wifi access and I've written in as part of a national petition of DSS service providers to demand (request strongly) that Nuance continue to offer downloadable single user laptop or desktop options. If you and/or your colleagues want to learn more about this and want to have the chance to speak up to Nuance directly, please join in on this webinar: FROM NOAT: The Future of Dragon as Assistive Technology Recently Dragon has been in the AT News, rumoured to be making substantial changes to their products and pricing. If implemented, these changes would have an immense negative impact on those we support. Join The Network of Assistive Technologists as we welcome Jamey Klein, Account Executive, Dragon Enterprise Sales, Mike Millward, Senior Dragon Product Manager, and Ed McGuiggan, General Manager of the Dragon Professional & Consumer business. Jamey, Mike, and Ed will be addressing these recent rumours, discussing our concerns, as well as reviewing the Dragon product roadmap and collecting overall feedback to help shape the future of Dragon. All members of the Assistive Technology Professionals community are invited to join us on Friday, December 11, 2020 at 1:30pm Eastern. For full details and to register, please visit the N.O.A.T. Events Site. We look forward to seeing you online Friday, December 11, 2020 at 1:30pm Eastern Wink Harner Accessibility Consultant/Alternative Text Production The Foreign Type Portland OR foreigntype@gmail.com 480-984-0034 This email was dictated using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Please forgive quirks, misrecognitions, or errata . [Image removed by sender.] Virus-free. www.avast.com [https://www.kings.uwo.ca/kings/assets/Image/email/accessibility-counselling.png] King?s University College is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. Please contact us if you have any particular accommodation requirements or require information in an alternate format. ________________________________ Confidentiality Notice: The contents of this communication, including any attachment(s), are confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient (or are not receiving this communication on behalf of the intended recipient), please notify the sender immediately and delete or destroy this communication without reading it, and without making, forwarding, or retaining any copy or record of it or its contents. Thank you. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 362 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From lissner.2 at osu.edu Fri Dec 4 14:05:04 2020 From: lissner.2 at osu.edu (Lissner, Scott) Date: Wed Dec 9 06:09:04 2020 Subject: [Athen] FW: [OSU-ADA] Celebrate Disability Save the Date/Call for Papers OSU's Annual Multiple Perspectives In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: [Logo of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities] December 3rd was the International Day of People with Disabilities. Continue to elebrate disabilty by considering a proposal for the twentyfirst annual Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion & Disability Save the Date ? Submit a Proposal Participate in the Twenty-First Annual Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion & Disability: Disability as Context April 19 & 20, 2021 Call for Presentations "It is time to move beyond the letter of the law to the spirit of the law; to shift our focus from redressing human and environmental problems through remedial design to preventing problems through holistic design." -Leslie Kanes Weisman The Multiple Perspectives conference is offered to encourage the kind of change suggested by Leslie Kanes Weisman; to expand knowledge, understanding and, community resources through the synergy of collaboration. This year we consider disability as context, even in its absence disability sets a stage for our experience. Join us in exploring * How is disability experienced across race, religion, gender, age and geography? * How is disability reflected in work, education, commerce and leisure? * How can disability transform our environment, culture and politics? Examine the foundations of access or design an inclusive future by submitting a proposal. Presentations that encourage discussion across the typical social and disciplinary boundaries; connect individuals to local, national or international communities; or consider parallels, distinctions and intersections with race, gender and ethnicity will be given a preference. This Year?s conference will have a virtual component, In-person participation will be determined based on safety consideration Proposal Deadline is on Ed Roberts? Birthday (January 23, 2021) Submit Proposals at: 2021 Multiple Perspectives 2021 SDS@OSU The Multiple Perspective?s Conference and the Ohio State University?s Disability Studies Program will continue their partnership with the Society for Disability Studies to host an SDS preconference and strand again at this year?s Multiple Perspective?s conference. The SDS@OSU 2021 theme: DEEP SIGH: (Re)Centering Activism, Healing, Radical Love, Emotional Connection and Breathing Spaces in Intersectional Communities The Ethel Louise Armstrong Student Poster Competitions The Multiple Perspectives Conference encourages students to network with professionals, the community, and scholars who share their interests in disability at its annual student poster reception. Students can submit posters based on thesis or dissertation research, art & performance, class projects or papers. A generous gift from the Ethel Louise Armstrong Foundation funds several awards each year. Details on the 2021 competitions will be released in a few before the first of the year. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 8815 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: ATT00001.txt URL: From armstrongdeborah at fhda.edu Wed Dec 9 10:32:23 2020 From: armstrongdeborah at fhda.edu (Deborah Armstrong) Date: Wed Dec 9 10:32:52 2020 Subject: [Athen] Alt media course packet tip Message-ID: If you have students in the liberal arts who get course packets which contain photocopies or scans of pages from multiple textbooks and anthologies, it can be a pain to scan them. Contrast on every page will be different; many will be poor camera phone pictures and some will be copies of copies of copies and will barely OCR. But I've found one secret I employ regularly. I go through the table of contents and note all the essays, stories, articles and other stuff in the course packet. Then I do a full-text search on bookshare for the article, for example "Amy Tan, Mother Tongue" or "Malcom Douglas, Learning To Read". I usually find an anthology with the selection. If the copies of these textbook pages include footers or headers that give a clue about what textbook they were lifted from, I also search for its name. If all else fails, I ask the instructor for a bibliography - where did all the material in their course packet come from - and then I search bookshare for that or use other sources, like the ATN to grab the actual book. I also regularly ask our history, English and similar departments if they use course packets to include a bibliography so the original sources can be located. This has become especially valuable now that I'm sheltering in place and cannot accept hardcopy from students nor send it back to them. --Debee -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From phil at d4k.ca Wed Dec 9 19:17:15 2020 From: phil at d4k.ca (Philip Kiff) Date: Wed Dec 9 19:17:23 2020 Subject: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat In-Reply-To: References: <65101064-58DF-4F19-84B0-557D37C1B7B0@buffalo.edu> <007f01d6ccd3$f9eea260$edcbe720$@pubcom.com> <011201d6ccfd$d7f4dfb0$87de9f10$@pubcom.com> Message-ID: Bevi's detailed response covers most questions raised - and more. I would add a small clarification to the thread about AxesPDF QuckFix along with a couple additional notes about software offerings. Mark wrote: > We are exploring the use of AxesPDF (https://www.axes4.com/ > ). It doesn?t require Acrobat Pro, and in my > experience is easier to use than Acrobat Pro. While AxesPDF Quick Fix does not require Acrobat Professional, it is not intended as a replacement for all the PDF editing capabilities of Acrobat Professional. It makes "remediating" PDFs easier: it performs some fixes very quickly - often with one click of a button. And it provides a better interface for editing tag properties than Acrobat does. But if you are trying to edit a poorly built PDF to make it accessible, then you will find that there are some essential functions that still require Acrobat Professional. A couple critical examples include: inserting new tags, changing the order of tags, or changing the level of nested tags. So yes, CommonLook PDF is installed as a plug-in to Acrobat Professional, so you will need Acrobat even to install it. But realistically, you will find that you need Acrobat Professional to use alongside AxesPDF QuickFix as well even though axesPDF QuickFix installs as a stand-alone program. Bevi wrote: > * CommonLook PDF, is especially good with correcting tables. And you > need training in how to use it. > * AxesPDF Quick Fix is meh, IMHO. And you need training in how to > use it. > I have used AxesPDF extensively and am happy with it, but I don't doubt Bevi's asssessment of it as compared to CommonLook PDF. I would note, however, that the pricing of CommonLook can be difficult to discover (no prices are listed on their website) and that if you are not a non-profit or government agency, their pricing is prohibitively expensive in some cases. In my case, the annual price of CommonLook PDF quoted to me was quite literally more than 10 times the published price of a license for AxesPDF QuickFix. CommonLook PDF: https://commonlook.com/accessibility-software/pdf/ axesPDF QuickFix: https://www.axes4.com/axespdf-quickfix-overview.html Lastly, while not necessarily the right choice for many, there are Microsoft Word add-ins from each of the two companies listed above. With the right training, and with the right templates, each of these add-ins can make it possible to generate fully accessible, PDF/UA compliant PDFs directly from Microsoft Word, without needing Acrobat Professional. Bevi notes that Microsoft Word can create a generally accessible PDF from a basic file. These add-ins improve the output from a Word file to make it more fully comply with the current standards. Though both of these add-ins cost about the same as a license for Microsoft Office itself. axesPDF for Word: https://www.axes4.com/axespdf-for-word-overview.html CommonLook Office: https://commonlook.com/accessibility-software/office/ Phil. Philip Kiff D4K Communications On 2020-12-07 22:09, foreigntype@gmail.com wrote: > Thanks for a good, detailed and honest response Bevi. > > Wink > > On Mon, Dec 7, 2020 at 5:03 PM > wrote: > > Andrea D. asked: > > ?Are there any good tools to use if you?re forced to start with a > PDF file?? > > Note: this is a long, detailed answer. > > Sure, but it?s going to depend on: > > 1. How complex the document is, > 2. Whether it was created in InDesign, Word, or PowerPoint ? or > something else. Reading orders get botched up with documents > from InDesign and PowerPoint, unless the creator has had > specific training in how to make them accessible. And those > from non-Adobe/non-Microsoft programs just don?t get > accessibility at all and are a ripping mess to correct. > 3. And whether it has maths and STEM in it. > > Therefore, there is no magic wand that will fix all your files > with one magic keystroke. > > Today, anyone using MS Word should be able to generate a simple > accessible Word document and matching accessible PDF without any > extra effort, other than using a good accessible Word template and > having a 2-3 hour training session in how to do it. It?s not > rocket science! > > Stop the hemorrhaging of your institution?s funds!? Get your staff > trained immediately and reduce the drain of money and time. > Remediate the original source file when you can, and especially if > it will be re-used later for another document. Invest your time > wisely for maximum benefit. > > OK, *so when you can?t remediate the source file and it?s a doozie > of a PDF*, some of the tools we find helpful are: > > * Acrobat?s built-in remediation tools, like AutoTag and > Preflight. And you need training in how to use them. > * CommonLook PDF, is especially good with correcting tables. And > you need training in how to use it. > * AxesPDF Quick Fix is meh, IMHO. And you need training in how > to use it. > * Outside remediation cloud-based technologies. Today, vendors > are crawling out of the woodwork claiming that their A I > (artificial intelligence) will magically create accessible > PDFs in seconds and cost you pennies. Artificial Intelligence > is not yet very intelligent, especially for those problematic > documents. We still need humans to determine what?s in a PDF, > how it should be tagged and presented, and what a logical > reading is for that document. My firm recommends only a > handful of companies to our clients, and if you?re interested, > contact me off list for our recommendations. I?m not here in > Athen to promote one over the other. > > Bottom line: start fixing the problem rather than buying expensive > band aids. Otherwise you?ll eventually run out of money. > > *? ? ?* > > Bevi Chagnon *| *Designer, Accessibility Technician*|* > Chagnon@PubCom.com > > *? ? ?* > > *PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing* > > consulting ? training ? development ? design ? sec. 508 services > > *Upcoming classes* at www.PubCom.com/*classes* > > > *? ? ?* > > Latest blog-newsletter > ? *Simple > Guide to Writing Alt-Text > * > > *From:* Andrea L. Dietrich > > *Sent:* Monday, December 7, 2020 4:25 PM > *To:* chagnon@pubcom.com ; Access > Technology Higher Education Network > > *Subject:* RE: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat > > Using Microsoft?s built-in tools is great if you?re starting from > scratch building the document. But often we work on remediating > preexisting PDF files (I work a lot with document conversion for > students, and we get publisher PDFs.) Are there any good tools to > use if you?re forced to start with a PDF file? Or is it better to > convert the PDF to Word, fix up the order and such, and then turn > that into a PDF? > > -Andi :) > > *From:* athen-list > *On Behalf > Of *chagnon@pubcom.com > *Sent:* Monday, December 7, 2020 3:03 PM > *To:* 'Access Technology Higher Education Network' > > > *Subject:* Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat > > We find that Microsoft?s built-in PDF export utility (in Office > 365) does a much better job, comparable to Acrobat?s PDF Maker > plug-in which comes with Acrobat Pro. > > In most cases, MS?s matches Acrobat?s conversion. And it?s free. > > But your IT department will have to make sure they keep MS Office > up to date: earlier versions of their PDF export utility were awful. > > Another alternative is FoxIt?s PDF plugin, but given that FoxIt > makes the one built into Microsoft Office, why would you pay for > what?s essentially the same product? > > Question: wouldn?t it make more sense (and cents!) to train your > faculty and staff in how to make accessible documents? Doing the > job right from the start is always more cost effective than > remediating everything after it?s made. > > It?s a teach-a-person-to-fish strategy. > > *? ? ?* > > Bevi Chagnon *| *Designer, Accessibility Technician*|* > Chagnon@PubCom.com > > *? ? ?* > > *PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing* > > consulting ? training ? development ? design ? sec. 508 services > > *Upcoming classes* at www.PubCom.com/*classes* > > > *? ? ?* > > Latest blog-newsletter > ? *Simple > Guide to Writing Alt-Text > * > > *From:* athen-list > *On Behalf > Of *Greenfield, Mark > *Sent:* Monday, December 7, 2020 11:39 AM > *To:* Access Technology Higher Education Network > > > *Subject:* Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat > > We are exploring the use of AxesPDF (https://www.axes4.com/ > ). It doesn?t require Acrobat Pro, and in > my experience is easier to use than Acrobat Pro. ??Remediating > PDFs has been an ongoing challenge for us because we don?t have a > campus-wide license for Acrobat Pro and most faculty don?t have it. > > Mark > > Mark A. Greenfield > Web Accessibility Officer > > Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion > 406 Capen Hall > State University of New York at Buffalo > Buffalo, N.Y.? 14260 > > telephone: (716)645-2811 > e-mail: markgr@buffalo.edu > > *From: *athen-list > on behalf > of "Hayman, Douglass" > > *Reply-To: *Access Technology Higher Education Network > > > *Date: *Monday, December 7, 2020 at 11:12 AM > *To: *Access Technology Higher Education Network > > > *Subject: *Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat > > Rachel, > > My institution provided me with a laptop to work from home which > has both Microsoft Office and also Acrobat Pro to let me work on > remediation of documents.? Are your remote staff having to use > their own computers? > > Doug Hayman > > IT Accessibility Coordinator > > Information Technology > > Olympic College > > dhayman@olympic.edu > > (360) 475-7632 (currently working remotely and don?t have access > to this phone) > > *From:* athen-list > *On Behalf > Of *Rachel Ford > *Sent:* Monday, December 7, 2020 7:56 AM > *To:* athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu > > *Subject:* [EXTERNAL] - [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat > > CAUTION: This email came from a non-OC system or external source. > Beware of phishing and social engineering! > > Hello All, > > With our faculty working from home, I?ve run into an issue where > some faculty don?t have access to Acrobat Pro to create accessible > PDFs. Does anyone have a good alternative to Acrobat or just > generally using PDFs? Any suggestions would be really helpful. > > Thank you, > > Rachel Ford > > Web Accessibility Manager > > Henry Ford College > > _______________________________________________ > athen-list mailing list > athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu > > http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list > > > -- > Wink Harner Assistive Technology Consulting and Training Alternative > Text Production Portland OR. foreigntype@gmail.com > 480-984-0034 > > _______________________________________________ > athen-list mailing list > athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu > http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ipriest at msudenver.edu Thu Dec 10 07:43:07 2020 From: ipriest at msudenver.edu (Priest, Ione) Date: Thu Dec 10 07:43:22 2020 Subject: [Athen] Opportunity for BVI Chemistry students - $100 honoraria Message-ID: Good morning everyone, One of our chemistry professors forwarded us the email below, and I thought it might be of interest to some of you, as well. ----- My name is Shirley Hino and I'm the Senior Director of Digital Content for Chemistry. I presently oversee the development of McGraw Hill's Chemistry digital products. Our team is currently working on several projects focused on improving the accessibility of our Chemistry content for BVI students. We are looking for 8-10 BVI students who have completed a Chemistry course in the last 3 years. The course could be Introductory Chemistry, General Chemistry, or Organic Chemistry. We are offering a $100 honorarium to our interview participants. The interview will be over Zoom and scheduled for 50-minutes. During the interview, our participants will interact with 1-2 prototypes and answer a series of questions. We will be conducting our interview over the month of January 2021. Would you be willing to share my information with any students who might be interested in participating? I can be reached at shirley.hino@mheducation.com or 563.552.6345. Thank you in advance. --Shirley Shirley Hino, Ph.D. | Sr. Director of Digital Content, Chemistry | Higher Ed Group McGraw Hill | 83 South King Street, Suite 400 | Seattle, WA 98104 T: 206.926.6974 | M: 563.552.6345 | shirley.hino@mheducation.com ----- Ione Priest, CPACC | Accessibility Technology Manager Pronouns: she, her, hers Access Center Metropolitan State University of Denver Campus Box 56, P.O. Box 173362, Denver, CO 80217-3362 303-615-0200 (office) 720-778-5662 (fax) ipriest@msudenver.edu | www.msudenver.edu/access MSU Denver logo: [Metropolitan State University of Denver] This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender immediately by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 14590 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From lydia at autistichoya.com Wed Dec 9 13:12:09 2020 From: lydia at autistichoya.com (Lydia X. Z. Brown) Date: Thu Dec 10 08:03:32 2020 Subject: [Athen] New CDT Report: Algorithm-driven Hiring Tools: Innovative Recruitment or Expedited Disability Discrimination? Message-ID: Hi friends - I wanted to share this exciting update from my team with you! As employers strive to make their hiring processes faster and more efficient, algorithm-driven hiring tools are growing increasingly popular. Vendors market these tools as an efficient way to identify skills, aptitudes, and ?cultural fit? ? in ways that humans cannot. While algorithm-driven hiring tools may offer quick solutions, faster does not always mean better . This is especially true when these tools reinforce disability-based discrimination in ways that may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A new report from CDT explores employers? potential liability under the ADA when they use algorithm-driven hiring tools. Employers must provide hiring tests in formats that are accessible to people with disabilities, only use selection criteria that are necessary to essential job functions, and provide reasonable accommodations to bridge the gap between employers and qualified disabled people. Our report explains how algorithm-driven hiring tools may fail to meet these obligations, instead amplifying hiring disparities for disabled people ? many of whom face employment barriers at multiple levels of marginalization. Algorithmic discrimination based on disability is uniquely difficult to quantify or mitigate, as people can have vastly different experiences of each of the many kinds of disabilities. Regardless, algorithm-driven hiring tools must be designed, examined, and regulated with this diversity of disability experiences in mind. Our report explains steps that employers, vendors, policymakers, and job-seekers can take to make these tools more fair, improve their accuracy, and increase accountability. We hope our report guides stakeholders to ensure that these tools do not push people with disabilities further out of an already biased and ever-evolving job market. You can also find more from CDT?s Privacy & Data Project here . Find the report [here]. Find the plain language version of the report [here]. ________________ *Lydia X. Z. Brown * Pronouns: they/them/theirs/themself or no pronouns Phone: +1 (202) 618-0187 Homepage: www.lydiaxzbrown.com Portfolio: www.autistichoya.net Founder & Director, Fund for Community Reparations for Autistic People of Color's Interdependence, Survival, & Empowerment Adjunct Lecturer in Disability Studies, Georgetown University Department of English Member, American Bar Association, Commission on Disability Rights & Disability Rights Committee Chair, American Bar Association, Section on Civil Rights & Social Justice ?Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.? ? Arundhati Roy ?Life is short and the world is at least half terrible, and for every kind stranger, there is one who would break you, though I keep this from my children. I am trying to sell them the world. Any decent realtor, walking you through a real shithole, chirps on about good bones: This place could be beautiful, right? You could make this place beautiful.? ? Maggie Smith *Having a hard time*? Try bit.ly/selfcarehelp for a text-accessible, interactive self-care/executive functioning tool. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lydia at autistichoya.com Thu Dec 10 09:49:34 2020 From: lydia at autistichoya.com (Lydia X. Z. Brown) Date: Thu Dec 10 09:50:21 2020 Subject: [Athen] Please share - Michigan: Lansing Community College hiring two part-time ASL interpreters Message-ID: Hello, We here at Lansing Community College are looking to hire two part time sign language interpreters. Please visit the posting for more information and share. Thank you, Amanda Preston Access Consultant The Center for Student Access Lansing Community College LCC provides high quality education ensuring that all students successfully complete their educational goals while developing life skills necessary for them to enrich and support themselves, their families, and their community as engaged global citizens. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jose at clik.com.br Fri Dec 11 05:03:46 2020 From: jose at clik.com.br (JTonolli) Date: Fri Dec 11 05:04:02 2020 Subject: [Athen] Call for Chapters: Assistive Technologies for Differently Abled Students In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <9a8c7c8d-4f55-5157-f039-e65f64187808@clik.com.br> Maybe of interest of the group. Full info at https://www.igi-global.com/publish/call-for-papers/call-details/4425 *Call for Chapters: Assistive Technologies for Differently Abled Students * *Editors* *Dr. Sangeeta Dhamdhere-Rao* Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce , India *Dr. Frederic Andres * National Institute of Informatics, Japan *Call for Chapters* Proposals Submission Deadline: December 14, 2020 Full Chapters Due: January 29, 2021 *Introduction* In higher education system equal importance must be given to differently abled students. But not all educational institutions have infrastructure and facilities to admit these students. There are many schemes, facilities, services and financial assistance are available to these students. New assistive technologies are making teaching learning process very easy for these students. Not only differently abled students but socially, financially deprived students also need support and help to overcome their problems in taking higher education. While using new technologies in education system like e-learning, blended learning these students need special attention as well as some advance training and also additional features in that technology to become familiar with it. This book is a ready reference book for the higher educational institutes to implement effective assistive technologies and other related services for providing differently abled students? a quality and equal education, enabling them to excel in their field and get good employment. *Objective* This publication will be a handbook or guidebook for all higher educational all over the world for understanding demands and requirements of differently abled students and impart quality education. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kschoeb1 at swarthmore.edu Thu Dec 10 11:58:41 2020 From: kschoeb1 at swarthmore.edu (Corrine Schoeb) Date: Fri Dec 11 08:12:19 2020 Subject: [Athen] Audio Description Vendors Message-ID: Hi everyone, Looking for recommendations for video audio description vendors. Appreciate any help you can provide. -- Corrine Schoeb Technology Accessibility Coordinator, ITS 610-957-6208 == COVID-19 Announcement: NOTE: We are currently serving our community remotely. We will be answering calls and emails to the Classroom and Conferencing Technologies during our normal hours. Please visit our working remotely page (http://swarthmore.edu/remote) for more details. == *** Swarthmore College ITS will *never* ask you for your password, including by email. Please keep your passwords private to protect yourself and the security of our network. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tft at uw.edu Fri Dec 11 08:21:56 2020 From: tft at uw.edu (Terrill Thompson) Date: Fri Dec 11 08:22:27 2020 Subject: [Athen] Audio Description Vendors In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Corrine, We at the University of Washington have compiled a short list of audio description vendors on our Creating Accessible Videos website. Specifically see the section on "Audio Description". It's been a couple of years since we compiled that list, so I'm not sure if it's necessarily still accurate. I do know that both 3PlayMedia and AudioEyes provide audio description using speech synthesis, and do so for a lower price than the other providers. The other providers use human voiceover talent to provide the narration, so it's arguably a more professional product, but the cost is slightly higher. The cost is coming down though as this has become a more competitive marketplace. Among the traditional providers listed, we typically use Audio Eyes and have been very happy with their service. Regards, Terrill --- Terrill Thompson Manager, IT Accessibility Team UW-IT Accessible Technology Services University of Washington tft@uw.edu On Fri, Dec 11, 2020 at 8:13 AM Corrine Schoeb wrote: > Hi everyone, > > Looking for recommendations for video audio description vendors. > Appreciate any help you can provide. > > -- > > Corrine Schoeb > Technology Accessibility Coordinator, ITS > 610-957-6208 > > == > COVID-19 Announcement: > NOTE: We are currently serving our community remotely. We will be > answering calls and emails to the Classroom and Conferencing Technologies during > our normal hours. Please visit our working remotely page > (http://swarthmore.edu/remote) for more > details. > == > > *** Swarthmore College ITS will *never* ask you for your password, > including by email. Please keep your passwords private to protect yourself > and the security of our network. > > > _______________________________________________ > athen-list mailing list > athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu > http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From steve.noble at louisville.edu Fri Dec 11 08:31:05 2020 From: steve.noble at louisville.edu (Noble,Stephen L.) Date: Fri Dec 11 08:31:41 2020 Subject: [Athen] Audio Description Vendors In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I can recommend Bridge Multimedia...although I am biased since I have collaborated with them on a number of projects. But they also have a nice listing on their website which includes many of their competitors: Bridge Multimedia: Universally Accessible Media - Audio/Video Description Bridge Multimedia creates broadcast quality descriptions for the TV industry including lots of educational shows. Here is their contact page: Bridge Multimedia: Universally Accessible Media - Contact Info --Steve Noble steve.noble@louisville.edu 502-969-3088 ________________________________ From: athen-list on behalf of Corrine Schoeb Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2020 2:58 PM To: athen-list@u.washington.edu Subject: [Athen] Audio Description Vendors Hi everyone, Looking for recommendations for video audio description vendors. Appreciate any help you can provide. -- Corrine Schoeb Technology Accessibility Coordinator, ITS 610-957-6208 == COVID-19 Announcement: NOTE: We are currently serving our community remotely. We will be answering calls and emails to the Classroom and Conferencing Technologies during our normal hours. Please visit our working remotely page (http://swarthmore.edu/remote) for more details. == *** Swarthmore College ITS will never ask you for your password, including by email. Please keep your passwords private to protect yourself and the security of our network. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From TMariotti at mvcc.edu Fri Dec 11 08:48:55 2020 From: TMariotti at mvcc.edu (Tamara Mariotti) Date: Fri Dec 11 08:49:33 2020 Subject: [Athen] Audio Description Vendors In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <52c9c4c50beb4bc7b4b9ac50545f2572@mvcc.edu> 3 Play Media provides audio descriptions and we have been using them for a couple years. Tamara Mariotti (She, Her, Hers) Coordinator of the Office of Accessibility Resources (OAR) Mohawk Valley Community College Wilcox Hall (formally IT) Building Learning Commons, Room 129A 1101 Sherman Drive Utica, NY 13501 Voice 315-731-5702 (receiving remote messages) Fax 315-731-5868 (receiving faxes remotely) Zoom contact: https://zoom.us/j/5413320508 (video chat) https://www.mvcc.edu/accessibility-resources [mvcc logo] Proud member of: [NYSDSC 2016 Logo for email sig] "Disability is not a 'brave struggle' or 'courage in the face of adversity'. Disability is an art. It's an ingenious way to live." Neil Marcus From: athen-list On Behalf Of Noble,Stephen L. Sent: Friday, December 11, 2020 11:31 AM To: Access Technology Higher Education Network Subject: Re: [Athen] Audio Description Vendors I can recommend Bridge Multimedia...although I am biased since I have collaborated with them on a number of projects. But they also have a nice listing on their website which includes many of their competitors: Bridge Multimedia: Universally Accessible Media - Audio/Video Description Bridge Multimedia creates broadcast quality descriptions for the TV industry including lots of educational shows. Here is their contact page: Bridge Multimedia: Universally Accessible Media - Contact Info --Steve Noble steve.noble@louisville.edu 502-969-3088 ________________________________ From: athen-list > on behalf of Corrine Schoeb > Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2020 2:58 PM To: athen-list@u.washington.edu > Subject: [Athen] Audio Description Vendors Hi everyone, Looking for recommendations for video audio description vendors. Appreciate any help you can provide. -- Corrine Schoeb Technology Accessibility Coordinator, ITS 610-957-6208 == COVID-19 Announcement: NOTE: We are currently serving our community remotely. We will be answering calls and emails to the Classroom and Conferencing Technologies during our normal hours. Please visit our working remotely page (http://swarthmore.edu/remote) for more details. == *** Swarthmore College ITS will never ask you for your password, including by email. Please keep your passwords private to protect yourself and the security of our network. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4536 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 17113 bytes Desc: image002.jpg URL: From arobasse at cornellcollege.edu Fri Dec 11 14:50:56 2020 From: arobasse at cornellcollege.edu (Amy Robasse) Date: Fri Dec 11 14:51:18 2020 Subject: [Athen] [External] Audio Description Vendors In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I just want to throw out that if "nothing about us without us" is important to you or your organization, Audio Eyes is the way to go. Their founder, Rick Boggs , is a passionate advocate whom I've had the pleasure of speaking with. ? They've also done a lot of work for notable clients, like Fox, Blue man group, and the National Parks Service. Warmly, Amy --- Amy Robasse, MA Accessibility and Academic Support Assistant Working Remotely - Schedule your virtual appointment -----> Want to connect with other students with disabilities? Email me for our Zoom chat info! On Fri, Dec 11, 2020 at 10:14 AM Corrine Schoeb wrote: > Hi everyone, > > Looking for recommendations for video audio description vendors. > Appreciate any help you can provide. > > -- > > Corrine Schoeb > Technology Accessibility Coordinator, ITS > 610-957-6208 > > == > COVID-19 Announcement: > NOTE: We are currently serving our community remotely. We will be > answering calls and emails to the Classroom and Conferencing Technologies during > our normal hours. Please visit our working remotely page > (http://swarthmore.edu/remote) for more > details. > == > > *** Swarthmore College ITS will *never* ask you for your password, > including by email. Please keep your passwords private to protect yourself > and the security of our network. > > > _______________________________________________ > athen-list mailing list > athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu > http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sherylb at uw.edu Sat Dec 12 15:51:40 2020 From: sherylb at uw.edu (Sheryl Burgstahler) Date: Sat Dec 12 15:51:50 2020 Subject: [Athen] Hot off the press!!! References: <8488751B-AF03-4818-B32B-3EDEEBBAE829@uw.edu> Message-ID: Harvard Education Press launched my new book this week?Creating Inclusive Learning Opportunities in Higher Education: A Universal Design Toolkit. Learn more about this book and how to get a 20% discount by clicking the ?NEW? link at The Center for Universal Design in Education. Sheryl ____________________ Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D. Director, UW Accessible Technology & DO-IT, UW-IT Affiliate Professor, Education University of Washington, Seattle https://sites.uw.edu/sherylb/ sherylb@uw.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From athenpresident at gmail.com Mon Dec 14 14:51:07 2020 From: athenpresident at gmail.com (ATHEN President) Date: Mon Dec 14 14:51:34 2020 Subject: [Athen] ATHEN Updates Message-ID: Hello all, We have a few announcements for you from the ATHEN Executive Committee: ATHEN By-Laws Voting We are so close to having our 2/3 quorum necessary to complete the voting on updating our By-laws. If you are an ATHEN member, you should have received a message from SurveyMonkey asking you to vote. Please vote if you haven't already done so! Member-at-large board position 1. We are actively seeking nominations to fill a vacant position on our Executive Committee. We will be holding a special election to fill a Member-at-Large position for the term of one year. If you would like to nominate yourself or a colleague for this position, please contact me at president@athenpro.org. Note: you do have to be a current ATHEN member to participate on the Executive Committee. Teresa Haven Scholarship Committee 2. We are looking for individuals who would be interested in volunteering for our Teresa Haven Scholarship Committee. This committee reviews applicants from students for a $1,000 scholarship award. Time commitment is very reasonable. If you are interested in participating, please reach out to scholarship@athenpro.org. ATHEN Quarterly Meeting - January 27, 2021 3. The ATHEN Quarterly Meeting is scheduled to happen on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 2:00 Eastern. The Zoom meeting link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84500100064 * Agenda: Discuss collaborations and standards for application testing. * Captioning will be provided for the meeting ATHEN Quarterly Meeting Details: Meeting is scheduled for 1/27/2021 at 2:00 PM Eastern ATHEN President is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: ATHEN Quarterly Meeting Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84500100064 Meeting ID: 845 0010 0064 One tap mobile +16699006833,,84500100064# US (San Jose) +12532158782,,84500100064# US (Tacoma) Dial by your location +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Meeting ID: 845 0010 0064 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kzEBiqQWU -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From help at nationaldeafcenter.org Tue Dec 15 11:12:24 2020 From: help at nationaldeafcenter.org (National Deaf Center) Date: Tue Dec 15 11:12:49 2020 Subject: [Athen] NDC Live Presentation Recordings Now Available Message-ID: Need tips on creating an equitable learning environment for deaf students, especially online? NDC Live is a series of online events where experts share best practices and answer some of the most frequently asked questions on a variety of topics such as providing remote interpreting and speech-to-text services for deaf students in online courses. Whether you are working with your first deaf person, or have years of experience, learn new strategies to support deaf students: Does Auto Captioning Effectively Accommodate Deaf People? W atch the live presentation here Download the PDF here Remote Services for Deaf College Students Watch the live presentation here Download the PDF here Hundreds of other resources are available on our website, including free online classes on Deaf 101, Teaching Deaf Students Online, Improving Campus Access, and much more. Sign up for NDC?s newsletter and listserv to stay updated on new events, resources, classes, and more. NDC is here for you! If you have any additional questions contact us at help@nationaldeafcenter.org or make an appointment with one of our specialists today. We encourage you to sign up for our newsletter to be updated on the latest NDC news. *NDC | help team* *help@nationaldeafcenter.org * [image: https://www.nationaldeafcenter.org/] Resources to support institutions during COVID-19 Sign up for the NDC listserv for center updates NDC is a technical assistance and dissemination center jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) #H326D160001. Project Officer: Dr. Louise Tripoli. Disclaimers: 1) The contents of this email do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the federal government. 2) NDC does not provide legal advice and any information shared should not be considered as such. 3) NDC does not endorse any specific products/services/vendors and any information shared should not be considered as such. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinr at disability.tamu.edu Wed Dec 16 09:32:38 2020 From: justinr at disability.tamu.edu (Justin Romack) Date: Wed Dec 16 09:33:26 2020 Subject: [Athen] Question RE: test integrity solutions for F2F exams w/ assistive tech Message-ID: <31bad474d04347e4868745bc01ffb493@disability.tamu.edu> Howdy y'all! Pre-pandemic, our testing center was scoping requirements for an endpoint solution to help manage access to workstations outfitted with various assistive tech solutions for students testing with accommodations. When I started in 2014, it was as easy as deploying a laptop or two each week in a testing room and toggling off the wi-fi... But we've grown substantially and now have eight desktop workstations and 13 laptops, some of which require internet access (while others need to have no connectivity whatsoever.) Managing these options isn't possible alongside my other FT responsibilities, so our division IT is looking for any existing solutions others may be using to manage this either remotely or through a kiosk-style solution. Questions: 1. Are you responsible for managing tech in a similar space with similar requirements? How are YOU managing this? 2. Have you heard of anything like this - or have any suggestions as we begin to develop out the idea? Grateful for anything you can send my way! Hoping everyone is safe, healthy and well as we head into the winter break! Thanks, J - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Justin Romack | Assistive Technology Coordinator Disability Resources | Texas A&M University 1224 TAMU | College Station, TX 77843-1224 ph: 979.845.1637 | justinr@disability.tamu.edu | disability.tamu.edu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS | One Division. One Mission -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lydia at autistichoya.com Tue Dec 15 11:06:47 2020 From: lydia at autistichoya.com (Lydia X. Z. Brown) Date: Wed Dec 16 10:12:33 2020 Subject: [Athen] Thursday: Self-Advocacy for Survival: Disability Rights & Mental Health in Higher Ed Message-ID: Please join the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network for a panel of five disabled advocates discussing undergrad and graduate students' access to mental health support. *Self-Advocacy for Survival: Disability Rights & Mental Health in Higher Ed* Thursday, 17 December 2020, at 7:00 PM Eastern / 4:00 PM Pacific RSVP (registration is free) We will provide ASL interpretation (with a CDI), CART captioning, and video and audio-only connection options. Students with cognitive, developmental, neurological, and learning disabilities experience higher rates of mental health disabilities, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet most universities do not provide meaningful, affordable, or long-term mental health services. As a result, undergraduate and graduate students often must advocate for campus-wide access and parity. In this panel, current and recent students with disabilities will discuss their work to engage campus partners and advocate for improvements. Panelists - Elayne R. Otstot, BSPH, University of Texas at Arlington; Law Fellow, Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, & Innovation at Loyola Law School - Jess L. Cowing, PhD, College of William & Mary; MA, Cal State Long Beach; BA, SUNY Oneonta - Kenna M. Chic, BSFS, Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service; Law Fellow, Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, & Innovation at Loyola Law School - Natalia M. Rivera Morales, Ph.D. candidate in Hispanic Languages and Literatures, University of Pittsburgh; MA, Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service; BA, Loyola University Maryland Moderator: - Finn Gardiner, MPP, Brandeis University, Heller School for Social Policy & Management; BA, Tufts University; AS, City College of San Francisco Welcoming remarks: - Lydia X. Z. Brown, AWN Director of Policy, Advocacy, & External Affairs Please note that after registering on EventBrite, you will also receive instructions for receiving a Zoom link. AWN will host this event on Zoom as well as livestream to Facebook. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From athenpresident at gmail.com Thu Dec 17 09:48:04 2020 From: athenpresident at gmail.com (ATHEN President) Date: Thu Dec 17 09:48:28 2020 Subject: [Athen] Looking for AHEAD Webinar Panel Participants Message-ID: Hi all, We are recruiting panelists for the project below - this is a joint ATHEN/AHEAD discussion. How well do you know the online test proctoring system on your campus? Respondus, Proctorio, Honor Lock, Examity and others? Do you know the accessibility level? Any positives or limitations? What workarounds have you found to support students? What assistive technology works well (or not so well) with the tool? If you can answer these questions and more, we want you! AHEAD is in process of creating a webinar for the Spring AHEAD Webinar Series on Tuesday, March 30th on this exact topic and are looking for one representative to speak on each of the major testing tools colleges and universities are commonly using. If you are interested in sitting on the panel, sharing your experience and expertise, and are available from 3:00-4:30pm EST on Tuesday, March 30th, please reach out to Carsen Kipley at rkipley@arizona.edu with the following information by Monday, December 21st: Your Name: Email: Institution: Testing System You Can Speak About: Affirmation You Are Available on March 30th: >From those who respond, we will pull together a panel of speakers. We?ll let those chosen for the panel know their involvement on or by Wednesday, December 23rd. Thank you! Dawn Hunziker ATHEN President -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From eileenberger33 at gmail.com Fri Dec 18 10:37:58 2020 From: eileenberger33 at gmail.com (Eileen Berger) Date: Fri Dec 18 10:38:30 2020 Subject: [Athen] Thursday: Self-Advocacy for Survival: Disability Rights & Mental Health in Higher Ed In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: HiLydia I was unable to attend yesterday?s panel! Is there a video of the important event? Thanks Eileen Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 16, 2020, at 1:12 PM, Lydia X. Z. Brown wrote: > > ? > Please join the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network for a panel of five disabled advocates discussing undergrad and graduate students' access to mental health support. > > Self-Advocacy for Survival: Disability Rights & Mental Health in Higher Ed > > Thursday, 17 December 2020, at 7:00 PM Eastern / 4:00 PM Pacific > > RSVP (registration is free) > > We will provide ASL interpretation (with a CDI), CART captioning, and video and audio-only connection options. > > Students with cognitive, developmental, neurological, and learning disabilities experience higher rates of mental health disabilities, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet most universities do not provide meaningful, affordable, or long-term mental health services. As a result, undergraduate and graduate students often must advocate for campus-wide access and parity. In this panel, current and recent students with disabilities will discuss their work to engage campus partners and advocate for improvements. > > Panelists > Elayne R. Otstot, BSPH, University of Texas at Arlington; Law Fellow, Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, & Innovation at Loyola Law School > Jess L. Cowing, PhD, College of William & Mary; MA, Cal State Long Beach; BA, SUNY Oneonta > Kenna M. Chic, BSFS, Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service; Law Fellow, Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, & Innovation at Loyola Law School > Natalia M. Rivera Morales, Ph.D. candidate in Hispanic Languages and Literatures, University of Pittsburgh; MA, Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service; BA, Loyola University Maryland > Moderator: > Finn Gardiner, MPP, Brandeis University, Heller School for Social Policy & Management; BA, Tufts University; AS, City College of San Francisco > Welcoming remarks: > Lydia X. Z. Brown, AWN Director of Policy, Advocacy, & External Affairs > Please note that after registering on EventBrite, you will also receive instructions for receiving a Zoom link. AWN will host this event on Zoom as well as livestream to Facebook. > > _______________________________________________ > athen-list mailing list > athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu > http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lydia at autistichoya.com Fri Dec 18 09:25:57 2020 From: lydia at autistichoya.com (Lydia X. Z. Brown) Date: Sat Dec 19 09:07:35 2020 Subject: [Athen] =?utf-8?q?Chicago=3A_Mayor=E2=80=99s_Office_for_People_wi?= =?utf-8?q?th_Disabilities_hiring_Deputy_Commissioner_of_Compliance?= =?utf-8?q?_=28ADA_Transition_Plan=29?= Message-ID: Here is a great opportunity to lead the development of a new ADA Transition Plan for Chicago. The Mayor's Office of People with Disabilities is hiring a Deputy Commissioner. *NOTICE OF JOB OPPORTUNITY * *Deputy Commissioner of Compliance * *Mayor?s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) * Annual Salary: $115,656.00 *Organization Description: * With a workforce of over 33,000 people, and opportunities in more than 1,400 different job titles and categories, the City of Chicago is the third?largest city in the United States and has one of the world's largest and most diversified and balanced economies, not being dependent on anyone industry, with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. As an employer, the City of Chicago operates through the guiding principles of effective government, competitive delivery of high?quality services, and open government to the public. Through these principles, we strive to efficiently deliver services that address head?on the unique challenges facing our city and to make Chicago preferred employer of choice for all its residents. *Department Mission: * MOPD works to make Chicago the most accessible city in the nation, and provides services to over 600,000 Chicagoans with disabilities. MOPD programs include disability services, training, legal compliance, and policy. *Accessibility Compliance Unit (ACU): * This team is responsible for evaluating architectural, physical and program accessibility in the City of Chicago, and reviews all requests that are submitted to MOPD for review. ACU?s purview includes the city?wide Title II Self?Evaluation and Transition plan; ACU has determined it is a priority to update the Transition Plan. *Key functions of role of the Deputy Commissioner of Compliance include: * ? Lead the Title II Self?Evaluation and Transition Plan to completion ? Supervise the ACU unit staff, comprised of an Architect, Building Inspector and Personal Computer operator ? Work collaboratively and cooperatively with internal and external partners, including other City departments, internal and external partners and organizations on reviewing and advising on accessibility compliance ? Effectively communicate accessibility guidelines to internal and external stakeholders ? Keep up to date on all accessibility laws and regulations, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and any/all state and local laws. *Minimum Qualifications: * ? Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor?s degree. ? Working knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and accessibility requirements at the federal, state and local level ? Experience in disability and accessibility compliance ? Demonstrated project management experience including successful completion of goals, timelines and outcomes ? Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and cooperatively with internal and external partners ? Preferred: professional degree in law, architecture or other related field ? Preferred: 5+ years demonstrated work experience in accessibility compliance ? Preferred: Experience with Title II Self Evaluation and Transition Plans ? Preferred: Experience in analyzing and interpreting complex building code policies ? Understanding of political and city government rules and regulations ? Supervisory experience of staff and in building successful teams ? Experience presenting to a variety of audiences, about technical and general topics related to accessibility ? Excellent communication skills including in conveying complex concepts to others and in writing *NOTE*: The list of essential duties is not intended to be inclusive; there may be other duties that are essential to positions within the class. To be considered for this position, you must provide a cover letter and resume detailing your work experience and your educational background. You must include job titles, dates of employment, and specific job duties. You must provide your transcripts or diploma, professional license, or training certificates at the time of processing. A background investigation will be completed on the candidate selected for this position. *Residency Requirement * All employees of the City of Chicago must be actual residents of the City of Chicago as outlined in 2?152? 050 of the City of Chicago Municipal Code. Proof of residency will be required. *Application & Selection Process: * The Deputy Commissioner position is a Shakman Exempt position. Additional supporting information concerning employment with the City of Chicago may be found at: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dhr.html To apply, send your resume and cover letter by e?mail to: Christina McGleam Assistant to the Commissioner Mayor?s Office for People with Disabilities Christina.McGleam@cityofchicago.org Applicants with disabilities should contact the City's Disability Officer at 312?744?4969 or disabilityaccommodations@cityofchicago.org if they would like to request a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the hiring process. *Compensation & Benefits: * Annual Salary: $115,656.00 The selected candidate will receive an annual salary as well as an excellent program of benefits that allow employees to choose the benefits that meet their specific needs: The package includes Vacation Policy ? Employees begin earning vacation time during their first month of work ? Employees earn 13 vacation days a year for the first five years; 18 vacation days after 6 years; 23 vacation days after 14 years; 24 vacation days after 24 years and 25 vacation days after 25 years ? Employees are given one personal day a year o Sick Time ? Employees earn one day of sick time per month beginning the first day of the month following an individual's start date Paid Leave ? A mother receives 4 weeks paid maternity leave for a non?surgical delivery and 6 weeks paid leave for a surgical delivery ? A spouse or domestic partner of the birth mother receives 2 weeks paid parental leave ? An employee, spouse, or domestic partner receive 2 weeks paid parental leave for the adoption of a child Paid Holidays ? The City gives all of its employees 12 paid holidays throughout the year Pension ? City of Chicago offers its employees a Pension for retirement ALL REFERENCES TO POLITICAL SPONSORSHIP OR RECOMMENDATION MUST BE OMITTED FROM ANY AND ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS SUBMITTED FOR CITY EMPLOYMENT. The City of Chicago is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Military Friendly Employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Chicago Commission on Human Relations at 312?744?4111 or send an email to cchr@cityofchicago.org. For more information, go to: https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cchr.html This position is open to the general public. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lydia at autistichoya.com Fri Dec 18 14:29:31 2020 From: lydia at autistichoya.com (Lydia X. Z. Brown) Date: Sat Dec 19 09:07:36 2020 Subject: [Athen] University of Washington, Seattle, Disability Resources for Students hiring Program Operations Specialist In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The Disability Resources for Students (DRS) at the University of Washington (UW), Seattle campus, is looking to hire a new Program Operations Specialist. Please see the description below for more details. The full position description is attached and on the link at the bottom of this message. Feel free to share widely. Job Description The Program Operations Specialist is a new and unique position responsible for both the day-to-day operations of DRS, including front desk and intake management, as well as departmental data analytics and reporting. They will ensure DRS processes and protocols are in compliance with federal, state, and UW statutes and regulations. They will collaborate with various entities in DRS, across campus and beyond. They will promote disability awareness and advocacy in the campus community; providing technical and educational assistance to faculty, staff, and students to ensure effective accommodation and equal access and inclusion for students with disabilities; including advising on the use of universal design concepts and principles. Department website: https://depts.washington.edu/uwdrs/ Job Location: UW Seattle Campus. This role will work remotely until we return to campus. Closing Date: Open Until Filled, with a priority application date of December 20, 2020 Shift/Hours: Regularly work 40+ hours per week, 8:00a-5:00p Monday through Friday. Occasional evening and weekend hours are required. Salary: Estimated starting salary of $55,000, commensurate with education and experience Job posting link: https://uwhires.admin.washington.edu/eng/candidates/default.cfm?szCategory=jobprofile&szOrderID=185048&szCandidateID=0&szSearchWords=drs&szReturnToSearch=1 Requisition number: 185048 Adiam *ADIAM TESFAY* Director Disability Resources for Students Pronouns: She, Her 011 Mary Gates Hall Box 352808 Seattle, WA 98195-2808 Direct: 206.221.2453 Main 206-543-8924 adiamt@uw.edu / http://disability.uw.edu [image: signature_1624324274] Information contained in this message is part of an educational record and is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. This information is being shared with the addressee(s) because of legitimate educational interest. Any re-disclosure of this information must be done in accordance with FERPA or the student's consent. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, use, or distribution is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify me by telephone or email. The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations. We acknowledge the people ? past, present, and future ? of the Dkhw?Duw?Absh, the Duwamish Tribe, the Muckleshoot Tribe, and other tribes on whose traditional lands we study and work. [image: http://www.washington.edu/brand/files/2014/10/e-sig.gif] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 66236 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1303 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Program Operations Specialist JD Fall 2020.docx.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 110249 bytes Desc: not available URL: From armstrongdeborah at fhda.edu Sun Dec 27 12:31:50 2020 From: armstrongdeborah at fhda.edu (Deborah Armstrong) Date: Sun Dec 27 12:32:03 2020 Subject: [Athen] Comprehensive Audio described movie audio archive Message-ID: No telling how long this page will be around: https://jeff.tdrealms.com/Described_Movies.md but it appears this guy has collected the audio description track from numerous movies. There is no video; if there were, the page would be clearly not legal. I post this because someone on this list occasionally is searching for the audio description for a film shown in class. If you have a visually impaired person who needs to access the audio description, try searching this page. The official and more likely to stick around source is: http://www.acb.org/adp/ which lists described videos now to watch on TV, streaming services or purchase on DVD. -Debee -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From armstrongdeborah at fhda.edu Sun Dec 27 12:38:52 2020 From: armstrongdeborah at fhda.edu (Deborah Armstrong) Date: Sun Dec 27 12:39:21 2020 Subject: [Athen] Comprehensive Audio described movie audio archive In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I forgot to mention https://moviesfortheblind.com/ a podcast of public domain movie audio with descriptions. She has a few video podcasts as well, but most are audio only. --Debee From: athen-list On Behalf Of Deborah Armstrong Sent: Sunday, December 27, 2020 12:32 PM To: Access Technology Higher Education Network Subject: [Athen] Comprehensive Audio described movie audio archive No telling how long this page will be around: https://jeff.tdrealms.com/Described_Movies.md but it appears this guy has collected the audio description track from numerous movies. There is no video; if there were, the page would be clearly not legal. I post this because someone on this list occasionally is searching for the audio description for a film shown in class. If you have a visually impaired person who needs to access the audio description, try searching this page. The official and more likely to stick around source is: http://www.acb.org/adp/ which lists described videos now to watch on TV, streaming services or purchase on DVD. -Debee -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lydia at autistichoya.com Wed Dec 30 16:31:05 2020 From: lydia at autistichoya.com (Lydia X. Z. Brown) Date: Wed Dec 30 16:58:09 2020 Subject: [Athen] Washington: Spokane Community College hiring Program Coordinator, Disability Support Services Message-ID: Hello friends! My office is hiring. This position will report directly to me. **NOTE**: The position will be based on the main Spokane campus. There will be occasional travel to the Northern Counties campuses (2-3 times per quarter, at most), but otherwise the position will work out of Spokane. The position closes on January 12th. Please share with your networks! https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/ccspokane/jobs/2932916/disability-support-services-coordinator-program-coordinator -------- Aimee Elber, MA Director, Disability Support Services Spokane Community College p: 509.533.7498 Pronouns: she, her, hers Disability Support Services Coordinator (Program Coordinator) APPLY Salary $2,999.00 Monthly Location Spokane, WA Job Type Classified Department SCC Student Services Job Number 20.0ZZ Closing 1/12/2021 4:00 PM Pacific - DESCRIPTION - BENEFITS - QUESTIONS DESCRIPTION Please be aware that this recruitment closes at 4:00 p.m. PST. The application process will not be available after this time. To ensure consideration make sure your application is completed and submitted as soon as possible. Applications will only be accepted prior to 4:00 p.m. on the closing date. *The Community Colleges of Spokane is seeking a highly motivated and qualified individual for the position of Disability Support Services Coordinator in the Student Services Division at Spokane Community College. * *GENERAL DEFINITION* Under general supervision of the Director of Disability Support Services at the Spokane Community College (SCC) Spokane campus, this position is responsible for coordinating Disability Support Services both on the Spokane campus, and as needed in Northern Counties. This position will assist students and potential students in the initial stages of application, handling inquiries, providing direct accommodation services, assisting students with general accommodations, and ensuring SCC is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Sections 504 and 508 of the Reauthorized Rehabilitation Act. This position is based out of Spokane, WA but will need to travel to rural centers and around Spokane as needed for meetings. *CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES* - Assist students with disabilities so they have equal access to all SCC classes and programs, including acting as liaison between students and instructors at all SCC Northern County Centers; arrange for special accommodations and assistive technologies to support student?s documented needs, and train students in the use of assistive technologies. * - Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), student appointments and faculty meetings are being conducted remotely. It is anticipated that travel to Northern Counties sites will be limited to no more than 2-3 times per quarter. * - Review medical documentation to determine functional limitations in relation to classroom participation and use that information to develop accommodation plans for students. * - Provide direct disability support services to SCC students, on campus, off campus and online in order for students to have access and fully participate in all areas of SCC. * - Provide assistance to students regarding testing accommodations, equipment demonstration/loan, connecting with campus and community resources, general assistance with accommodations, and other support services as needs dictate. * - Assist students, and their faculty and staff, with obtaining, using, and learning computer applications and assistive technologies associated with student accommodations. * - Assist with the procuring and production of alternate text materials and the training of users on appropriate hardware and software involved in delivery of the materials. * - Stay abreast of current assistive technology and make recommendations for technology additions and upgrades. * - Maintain records and files, including departmental statistics and student files. * - Maintain confidential and appropriate records by documenting communication with and regarding students. * - Conduct DSS presentations and other outreach activities as needed. - Collaborate with students, faculty, and staff for the purpose of implementing identified accommodations, clarifying accommodation needs, and problem-solving. * - Create accommodation plans and assist students in accessing college processes and procedures as well as make appropriate referrals to other student services. * - Meet with students to identify barriers to full participation, review additional sources of information, and determine reasonable and appropriate accommodations based on information gathered in consideration of the guidelines of Section 504, the ADA and department policy and procedures. * - Facilitate front office operations as needed, e.g., greet visitors, respond to in-person and telephonic inquiries, schedule testing or appointments with staff, problem solve, assist with record keeping, interact with other departments, and assist with other duties associated with general office operations as needed. * - Work on special projects as needed. - Provide support to students to assist them in meeting their educational goals and promote academic independence and self-advocacy skills. * - Provide backup assistance to other DSS staff when needed. - Travel to Northern County centers for meetings as needed. - Support and advance the CCS strategic plan, and perform related duties as required. * * *Indicates this is an essential duty.* This position is designated a bargaining unit position and union membership is no longer a condition of employment. COMPETENCIES & OTHER REQUIREMENTS *REQUIRED COMPETENCIES (MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS)* - Knowledge of the legal requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). - One (1) year experience working with persons with disabilities in a service capacity. - High school diploma or equivalent. - Experience with computers and computer software, e.g., spreadsheets, database, word processing, web browsers, and email. - Excellent communication skills both orally and in writing. - Ability to cultivate and maintain student relationships. - Ability to interpret rules, policies, and procedures. - Ability to respond appropriately to students and others in crises. - Ability to effectively organize multiple work assignments, involving competing priorities, to produce work products that are accurate, of high quality and meet deadlines. - Ability to maintain confidentiality. - Ability to problem-solve as issues and problems arise unexpectedly. - Ability to work cooperatively with other college departments and individuals in order to ensure proper coordination of services between departments. - Ability to adapt to changes in scheduling and service needs. - Ability to work with little direct supervision. - Acceptance of the responsibility to promote the welfare and best interests of students at all times. - A demonstrable understanding of and acceptance of the mission, values, goals and objectives of CCS. - The ability to perform assigned duties in a manner consistent with applicable laws, regulations and goals of the institution, community and technical college system. - Demonstrated commitment to fostering and supporting a teaching, learning and working environment that honors diversity, equity and inclusion. *PREFERRED COMPETENCIES (DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS)* - Bachelor?s degree or higher from an accredited institution. - Awareness and familiarity with appropriate accommodations for a variety of disabling conditions, particularly for students in post-secondary education. - Knowledge or experience with PeopleSoft. - Experience working with information technology, assistive technology application and devices, student learning platforms, student management software, and assistive/adaptive technology solutions to students with cognitive, visual, or other disabilities. - Previous experience working in a Disability Support Services role in a post-secondary institution. CONDITIONS/TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT *TOTAL COMPENSATION*: $51,131. Total compensation is an *estimate* based upon adding the following amounts together: - Base compensation, plus - Current employer-paid health and related benefit contribution rates, plus - Median retirement fund contributions. The actual total will vary depending upon each employee's enrollment choices. Person hired must be able to provide acceptable documentation of U.S. Citizenship or lawful authorization to work in the United States. This is an absolute condition of employment. An offer of employment will not carry with it any responsibility or obligation on the part of the District to sponsor an H1-B visa. In addition, the Community Colleges of Spokane maintains a drug-free work environment and prohibits all smoking in the college buildings and state-owned vehicles. Must be able to successfully work in and promote a multicultural work and education environment. *Prior to a new hire, a background check including criminal record history will be conducted. Information from the background check will not necessarily preclude employment but will be considered in determining the applicant?s suitability and competence to perform in the position. *Once an applicant is chosen for an interview, they are required to complete and submit a declaration regarding sexual misconduct and investigation per state law. *PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS* - Work is performed in a normal, temperature-controlled office environment. - Frequent use of computer and exposure to terminal screens. - Frequent need for oral and auditory communications. - Visual focus and strain. - Work in a semi-open office setting with frequent interruptions and background noise. - Work involves constant interruptions and requirement to answer on demand questions by phone, in person, or electronically. - Occasional kneeling, stooping, crouching, crawling and reaching. - Move up to 25 lbs. frequently and up to 50 lbs. occasionally. *CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT* - Full-time schedule (12-month, 40-hours per week). - This position is overtime eligible. - Requires local or regional travel. If using personal vehicle proof of driver's license and car insurance required. - Criminal background check required. REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS To qualify for consideration, applicants must meet required competencies and submit a complete application packet, which includes the following: - CCS online application. - Cover letter addressing your qualifications as applied to the responsibilities of this position. * - Comprehensive resume. * - Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three professional references.* - College transcript(s) if applicable - unofficial/copies of transcripts are acceptable for initial application, official copies must be submitted upon acceptance of job offer. NOTE: All of the above are required to ensure your consideration for this position. *The item(s) marked with an asterisk are required attachments to your application prior to submission.* *Community Colleges of Spokane does not discriminate in its programs, activities and employment on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, marital status, pregnancy, parental status or families with children, status as a mother breastfeeding her child, AIDS/HIV or hepatitis C, honorably discharged veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, use of trained guide dog or service animal by a person with disability, genetic information or any other legally protected category. Please direct all inquiries regarding compliance with access, equal opportunity and/or grievances to the Chief Administration Officer, Community Colleges of Spokane, 501 N. Riverpoint Blvd., PO Box 6000, MS 1004, Spokane WA 99217-6000 or call 509-434-5037; WA Telecommunication Relay Services (TRS) **1-800-833-6384 or 7-1-1.* AgencyCommunity Colleges of Spokane AddressCCS HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICE IS LOCATED AT: 501 N Riverpoint Blvd, Suite 125 Spokane, Washington, 99217 Phone509-434-5040 Websitehttp://ccs.spokane.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: