<html>
<body>
<font size=3>The point of the Webinar is to outline the current state of
NIMAS which is the K-12 standard in the IDEA legislation. Of
course, my personal interest is more higher ed but I believe this event
is monumental and needs treatment. Also, An hour goes by
quickly. If we hope to get into any depth, 2 people is probably all
we can cover.<br><br>
I'd love to do a follow-up on how to expand this to higher ed.<br><br>
ANY VOLUNTEERS????<br>
At 07:27 AM 5/1/2007, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>My apologies to all! I
previously posted this last week, but with the wrong subject line, so
thought I'd try again.<br><br>
Norm, this sounds like a very interesting workshop! Thanks for
providing it. <br><br>
I do have one concern which is that there is no representation from two
key players - postsecondary education dss and APA (American Publishers
Association) - in this workshop. Since NIMAS is the standard for K-12 and
not postsecondary ed, was anyone from the AHEAD eText inititive involved
or invited? It would just seem appropriate to have someone who
represents postsecondary ed involved in this along with the individuals
who are scheduled. <br><br>
Soapbox for any who wish to lend an ear: It seems that we have
several different groups working on this issue, but the groups are not
communicating with one another! Ex: Group 1 - we have the AHEAD
eText Initiative which has the main players at the table talking, Group 2
- this EASI workshop group, Group 3 - a group of individuals who are
blind who recently went to Washington to talk directly with senators and
representatives about needing legislation mandating that publishers
provide eText in a specific standard (I think they too had jumped on the
NIMAS bandwagon). I'm sure there are other groups out there.
Rather than having umpteen smaller groups picking away at the problem, it
would seem more feasible for us to band together. More power in
numbers!<br><br>
OK – I'm stepping off my soap box and getting back to proctoring finals.
<br>
Thanks all!<br><br>
<a name="11233c90388f2855__MailAutoSig"></a>Heidi Scher, M.S., CRC<br>
Counselor/Coordinator of Disability Services<br>
Arkansas State University - Beebe<br><br>
<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Message: 7<br>
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2007 09:08:52 -0700<br>
From: Prof Norm Coombs
<<a href="mailto:norm.coombs@GMAIL.COM">norm.coombs@GMAIL.COM</a>>
(by way of Prof Norm <br>
Coombs
<<a href="mailto:norm.coombs@gmail.com">
norm.coombs@gmail.com</a>>)<br>
Subject: [Athen] EASI Webinar: The Future of E--books Is Here!<br>
To: <a href="mailto:athen@athenpro.org">athen@athenpro.org </a><br>
Message-ID:
<<a href="mailto:6.0.3.0.2.20070426090743.022b50f0@pop.gmail.com">
6.0.3.0.2.20070426090743.022b50f0@pop.gmail.com</a>><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"<br><br>
--=====================_88253984==.ALT<br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
<br><br>
EASI Webinar: The Future of E--books Is Here!<br><br>
Accessible E-textbooks for Students: May 1 2 PM Eastern<br>
Presenters:<br>
Nicole Gaines, NIMAC Manager, American Printinghouse for the Blind<br>
Julia Myers, Director, Resource Services and NIMAC, American Printing
House <br>
for the Blind,<br>
Skip Stahl, Project Director, NIMAS Development Center, Center for
Applied<br>
Special Technology<br><br>
President Bush signed the Individuals with Disabilities Education<br>
Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) on December 3, 2004 which, among other
<br>
things, mandated<br>
the provision of textbooks and instructional materials in
accessible<br>
formats for students who are blind or print disabled. While the
legislation<br>
relates to K-12 students, we believe that the more that publishers are
<br>
creating accessible e-textbooks for K-12 that they will inevitably
expand<br>
to a broader audience. If not, there will be an outcry from K-12
students<br>
as they transition into higher education wanting the same quality of
<br>
support for their studies. This will be like dropping a pebble into
the<br>
water. The wave will expand to include higher ed and the general<br>
public. Learning about this dramatic e-book revolution is important
for<br>
all of us.<br><br>
This presentation will focus on NIMAS, (National Instructional
Materials<br>
Accessibility Standard), the role of APH, (American Printinghouse for
the<br>
Dlind)<br>
and the role of CAST, (Center for Applied Special Technology). <br><br>
The National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) is a
file<br>
repository for core print textbooks and related instructional
materials<br>
required for<br>
use by blind or other persons with print disabilities in elementary and
<br>
secondary schools in the U.S. and its territories. These National<br>
Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) source file sets
can<br>
be used to create specialized formats, such as braille, large print,
audio, <br>
or digital text. The NIMAC opened in December 2006.<br><br>
CAST is the home of the NIMAS Development Center and the NIMAS
Technical<br>
Assistance Center, Cooperative agreements with the Office of
Special<br>
Education Programs, United States Department of Education. <br><br>
While this Webinar is free, you need to register in advance to guarantee
a<br>
seat in the room. (Those who register, whether or not they attend,
will<br>
afterwards<br>
receive a link to the recording. When you connect over the Internet
to the <br>
Webinar room, you can listen to the presenters and watch as supporting
Web<br>
pages are pushed to reinforce the presentation. The audience can
also make<br>
comments or ask questions either by using a mic to talk or by writing
into <br>
the room's text window.<br><br>
<br>
To read more and register to reserve a seat and to get login
information<br>
for this free event, go to:<br>
<a href="http://easi.cc/clinic.htm">http://easi.cc/clinic.htm</a><br><br>
<br>
Look for other future Webinars on that page. We have several
being<br>
finalized and they should be on that page very soon.<br>
The EASI month-long, online courses on accessible Information
Technology<br>
for May are:<br>
Barrier-free Information Technology (4-week online course starting May
7)<br>
http//easi.cc/workshop.htm<br>
Creating and Repurposing More Accessible Content (4-week online
course<br>
starting May 7)<br>
http//easi.cc/workshop.htm <br><br>
<br>
Norman Coombs<br>
CEO EASI<br><br>
-----------------------<br>
Check out EASI's New Synchronous Clinics:<br>
<a href="http://easi.cc/clinic.htm">http://easi.cc/clinic.htm</a><br><br>
EASI Home Page
<a href="http://www.rit.edu/%7Eeasi">http://www.rit.edu/~easi</a><br>
Online Courses and Clinics
<a href="http://easi.cc/workshop.htm">http://easi.cc/workshop.htm</a><br>
To sign off this list <br>
send e-mail to
<a href="mailto:listserv@listserv.icors.org">listserv@listserv.icors.org
</a>saying<br>
signoff itd-jnl<br><br>
</blockquote><br>
_______________________________________________<br>
Athen mailing list<br>
Athen@athenpro.org<br>
<a href="http://athenpro.org/mailman/listinfo/athen_athenpro.org" eudora="autourl">http://athenpro.org/mailman/listinfo/athen_athenpro.org</a></font></blockquote>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=2>
----------------------------------------<br>
Webinar Series on Accessible Powerpoint starting April 19<br>
http//easi.cc/clinic.htm<br><br>
May Courses<br>
Barrier-free Information Technology (4-week online course starting May
7)<br>
http//easi.cc/workshop.htm<br>
Creating and Repurposing More Accessible Content (4-week online course
starting May 7)<br>
http//easi.cc/workshop.htm<br><br>
Norman Coombs, Ph.D.<br>
CEO EASI (http//easi.cc)<br>
22196 Caminito Tasquillo<br>
Laguna Hills CA 92653<br>
(949) 855-4852 (Pacific time zone)<br><br>
<br><br>
</font><font face="Courier New, Courier" size=2><x-tab> </x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab></font></body>
</html>