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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>I so agree, I don’t want it locked away either. The issue with keeping it closed has to do with the legal liability associated with such a product. If Apple saw a public disclosure of how poor the accessibility was on their platform, with third party apps, they would sue in a heartbeat. That is why I have promoted for years transparent evaluation and when I was the Athen prez I would not allow the organization to do any work that was under NDA. Unfortunately almost all of the work currently is being done under NDA. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Ron<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces@mailman13.u.washington.edu] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Susan Kelmer<br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, March 26, 2015 9:46 AM<br><b>To:</b> Access Technology Higher Education Network<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Athen] Product evaluation database<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>I agree. It would be really great to have this available to all of us. We get the same questions over and over about products, and if there were a database to access, those questions would certainly lessen.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Two concerns:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in'><span style='color:#1F497D'>1.</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#1F497D'> </span><span style='color:#1F497D'>Who is going to make the database and keep it maintained? Should this be a paid position, or at least something of a stipend given for keeping it going?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in'><span style='color:#1F497D'>2.</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#1F497D'> </span><span style='color:#1F497D'>I am actually uncomfortable with keeping this locked away – yes, I understand liability, but we are asking basic questions here about accessibility of software/apps/programs/websites, and that information should be available to anyone looking for it. I am making the assumption that people would be looking at the information as part of their planning and investigation of a product that is being recommended for use by administration, etc., so any and all information is going to be useful as part of that investigation. I think keeping us liability-free is more a matter of writing effective content that is not filled with opinion, but instead informative and descriptive. VPATs could be included as part of the entry on a product, but should not be the only content.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='color:#1F497D'>Susan Kelmer<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='color:#1F497D'>Alternate Format Access Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='color:#1F497D'>Disability Services<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='color:#1F497D'>University of Colorado Boulder<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='color:#1F497D'>303-735-4836<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> athen-list <a href="mailto:[mailto:athen-list-bounces@mailman13.u.washington.edu]">[mailto:athen-list-bounces@mailman13.u.washington.edu]</a> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Ron Stewart<br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, March 26, 2015 8:39 AM<br><b>To:</b> 'Access Technology Higher Education Network'; <a href="mailto:aheadmembers@listserve.com">aheadmembers@listserve.com</a><br><b>Subject:</b> [Athen] Product evaluation database<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Good morning all, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Once again an extreme need has surfaced and that is a need for a database of educational product accessibility evaluations that are readily available. This does not need to be a totally open resource, due to liability issues a subscription or closed membership system would be find.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I am not talking about VPATS, in most instances they have shown to be not worth the time it took to write them. What I am looking for are real evaluations, that also include what was used for the evaluation. We have talked about this a lot but nothing ever seems to come of it. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Ron Stewart<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>