March 2006
The articles published in the ALERT represent the opinions of the authors and are not an endorsement by the Association or necessarily representative of the views of the Association.
— From the President
— From the Editor
— Professional Development Calendar
— Conference Updates
— New ALERT Editor Needed
— Anthology Call for Submissions
— Accessible PowerPoint
— Voices from the Spectrum
From the President
AHEAD President Jim Kessler writes about
professional development opportunities from AHEAD and the
upcoming conference.
Spring
Break – took forever to get here,
didn’t it? It is always interesting that students want
to know if we get a break too! I never thought it was polite
to say “Yes, from you,” but usually respond “No,
but your absence was noted.” It is an interesting time
in the office, picking up loose papers and loose thoughts and
trying to maintain some sense of order for the last half of
the semester, with midterms, registration for summer and next
fall (already), and in a few weeks – finals and graduation.
And it seems that we just started the semester not too long
ago.
AHEAD has been up to a lot in 2006 and it is just March. A couple
of AHEAD to You! audio-conference calls and a combined workshop
in Houston with AHEAD in Texas – two great programs with
Scott Lissner (Ohio State) and Aaron Cohen (UC – Berkley)
with an outstanding turn out. My thanks to AHEAD in Texas for
being such incredible hosts. There was a significant turn-out
for the two programs in Las Vegas – Trio Training with
Rhonda Rapp (University of the Incarnate Word) and AT From A
to Z with Jim Bailey (University of Oregon). The online Universal
Design workshop is full, so if you missed it this time, make
sure you get your name in next time. These are examples of one
of the many member services that AHEAD does best: offering training
through professional development activities that address issues
that members ask for. As we continue to grow as a profession,
AHEAD is looking at what knowledge and skills are required to
be professional disability service providers and is investigating
the development of a professional curriculum. Take some time
to look the AHEAD homepage for
a link in 'news and notes' to see what is going on with AHEAD’s
professional development initiatives, because we want everybody
to be involved
in this.
Only four months to the Conference “Charting the Course for Change” at the Town and Country Resort in San Diego. You will be getting registration materials in the mail and online soon, but this will be an event that is different from previous AHEAD conferences you have been to. The Program Committee chose 100+ proposals, which means there is a lot to share in a variety of formats: more about that in the registration booklet – read it thoroughly! This Conference also provides an excellent opportunity for a great family vacation, with the world class zoo, Sea World, Old Town, the trolley to Tijuana, Mexico and more!
I want to offer my appreciation, and that of the Board, to Keltie Jones, Editor of the ALERT. She has served AHEAD faithfully for the past four years and has always been on time with an excellent publication. She has tolerated my forgetting deadlines, and politely “reminded” me about my obligation. She is stepping down because of a well-deserved professional advancement (still in academia) that will provide an opportunity to broaden her influence on the lives of many more students. They will be as fortunate as we have been. Best wishes, Keltie!
From the Editor
Dear AHEAD Colleagues,
For three-and-a-half years I have been serving as the ALERT Editor, regularly gathering articles and announcements to include in the newsletter. During this time, I have learned so much from my colleagues in the field, and I never fail to be impressed by the work that others are doing around the country to ensure students with disabilities have full access to higher education. The time has come for me to move on to other adventures, so this is the last issue of the ALERT I will edit. I will miss this regular contact with AHEAD members, and hope to remain in touch in other ways.
I hope you enjoy this issue of the ALERT. The Conference update describes some exciting program innovations for this year’s gathering in San Diego. Be sure to read the article regarding making PowerPoint accessible – it contains some suggestions all of us could use. And please read the call for a new ALERT editor, and consider applying!
During this transition, please send any articles or calendar announcements for the ALERT to Neal Fox in the AHEAD office at Neal@ahead.org. Thank you for reading the ALERT, and helping to make it a vibrant publication.
Sincerely,
Keltie Jones
Professional Development Calendar
Take
advantage of these upcoming events, conferences, and other opportunities
to increase and share
your knowledge.
Calls for Presentations and Articles
ALERT submission and publication dates:
The ALERT is now being published every other month. Please keep
those articles coming! Here is the schedule for submissions:
Submissions Due: |
Publication Date: |
June 13, 2006 |
June 27, 2006 |
|
|
Campus Collaboration Submission Deadline Approaching! This is a reminder that you have until March 14 to meet with your education abroad colleagues on campus and submit 1500 words on your best practices for including students with non-apparent disabilities in education abroad. This will provide you a chance to be published or to win $1000 in expenses to present at sessions during the the Association on Higher Education and Disability Conference in San Diego in July or the NAFSA: Association of International Educators conference in Montreal in May. The Campus Collaboration Campaign is an effort by Mobility International USA, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, and the Association on Higher Education And Disability, with support from NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Learn more and download a submission form online at: www.miusa.org/ncde/campuscollaborations/index_html
AHEAD and Affiliate Events
The AHEAD 2006 Conference will take place at Town and Country Resort & Convention Center in San Diego, California, July 18 - 22, 2006. See the Conference update article in this issue for more information, or go to http://www.ahead.org/training/conference/2006.htm for current updates.
AHEAD to You! Audioconference Series: AHEAD is hosting a series of six teleconferences this academic year, the next being on Thursday, March 16. We’ve recruited top-notch presenters for each session who will present for approximately 90 minutes at a time. In addition to being less than half the cost of other similar offerings, our teleconference programs will offer pre- and post-session opportunities for participants to Q&A with the presenters, handouts and presentation materials online in advance of each session, and full real-time captioning of each teleconference via the Internet. See detailed information on the AHEAD website at: http://www.ahead.org/training/audioconference/index.htm and take advantage of the discounted registration rates for AHEAD members.
Other
Upcoming Conferences, Trainings, and Expositions
Check out these offerings from our colleagues in the
fields of disability and higher education
Be Sure to Mark Your Calendar
for the 22nd Annual Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities, March
13-15, 2006 Sheraton Waikiki Hotel & Resort
Honolulu, Hawaii. For more information, go to http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu or contact:
Stephen C. Potts, CMP,
Center on Disability Studies
University of Hawaii
1776 University Ave., UA 4-6
Honolulu, HI 96822
PH: (808) 956-7539
Fax: (808) 956-5713
Email: prinfo@hawaii.edu
PEPNet 2006: Roots & Wings, April 5-8, 2006,
in Louisville, KY
For information and forms, visit the PEPNet website at: http://www.pepnet.org
2006 ADA Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion, and Disability Conference, April 17 – 18, 2006, at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. "Identity is formed by social processes. Once crystallized, it is maintained, modified, or even reshaped by social relations...Conversely, the identities produced by the interplay of individual consciousness and social structure react upon the given social structure, maintaining it, modifying it, or even reshaping it." (Berger and Luckman, 1963) The organizing theme for the sixth annual conference will be “Personal Perspectives & Social Impact: The Stories We Tell.” "Storytelling enables the individuals in an organization to see themselves and the organization in a different light, and accordingly take decisions and change their behavior in accordance with these new perceptions, insights and identities." (Steven Denning) Conference information and updates will be posted to http://ada.osu.edu/conferences.htm
CLASS Inc. of Lawrence, MA announces the Northeast Assistive Technology Conference and Expo, Thursday, May 4, 2006 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., Westford Regency Inn and Conference Center, Westford, MA. Come and see the latest in assistive technology. Learn about new products and services designed to increase the independence of people with disabilities. For consumers, family members and professionals. FREE ADMISSION to expo and workshops. Workshops are on a first come, first serve basis. If you are interested in going to a workshop or for more information, please call Bethany Jones at 978-975-8587 ext. 1209 or go to http://www.neatexpo.org>www.neatexpo.org
Canadian Association of College and University Student Services presents CACUSS 2006 - Leading the Way, June 18-21, 2006 - McMaster University - Hamilton, Ontario. The conference theme, Leading the Way, is designed to celebrate the work that Student Service Professionals in Canada have done to pave the path of success for students. The theme also challenges participants to demonstrate compassion, accountability and innovation to continue Leading the Way. Check out the CACUSS 2006 Conference Web Site http://www.cacuss.ca/en/02-conference/index.lasso for more information
10th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, July 12-14, 2006, University of Linz, Austria. For more information please go to http://personalpages.manchester.ac.uk/staff/david.g.evans/icchp2006/spld.htm
American College Counseling Association National Conference Exploring New Frontiers in College Counseling, October 3-6, 2006, at John Ascuaga’s Nugget – Reno/Sparks, NV. For more information, visit http://www.collegecounseling.org/news/ACCA_conv/index.html
NACADA’s 30th Annual Conference on Academic Advising DIVERSE ADVISING FOR A DIVERSE WORLD, October 18-21, 2006, Indianapolis. For details see www.nacada.ksu.edu
Deaf Asia Foundation (DAF) is celebrating its cultural diversity at MATA EXPO 2006, on November 3 and 4, 2006, in Ontario Convention Center. DAF is a non-profit organization that helps the deaf community to obtain better technology assistance, media accessibility and information services. DAF enhances the awareness of deaf culture and health-related issues through media, conferences, workshops, community collaboration, and leadership development. For more information, contact info@deafasia.org or fax 951-346-5678.
Conference Updates
The Conference Program Chairs provide highlights
of the program for this year’s conference in San Diego.
The AHEAD 2006 Conference celebrates the 20 year
anniversary since our last adventure in San Diego! Transition
and change mark the theme of our Conference; our program development
reflects the many lenses we use to bridge the transition gap.
The Program Committee recognizes that the transition continuum
is quite broad: high school to college, 2 year to 4 year, private
to public schools and interacting with parents, cultures, and
state agencies. We have designed an innovative and unparalleled
professional development opportunity that will facilitate powerful
learning experiences for both new and veteran practitioners.
We would like to thank all of the reviewers and symposia facilitators
for their thoughtful leadership. The goals of the Program Committee
were to build upon the success of previous conferences and to
implement new ideas based upon your recommendations. You will
notice some changes in the program schedule from previous years:
- We have 4 keynote presentations instead of 3 because we wanted these speakers to represent the range of systems we interface with in our jobs. Judy Heumann will enhance our understanding about global awareness and opportunities to enhance global awareness around the world. Salome Heyward will ask us to consider rethinking institutional compliance strategies. Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko’s represents a successful business story, while Dr. Catherine Campisi speaks to the importance of building positive coalitions in our endeavors to support students with disabilities.
- The preconferences and concurrent/poster sessions showcase the expertise in technology, universal design, international opportunities, community college issues, employment, multicultural opportunities, legal and policy issues, and collaborations with state and business systems.
- Friday, July 21, 2006, is designated as Symposia Day. This day is designed to increase the amount of presenters, highlight hot topics in our field, and afford a more in depth examination of current trends. These half day sessions will be facilitated by members of the Program Review Committee and will provide participants with cutting edge knowledge. We are pleased to offer twenty half-day sessions, and each attendee will have the opportunity to attend two symposia (one in the morning and one in the afternoon). All participants will receive take away products such as videos, books, checklists, etc.
- All conference attendees are required to pre-select their concurrent and symposia half day sessions. In an effort to ensure appropriate room size, seating, uncompromised access, appropriate quantities and formats of handouts, and general comfort for attendees and presenters, registrants will need to identify their sessions choices on their registration form.
This Conference is the single most important professional development opportunity available in the field of disability and higher education. We know you need a forum to delve into specific issues and engage in group discussions. By attending, we hope you will use your leadership skills to network with others and to identify presentations that challenge your perspective.
Erin Evans and Michelle Peters
AHEAD 2006 Program Chairs
New ALERT Editor Needed
AHEAD is accepting applications
for the Editor
of the ALERT newsletter.
AHEAD is currently accepting applications for the Editor of the ALERT Newsletter. The ALERT is published bi-monthly in an electronic format. The Editor collects articles and announcements, edits them, and prepares them to be published on the AHEAD website. All AHEAD members with strong writing, editing, and proofreading skills who are interested in keeping up with the latest information in the field are encouraged to apply.
Interested individuals should send a summary of their qualifications to Stephan Hamlin-Smith at Stephan@ahead.org.
Call for Submissions for Anthology on Race, Gender, Disability and Employment in Higher Education.
Mary Lee Vance, Ph.D., with the University
of Wisconsin – Superior, is seeking personal stories and scholarly
works for a new anthology.
I am soliciting submissions for an anthology tentatively titled Race, Gender, Disability and Employment in Higher Education: Real Employment Experiences by Real People, with the intention of having it published and distributed by the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) in 2007.
I am specifically seeking personal stories and/or scholarly works written by and about employees with disabilities, and their employment-related experiences in higher education. Writers are requested to identify their racial/cultural backgrounds, gender, and description of their impairments when submitting works (will be included in any published bio statements), as well as their status as either current or past higher education employees. Tentative topics may include works addressing: Challenges; Passing (experiences related to invisibility, and/or shielding ones’ identity); Coming Out (experiences related to becoming comfortable and “open” about any combination of identities); Relationships (may involve sexual orientation and other sexual experiences); Accommodations, Consequences, and Other (I am open to "other" possibilities and experiences contributors might offer). This publication has great potential to be appealing to those interested in disability studies, diversity studies, psychology, sociology and other academic departments as well as AHEAD Members, and the students served.
To be considered for the anthology, writers are invited to submit a draft manuscript outline or proposal to the editor by May 5, 2007. Final original, unpublished manuscripts of up to 8,000 words (approximately 10 to 25 typed pages in 12-point type), double-spaced, and printed on one side of the paper are due to the editor December 1, 2007. Earlier completed submissions encouraged. Target publication date is expected to be summer 2007.
Submissions must be typed as a Microsoft word document and sent electronically to the editor, along with a cover sheet with the writer’s name, address, telephone number, email address, and brief biographical paragraph which includes racial/cultural identification, gender and disability diagnosis. Submissions will not be returned. Submissions and questions are to be directed to the editor, Dr. Mary Lee Vance at mvance@uwsuper.edu.
Mary
Lee Vance, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Academic and Career Advising
and Disability Support Services
University of Wisconsin - Superior
Old Main, Room 134
Belknap and Catlin, P.O. Box 2000
Superior, WI 54880-4500
Phone (715) 394-8515
Fax (715) 394-8307
E-Mail mvance@uwsuper.edu
Accessible Multimedia PowerPoint Presentations For Online
Coursework.
Scott McAfee, DSP&S High Tech Center/Access
Coordinator at College of the Canyons, shares his experience helping faculty
make
distance learning through PowerPoint more accessible.
As an employee of a California Community College, I am always seeking out new, easy, affordable, and timely methods of creating accessible media. This has become a challenge as the new frontier of education begins to grow and become more popular. I am, of course, referring to Online/Distance education, or the method of teaching online coursework over the internet. This is a vastly growing medium that has rapidly been making progress in the college system. With the seemingly endless stream of software that faculty and staff use to create media for students, it’s a challenge for any College to keep up the pace of training their faculty and staff on how to make such media accessible and in some cases, if it is even possible to create accessible media with certain types of software being used.
Case in point, a faculty member recently showed me a Microsoft PowerPoint Slideshow collection he had created for an online Hotel Management course. The collection consisted of over 30 slide shows, all varying in length but generally at least 15 minutes long, some going up to 45 minutes. The slide show’s all had the same basic format; each slide contained an image, some text, and the faculty member’s voice over, teaching the material. It had taken this professor month’s to create his course, and after looking through a few of the slide shows, I knew what everybody else who works with section 508 issues knows: PowerPoint is not accessible. In order for these presentations to be placed online for students, it must meet section 508 requirements. With PowerPoint, there is no option to add captions. To top that off, the professor did not repeat everything presented on the screen, so if you could not read the text, you were not receiving equal treatment or opportunity to understand the content.
Faced with this dilemma, I considered my options. First, the Professor would have to edit his voice-over and repeat every line of text on the screen. This, however, would be very time consuming as you must extract the sound files from PowerPoint to edit, and besides the time it would take, this was a bit beyond the technical skills of the average faculty member. The professor would also have to go through each and every slide to identify where he did not repeat the on screen text, extract the audio, edit it, and import the sound file back into PowerPoint. Once this was accomplished, I could send each file out to a captioning company. The problem with that option was time and money. After combing over each slide, extracting the sound file, editing the sound file, re-inserting the sound file in the correct slides, shipping off the material to a captioning company and waiting for them to return it, a lot of extra time and money is added on to the completion of the final product, time and money that could be dedicated to serving our students.
Deciding
that I wanted to try to make this accessible myself, I decided
to go back to the basics. I created the following method for
faculty members to follow for creating accessible PowerPoint
presentations. It
is fairly simple, extremely cost effective, and produces quality
accessible
media
without the need to purchase expensive programs or costly captioning
fees.
Step 1: The first step in this process is to script the PowerPoint
presentation. Initially, the above professor hooked a microphone
to his belt, and recorded himself teaching the class while
showing the PowerPoint presentation he created. When he was
finished with the class, he would transfer the sound recording
onto the PowerPoint presentation. While initially that sounded
like a great idea, there were major problems when this was
put into practice. As occurs when speaking naturally, the professor’s
voice over was riddled with “um’s” and “ah’s”,
which became quite noticeable when listening to it online.
That’s not a violation of section 508, but it definitely
speaks to the quality of the file if those “um’s
and “ah’s” exist or not. It might also be
noted here that were I to ship presentation off to get captioned,
every single “um” and “ah” would appear
in the captioning. That level of quality is not acceptable
in most cases.
Another problem was the inability to hear student questions, answers, or commentary. The professor would ask a question, and it would be heard clearly, but then there would be silence for 10 seconds. You would next hear the professor saying “Yes”, and another 10 seconds of silence. Finally, the professor would say “Good job”. It took a while for me to realize that the professor had asked his class a question, and they were answering him and each other. The microphone simply did not pick up the students voices. While doing all of this, the professor failed to repeat everything on the slide, but rather taught his class as he usually would; going off on tangents, walking around the room, and shuffling papers. Normal activities if you have ever taught a class, but very confusing and distracting when relying on audio to convey information you need.
Scripting your presentation eliminates all of these problems. It not only ensures you will repeat everything on the screen, but it will sound much smoother, eliminate the “um’s” and “ah’s”, and help you locate where you wish to edit should the information change later on down the road (more on this later). This text based script will also be used later to add to the accessibility of the course.
Step 2: Create the presentation. Creating the presentation is important, because any images you add that require descriptions need to be added into your script. For example, if your class is on mining and you are displaying a picture of a specific mining tool, you need to describe that tool as it appears on the screen. This description needs to be included in the script. Also, number each slide and include those numbers in your script.
Step 3: Step 3 is simply recording the script. While your college or university should invest in a quality microphone, you can use a standard “cheapo” Microsoft microphone plugged into the back of your computer. There are a host of free sound recoding programs on the internet, but I used Windows standard Sound Recorder for this. It is recommended that if your college has a recording booth, you use that. I just sat down in my office, closed the door, and began recording on my computer. I made many mistakes while recording, but it was simple to rewind back to the place I stumbled on and repeat the line. Save each sound file as it relates to its individual slide. If you have a PowerPoint presentation that contains 22 slides, you should have 22 individual recordings. At the beginning of each recording should be your voice indicating the slide number.
Step 4: Create relevant questions and answers in text format. Remembering that this course will eventually be displayed online, why not take the time to make it the most comprehensive course you can? This method entails creating a text based questions/answers section, where the professor scripts out questions and answers they have received over the years of teaching their course. These questions/answers are displayed in a Q&A section of the course, where students can browse. As professors teach this online course, they can add to their Q&A database as new questions flow in. Because it is in text format, it can be added onto the webpage for everyone to read. This not only adds a massive resource for students, but it is a massive resource for faculty. If a database is maintained on the most common questions asked, students no longer have to e-mail a professor and wait, sometimes days, to receive a response to questions that are already posted on the course website. Professors can also edit this data base to reflect changes over time. Of course the greatest benefit of all, it’s completely text based which makes it easy to edit and if placed properly, totally accessible.
After these 4 steps, you should have 3 separate files: Your script for the PowerPoint presentation and scripted Q&A, a PowerPoint presentation, and your audio recordings of the script. You now have the ingredients for accessible PowerPoint presentations. The PowerPoint presentation by itself is not accessible. But because an exact text duplicate of the presentation, as well as an audio version, is located on the course website, students have the choice of viewing the presentation with all three elements combined (standard PowerPoint presentation), or by whatever methods best suits their disability. A blind student can use screen reading software to read the text, or listen to the audio files. A student who is deaf can read the text and view the presentation. A student with a learning disability can upload the text into specially designed software and manipulate it to suit their purposes. Or, students can transfer the sound files onto their portable media devices and listen to their course while on a long drive, at work while on break, or while going for a run. The applications and uses of creating an online PowerPoint presentation with this method are wide, and not only benefiting students with disabilities. Furthermore, Faculty members now have total control over the content of their course. It’s the same simple process to go in and edit or update the information, eliminating the need for faculty to redesign their courses every semester when then current information may have become outdated.
This entire process is very simple for non-technical faculty and staff to understand, it’s totally inexpensive, and it meets Section 508 standards without compromising quality of education. It provides benefits to Faculty, students with disabilities, and students who want to listen to a class on their portable media device while working out at the gym. While there may be options in the form of third party software or services to fulfill the section 508 requirements of PowerPoint presentations, this method can be utilized when time and expense are a factor, or for people who just enjoy creating their own media without the need for third party assistance.
Scott McAfee
DSP&S High Tech Center/Access Coordinator
College of the Canyons
26455 Rockwell Canyon Rd
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
scott.mcafee@canyons.edu
Phone:(661) 362-3356
Fax: (661) 362-5716
Voices from the Spectrum.
Jessica Kingsley Publishers,
Inc., announces the release of a new book containing personal
stories of people with autism.
Voices from the Spectrum is a compelling collection of personal accounts from people on the autism spectrum and those who care for them, including professionals, friends and family members. The essays in this collection tell of both the positive and negative effects of autism on individuals and families, and pose the question: is a diagnosis on the autism spectrum a puzzle to be solved, or something to be embraced and accepted?
The broad scope of this book presents insights into the autism spectrum from many different perspectives - from first-hand accounts of the autistic child's school and childhood experiences to parents' and grandparents' reactions to a diagnosis. A number of chapters written by professionals explain their motivations for working with autistic people and reveal what they have learned from their work and how it has affected their lives. The contributors describe experiences of autism from the mildest to the most severe case, and share their methods of adapting to life on the spectrum.
Voices from the Spectrum will appeal to a wide readership of adults and younger people on the autism spectrum, their families and friends, as well as practitioners.
Voices from
the Spectrum: Parents, Grandparents, Siblings, People with
Autism, and Professionals Share their Wisdom
Edited by Cindy N. Ariel and Robert A. Naseef
272 pages
ISBN: 1 84310 786 4
Further details can be found on the JKP website:
http://www.jkp.com/new/1-84310-786-4
If you would like to order a copy of the book, and you are unable to access the Internet, you can contact us at:
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Inc.
400
Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106 USA
Tel:
(Toll free ordering)
866-416-1078 Tel: (main office) 215-922-1161
Fax: 215-922-1474
email: orders@jkp.com
