Welcome to the Great Lakes ADA and Accessible IT Center's monthly Bulletin on Accessible IT in K-12 schools.

Trainings & Events

The Great Lakes Center offers technical assistance, trainings, referrals, and resource material for K-12 and Postsecondary schools on Accessible Information Technology topics.

Resources on Digital Texts

Project Gutenberg has literature and references available in downloadable formats. This resource is free. www.promo.net/pg

The Electronic Text Center has extensive listing of prose and poetry e-text available for downloading. Many titles are free; some require a membership fee. etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks

Bookshare.org is an on-line community for people with visual or print disabilities to leagally share books. It has over 26,000 books and periodicals available. There is a small membership fee. www.bookshare.org

Read Print is a free online library and has thousands of classic books for students teachers and others. www.readprint.com

Incorporating Electronic Text in the Classroom (Part II of II)

Last month, the K-12 Bulletin introduced some of the advantages of using electronic text in the classroom, including features of versatility and accessibility that is useful for students with disabilities.

There are several methods to acquire electronic text for the classroom. One way is to scan printed material, such as a textbook or worksheet, into the computer to be saved as electronic text. This requires a scanner which is a peripheral hardware connected to the computer. A scanner can take a digital picture of the printed page and covert it to text through Optical Character Recognition (OCR). The advantage of scanning in the classroom is you can scan the textbook, worksheet, or other printed material that the class is using. The disadvantage is the time needed for manually scanning. Scanned material will also need to be edited because mistakes in the translation from picture to text often occur.

Another method for acquiring text for the classroom is by downloading text files from the Internet. There are several repositories of digital text on the Internet. These sites have downloadable files of books. The books on these sites are "out of copyright" which means the copyright protection has expired and the text may be downloaded and distributed freely. A list of text repositories are listed in the Resources section of this Bulletin. One advantage of downloading text from the Internet, is the wide variety of books available and the ability to change or distribute the text without copyright ramifications. The disadvantage is that even with the plethora of titles available, the exact textbook you are using in the classroom is probably not available. Depending on the internet site, there still may be errors in the scanning process, so it will still need to be manually reviewed.

A final way to acquire electronic texts for the classroom is to purchase books on CD or versions of printed textbooks. The advantage of using a publisher produced electronic text is the high quality of the product, often including digitized (human voice) speech. The disadvantage is again not all books assigned or available to students are available on CD. Publishers may not be willing to provide an electronic version of their textbook, but with the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 they will be required by law to address accessibility for certain disabilities. The regulations on IDEA 2004 are not final.

Struggling readers, non-native English speaking students, students with disabilities, and others will find more motivation and success with the options electronic text offers in the classroom. It may require a little extra effort right now to acquire electronic text in the classroom, but advantages of it are worth it.

Physical Access to the Computer Lab

Accessible software and websites are important factors to ensure the technology in schools does not pose barriers for students with disabilities. But before students can utilize this technology they must have equitable physical access to computers in schools.

It is not uncommon to hear that the computer lab is on the 3^rd floor of a building without elevators or that the desks where the computers are placed cannot be adjusted for those using an electric wheelchair. As accessible technology is being discussed and considered, remember the importance of basic lab access. The following is a quick checklist to think about facilities access:

• Are there ample high-contrast, large-print directional signs to and throughout the lab?
• Do elevators have both auditory and visual signals for floors? Are elevator controls accessible from a seated position and available in large print and Braille or raised notation?
• Are wheelchair-accessible restrooms with well-marked signs available in or near the lab?
• Is at least part of a service counter/desk at a height accessible from a seated position?
• Are aisles kept wide and clear for wheelchair users and protruding objects removed or minimized for the safety of users who are visually impaired?
• Is lighting adjustable by the individual?
• Are window blinds available to reduce glare, especially on computer screens?
• Are there quiet work and/or meeting areas where noise and other distractions are minimized and/or facility rules in place (e.g., no cell phone use) to minimize noise?
• Can at least one public telephone be reached from a seated position?
• Are telecommunication devices (TTY/TDD) available?

This checklist was developed by DO-IT: www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Technology/
comp.access.html

Consult the ADA Checklist for Readily Achievable Barrier Removal at www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/checkweb.htm for more suggestions.