THANK YOU TO Sakarya University for organizing this conference and to the Technische Universitat Wien for hosting us! TOPICS

• Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, United Nations, Articles 20 and 24; • Web accessibility; • United States laws governing accommodations for students with disabilities • Sections 504 and 508 • Americans with Disabilities Act; • Wheelchair Stations; • Assistive Listening Systems; • Demonstrations of students using Assistive Technology; • Favorite Tools of Our Students; • Resources. • Our results. WHAT IS ACCESSIBLE TECHNOLOGY?

• Assistive technologies refer to computers or rehabilitative devices, promote greater independence for students with disabilities by changing how these individuals can interact with technology to participate in college courses; • For example, speech recognition software allows users with hand mobility issues to interact with computers using voice commands rather than through manipulating a mouse and keyboard; • Additional assistive technologies include alternative input devices, screen magnifiers, and screen reading software. ADDITIONAL BENEFITS FOR ACCESSIBILITY?

• Increasing accessibility can improve the usability of content for all students; • Captions help all students focus on a presentation and understand the professor more clearly; • Accessible documents allow for more flexible student use; • Students, staff, and faculty with temporary injuries benefit from elevators, ramps, and etc.; • Accessible web sites are more usable for all. VIDEO DELETED DUE TO STUDENT PRIVACY LAWS VIDEO DELETED DUE TO STUDENT PRIVACY LAWS TESTING CONTENT FOR ACCESSIBILITY

• Automated testing tools can identify up to half of accessibility issues;

• Manual testing with assistive technologies (JAWS, NVDA*, or Dragon Naturally Speaking) is recommended to uncover additional problems not readily detected by automated tools;

• For example, if an image has an alt tag that does not provide a useful description of the content of that image, the problem will not be found during an automated scan, but will be found when testing with a screen reader;

* NonVisual Desktop Access—a free screen reader. It can convert materials to Braille if a “Braille display” is available. WCAG 2.0

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Version 2.0 covers a wide range of recommendations for making Web content more accessible;

• WebAIM provides a simple WCAG 2.0 checklist for HTML documents. UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AND OPTIONAL PROTOCOL, ARTICLE 24: EDUCATION

• 1. c. Enabling persons with disabilities to participate effectively in a free society; • 2. a. Persons with disabilities are not excluded from the general education system on the basis of disability...; • 2. d. Persons with disabilities receive the support required, within the general education system, to facilitate their effective education; ARTICLE 24: EDUCATION (CONT.)

3. States Parties shall take appropriate measures, including: • a. Facilitating the learning of Braille, alternate script, augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication and orientation and mobility skills, and facilitating peer support and mentoring; • b. Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of the linguistic identity of the deaf community; • c. Ensuring that the education of persons who are blind, deaf or deaf/blind, is delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual. ARTICLE 20: PERSONAL MOBILITY

States Parties shall take effective measures to ensure personal mobility with the greatest possible independence for persons with disabilities, including by: • a. Facilitating the personal mobility of persons with disabilities; • b. Facilitating access by persons with disabilities to quality mobility aids, devices, assistive technologies and forms of live assistance and intermediaries; • c. Providing training in mobility to persons with disabilities and to specialist staff working with persons with disabilities; • d. Encouraging entities that produce mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies to take into account all aspects of mobility for persons with disabilities. SECTIONS 504 AND 508: REHABILITATION ACT

Section 504 covers qualified students with disabilities who attend schools receiving federal financial assistance (including Pell Grants, Stafford loans, NSF grants). A student must be determined to: (1) have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities (manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working); (2) have a record of such an impairment. 504 (CONTINUED)

Section 504 requires recipients of funds to provide to students with disabilities:

1. appropriate educational services designed to meet the individual needs of such students to the same extent as the needs of students without disabilities are met;

2. appropriate education for a student with a disability under the Section 504 regulations could consist of education in regular classrooms, education in regular classes with supplementary services, and/or special education and related services. SECTION 508

Section 508 expands 504 to include technology. For example, all university web sites must: • Be accessible, including availability without color; • Alert the user and provide more time when a timed response is required; • Allow students using assistive technology to access information in electronic forms; • Identify row and column headers of data tables; • Provide equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation, such as, synchronized captions. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITY ACT (ADA)

Most ADA requirements address buildings and public venues, such as, wheelchair ramps, signage, curb cuts, doors, parking and loading zones, and ground and floor surfaces, but the Act also addresses classroom design. OLDER BUILDINGS PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES IN FOLLOWING ADA ADA (CONTINUED)

Classroom Wheelchair Accommodations

No. of Seats Required Number of Wheelchair Locations 4 - 25 1 26 - 50 2 51 - 150 3 150 - 300 4 Over 500 6, plus 1 additional space for every 100 extra seats HTTP://WWW.ADA.GOV HTTP://WWW.ADA.GOV TRANSLATION TRANSLATION BOOTH BOOTH

AV BOOTH ADA (CONTINUED) ASSISTIVE LISTENING SYSTEM (DEVICES)

1. Induction Loop • Accessible to students wearing a hearing aid; • Most suited to renovation and new building projects; • Only available to students who wear T-Coil Hearing Aids. 2. FM (least expensive option) • Uses FM radio frequency; • Some privacy and interference issues (can be heard outside of the room). 3. Infrared • Uses IR Light System; • Signal remains within a classroom; • Strong sunlight may effect system; • Line-of-sight (cannot be heard outside of room). ADA-ALS (CONTINUED)

Room Size No. of Required Receivers <50 with a sound system 2 51 – 500 2, plus 1 per 25 seats over 50 (for example, 6 for a room with 150 seats) 501 – 1,000 20, plus 1 per 33 seats over 500 TEXTBOOK ACCESS

Electronic text production and Braille Production: • Scanning, flat bed or sheet feed scanner; • PDF Files (Adobe Acrobat): • Use Optical Character Recognition in Adobe Reader to Make Documents Searchable; • Electronic Text: • For students who use text to speech, such as, Kurzweil or TextAloud: • Math: • Export from ABBYY FineReader (user interface easier than OmniPage) and insert equations with MathType; • Braille: electronically or on paper. WHAT A BLIND STUDENT SEES OF YOUR PRESENTATION AND A DEAF STUDENT HEARS VIDEO DELETED DUE TO STUDENT PRIVACY LAWS CREATING BRAILLE MATERIALS

Once the files are exported from ABBYY FineReader, materials intended for Braille receive additional formatting, such as, headers. We use Duxbury Systems to convert text to Braille and we deliver both electronic Braille files (.brf) and embossed Braille. We emboss our Braille on a ViewPlus TigerPro Embosser with an ink attachment.

• http://www.duxburysystems.com/default.asp (language support for many languages and Braille standards) • https://viewplus.com/braille-printers/ • https://viewplus.com/product/vp-elite/

TACTILE GRAPHICS PRODUCTION PROCESS

• Simple steps involved in producing such graphics include:

• Edit graphics (such as Photoshop), thicken lines, remove text and replace with editable text; • Convert all text to Braille using Braille font; • Print on laser printer using thermoform or capsule paper; • Run through Tactile Image Enhancer (heat roller)—use in well- ventilated room. TACTILE GRAPHICS SCANNING TO CREATE ACCESSIBLE MATERIALS

• Some books, such as rare or valuable books, are scanned on a flatbed scanner; • The binding of most books, such as textbooks, are “chopped” and scanned with our sheet feed scanner; • Our sheet feed scanner is a Canon DG-G1100 (and it can scan a simple paperback in about 10 minutes). https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/details/scanners/d ocument-scanner/imageformula-dr-g1100 (We use Capture Perfect-software that comes with the scanner) http://www.canon- europe.com/For_Work/Products/Document_Imaging_Systems/High_Speed_Docume nt_Scanners/CapturePerfect/

NOTE TAKING TECHNOLOGY

Pulse Smart Pen (ADHD, dyslexia) • Records audio synchronized with writing; • Student can use written notes to navigate recording; • If students miss a portion (inattention, etc.) of a lecture, they can fill-in the notes later; • Students must use a special notebook or paper with the pen; • A pen can store up to a full semester of four courses (use four separate notebooks); • http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/. VIDEO DELETED DUE TO STUDENT PRIVACY LAWS VIDEO DELETED DUE TO STUDENT PRIVACY LAWS OUR STUDENTS USE:

Name of What it’s used for Website/cost Plusses and minuses Who uses it software JAWS Screen reader- reads aloud http://www.freedomscientific.com/prod Best screenreader, has Students who things on the computer ucts/fs/jaws-product-page.asp math support. are blind. screen, file names, window instructions, file contents Standard $895

NVDA Screen reader- reads aloud http://www.nvda-project.org/ Screen reader- reads aloud Students who things on the computer things on the computer are blind. screen, file names, window Free screen, file names, window instructions, file contents instructions, file contents (This is free software) (This is free software)

MAGIC (and Zooming software- enlarges http://www.freedomscientific.com/prod Students who MAGIC with images on screen. This also ucts/lv/magic-bl-product-page.asp have low speech) has a version that will read vision or are things on the screen aloud, Standard With Speech: $595 blind. like a screen reader Standard No Speech: $395

Pro Scripting Edition: $995

Professional With Speech: $495 WindowEyes Zooming software- enlarges http://www.gwmicro.com/Window- Does not always work well Students who images on screen. This also Eyes/ with other accessibility have low Vision has a version that will read software. or are blind. things on the screen aloud, like a screen reader

ZoomText Zooming software- enlarges http://www.aisquared.com/zoomtext/ Does not always work well Students who images on screen. This also more/zoomtext_magnifier_reader/ with other accessibility have low vision has a version that will read software/hardware. or are blind. things on the screen aloud, ZoomText Magnifier/Reader (single- like a screen reader user) $599 Kurzweil* Reads documents aloud (can https://www.kurzweiledu.com/default. Fully featured, has a Students who also save them as sound files html number of writing and have print to be exported to an MP3 highlighting tools not disabilities player) K1000 (Blind Program) $895 available in other software. (ADHD, dyslexia), have K3000 $1395.00 low vision or are blind. K3000 (mac) $1395.00 TextAloud Reads documents aloud (can http://www.nextup.com/TextAloud/ Does 90% of what Kurzweil Students who also save them as sound files does for much less. It has have print to be exported to an MP3 $29.95 all the reading and controls disabilities player) but no writing support (ADHD, tools. dyslexia), or have low vision. VoiceOver Reads documents aloud. Is http://www.apple.com/accessibility/voi Not available for PCs . Students who installed on all Mac ceover/ Does not work with have print Computers Microsoft Office software disabilities Free (comes loaded on all Mac (but does work with (ADHD, computers, including the iPad) OpenOffice). dyslexia), or have low vision or are blind. Dragon Dictation software http://www.nuance.com/dragon/index. Dictation software. Pretty Students with htm much has no competition- limited mobility limited language support. (including RSI), Home $99 students who are blind or Premium $199 (recommended) have low vision. Pro $599 Adobe Reader PDF reader, used to enlarge http://www.adobe.com/products/read Adobe is a good PDF Students with scanned materials er.html reader, and they are low vision or expanding their limited Free accessibility features. mobility.

MathPlayer Document reader plugin that http://www.dessci.com/en/products/ Needs properly formatted Students who reads math aloud (works with mathplayer/ MathML documents, which are blind. JAWS, Kurzweil and other are time intensive to products, runs on Internet Free prepare. Explorer ReadHear* Document reader that http://www.gh- Needs properly formatted Students who accurately reads MathML accessibility.com/resources/mathspea DAISY MathML documents, are blind or low k Best math reader on the vision. market does not use Professional, $149.99 MathPlayer. Premium, $249.99

Mac $119 HARDWARE Name of device What it’s used for Who uses it Pulse SmartPen Taking Notes Many uses- print disabilities, limited mobility, and anyone who works with a notetaker. Refreshable Braille Display Braille Monitor- displays window commands and document Blind students contents in Braille CCTV (ClearNote) A camera connected to a computer. Some can only show close Low vision and blind students. images (document cameras) some can also show far images (good for lecture/board access) Can be paired with OCR software so users can scan and read mail, documents. Talking calculator Talking calculators, regular and scientific. There are even Blind students. graphing calculators SOME STUDENT IDEAS

• Whiteboards and a digital camera are used by math students with low vision. • Instant messaging with note takers. • iPhones as magnifiers, and also used to take pictures of lecture slides. • Smartphones have Optical Character Recognition “apps” (such as, VoiceDream) so students can take pictures of handouts in class, and have immediate access. • Pink chalk on chalkboards provides wider letters and numbers. THE RESULTS

In Harvard College, we have seen a significant increase in the number of enrolled students with disabilities. In as recently as ten years ago, resources were not available to allow these students to attend Harvard or many other institutions. Students are completing course assignments more rapidly. Students are enrolling in a wider range of courses.