The BeneBlog [lower right of page]

The BeneBlog is a weblog by Benetech CEO Jim Fruchterman, on issues and ideas that affect the application of technology to unmet social needs.

Friday, October 28, 2005
Recently Benetech asked for some of the thousands of people with disabilities using Bookshare.org to share how it has helped them. These thoughts from Chancey Fleet were particularly eloquent and [Jim Fruchterman] wanted to share them.

Accessible PDF documents for the blind [from across the pond]

The latest proof of the giant steps made [in accessible .pdf] comes in the form of the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) annual report. This is the first year that the report has been delivered in accessible PDF.

Rocky Mountain High [Tech] ... Colorado

A message from Ron Stewart, President Access Technologist Higher Education Network

During the week of November 7-11, members of ATHEN will be attending the 8th annual Accessing Higher Ground: Accessible Media, Web and Technology Conference in Boulder, Colorado.

If you are attending the conference, or happen to be in the area, an ATHEN members meeting will be held on Thursday November 10th at 6:30pm at the conference hotel The Millennium [specific location to follow soon]. Non-members are strongly encouraged to attend to find out more about ATHEN, its goals and its current efforts in service to the Postsecondary AT community.

It has actually been a fairly productive year for ATHEN, and I have some interesting ideas to discuss with you all and some possible opportunities that may be on the horizon. Following the meeting those that are interested will be taking our normal dinner trip.

• If you are not able to attend AHG, we will be having our next members meeting during the CSUN conference in March, 2006.
• For more information about ATHEN please visit our newly redesigned website at: http://athenpro.org/
• For the latest in conversation go to the ATHEN blog site at: http://athenpro.blogspot.com/
  

An E-Journal issue on Distance Education is in the works with a special guest editor. The long awaited issue on Alt Format is still in development, this topic has taken some interesting turns in the last year or so and it has impacted the journals development. I am looking for other individuals who are willing to develop a focused issue of the ATHEN E-Journal so please contact me if you are interested. Suggested topics include:

• Library Accessibility
• Current State of Technology Accessibility in Higher Education
• Bleeding Edge Technologies for Access
• Electronic Curricular Access

More on Copyright Issues...

Dann...Dann...Dann - I hear you asking in exasperation - why are you hammering us with copyright stuff? Don't you know we are just techies? The engine room minions of disability services…why do you beleaguer us so?

Why – because this stuff is important. Because every time a conference program or listserv discussion turns to eText production and scanning and file trading and the AMX/Bookshare someone inevitably brings up copyright issues. Because the publishers know this stuff and as much as we like to believe they leave us alone [and will continue to do so], the reality is that for the most part we have merely been flying under their radar. A semi-organized group of file swappers under the guise of ADA/504 protection [and presumably our Offices of General Counsel]. Rebels to be sure – but just trying to do our jobs and help our students.

To begin with - the textbook publishing industry is perhaps so fragmented that it is nearly impossible for them to mount any sort of concerted effort to impede our activities. In addition - present law is so convoluted as to make it not worth their while to bring legal action. And besides, the number of books we actually scan, digitize, record, and share amount to less than a drop in the bucket when measured against their revenues. In fact, some of us actually purchase a separate copy for guillotining and therefore double sales [there are times when I believe the publishers should be thanking me].

But the times are sure to be changing - if the RIAA can arrest a pre-teen and send colleges and universities scurrying to provide legal download sites for their students – then it may only be a matter of time before the publishing industry looks askew at us.

Now don't get all panicky - I'm not trying to frighten anyone - just making sure you are aware that what we do now may have future ramifications. No one is going to jail ... yet ... but in the meantime I do have some recommendations - one is to make certain the powers-that-be above you are kept in the loop [remember my post on Boss's Day] These folks are your friends and do not enjoy being [and do not deserve to be] suprised.

I also recommend that you keep up with what is going on in the world of copyright law. In addition to yesterday's post - here are a few more items of interest:

Irwin Law Inc. - Other Series - In the Public Interest: Michael Geist, professor of law at University of Ottawa, and editor of the BNA’s daily Internet Law News, has pulled together and editing a collection about the future of copyright reform in Canada.

Coalition for Networked Information Copyright Forum: Issues related to copyright, intellectual property rights, and public access to information in the digital age are at the forefront of public debate in the twenty-first century. CNI's Copyright Forum provides an open space for discussion of these topics as they relate to the networked information community. [thanks to Maria Pena for posting this to the Alt-Media list]

Another important reason textbook publishers may be soon to get their act together as begets electronic copyright issues is that the industry is on a bit of an edge these days - some say the traditional hardcopy textbook will soon be replaced by digital-only versions while others are not so sure. Regardless, most everyone agrees that electronic publishing is here to stay and will continue to grow as a viable educational option. The February 2005 issue of Campus Technology has a nice overview of the dabate: Electronic Publishing >> Book 'Em.

Rip, Mix, Burn, Sue: Technology, Politics, and the Fight to Control Digital Media

Copyright issues confusing you? Yeah, me too. Sometimes it helps to learn about the history of a matter in order to put it into perspective. And if it just so happens to be a podcast from a noted lecturer - all the better.

The University Channel presents Ed Felten, Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University and an expert in computer security. His lecture "Rip >Mix >Burn >Sue: Technology, Politics, and the Fight to Control Digital Media " is about how personal computers and the Internet have affected the use of media such as music and movies, and about the legal, political and policy struggles that have resulted.

It is available here in just about any format you desire - visually in both Windows and RealPlayer, MP3 [audio only], plus the transcript. It is covered under Creative Commons license and thus open to all. (if you are scratching your head over Creative Commons - I intend to post something on this soon - in fact we probably need to add a CC license to this blog). Dr. Felton has a relaxed, comfortable style that makes what could be a very dry talk quite interesting. The visual version is nice but it is just as interesting as a listen. I downloaded the audio and listened to it at the gym and then took the time to watch it on my laptop.

I am really becoming a fan of podcasting. Over on my personal blog are links to economic globalization lectures by Robert Reich and Thomas Friedman - of whom I have been a fan for some time.

Team Fredericton - Making Connections

I think it is time for a mass migration to Canada. The city of Fredericton, New Brunswick is 95% wi-fi covered due to a municipal project in cooperation with Cisco. Kinda makes the claims of most connected campus and most unwired campus a bit less interesting.

Windows Services That Can Be Disabled

One of the most effective ways to secure a Windows XP workstation is to turn off unnecessary services. This reference sheet lists each Windows XP SP 2 service, describes each service's function, specifies whether you can safely disable the service, and outlines the ramifications of doing so.

You may never need this information - but I plan to keep it handy just in case...

Help Wanted - Accessibility Evangelist

I knew I should have paid closer attention in my math classes!

Company Solicits Feedback on Next-Gen Recorder

According to LinuxDevices.com a multimedia device vendor has asked the open-source community to help define its next product, a Linux-based handheld portable media player/recorder (PMP/R) featuring audiophile-quality sound. The new product is a successor to the popular Neuros 442 PMP/R. Neuros has published the specs for a development board it calls the first prototype, and has asked hackers, open-source software authors, and others to review and weigh in on the design, which is expected to be finalized in the near future.

Reading and Subscribing to Blogs Through RSS: How accessible is this world to people with vision loss? - American Foundation for the Blind

The American Foundation for the Blind has done what, I believe, is the first comparison of RSS readers for the blind. I discovered RSS a few months back and am now a devoted fan with a preference for the extremely simple RSSReader program - which missed the AFB review.

I have regularly written about RSS in my personal blog - here are two of the more pertinent posts:

• RSS: Really Simple Syndication [6/10/2005]
• RSS Items of Interest [8/11/2005]

This, of course, reminds me that I have been meaning to add an RSS feed to this blog. Well, no time like the present...

Flexible Electronic Paper Display or 'Wow - they actually did it!'

E Ink has just announced a breakthrough in flexible electronic paper displays. The new display which has a 100DPI resolution and is only 300 microns thick has the potential of truely changing the way we read our information. [courtesy of /.]

Yet another reason I prefer slashdot over other tech-blogs - they cut right to the good stuff and avoid fluff. Similar info from other sources showed up on my RSS reader but every other site was commercial and full of annoying ads and pop-ups. Not so with slashdot - and as a bonus I have a new site to check.

I feel a sense of cutting-edge as I saw an E-Ink demo version [in .pdf] of this tech at the Open eBook conference this past Spring.

Swiss Memory USB [holiday rebate offer]

Now if only I could get my wife to read this blog -- it's not too early to start holiday shopping.

National Survey of Information Technology

Concerns about network and data security have displaced academic issues as the top priority of campus technology leaders, according to a survey by the Campus Computing Project.

Inside Higher Ed headlined a post about this survey with "Security Fears". To me, the more interesting stats are the following:

• File-sharing. More colleges are adopting “appropriate use” policies to deal with concerns about copyright violations and lawsuits. Of survey respondents, 81 percent report having such policies, up from 76.3 percent in 2004 and 66.2 percent in 2003.

Do file-sharing policies help of hinder our ability to support our students? Does this involve server based AT or alt-media exchanges? Will our halcyon activities ‘under-the-radar’ come to an end? Or, are such policies beneficial?

• Open source. Increasing percentages of colleges see open source as a solution to some of their IT needs, but interest decreased slightly at public universities in the last year.

Please see previous posts on this blog regarding open-source accessibility.

• Wireless campuses. Of colleges in the survey, 64 percent have strategic plans for wireless networks, up from 55.5 percent a year ago and 24.3 percent in 2001.

The idea of tying students down to an AT lab is already dying- but how do we balance the need for specialized hardware and software with a students right to wi-fi freedom?

Discuss amongst yourselves ...

Students Want More Tech Most of All

At higher-education conferences, speakers often talk about student demands for technology, but students themselves are rarely there to give their own views. A group of five students from several colleges gave a candid assessment of their technology wish list today during a session at the Higher Education Leadership Forum, a two-day event sponsored by The Chronicle and Gartner, a technology-consulting firm.

Overall, the students called for more technology on campus -- more wireless access, more virus protection, and more technical support, among other things. But technology can also be a distraction, some said. "A company wouldn't throw all this technology at their employees and not train them," he said, but that's exactly what many colleges do.

Gaeir (rhymes with "fire") gets jiggy...

Okay, Dann, not to be outdone, here's the one I wrote for my recent CAPED presentation:

DAISY, DAISY, please give me access do.
I'm half crazy studying without you.
It will be a stylish marriage,
a really wonderful pairage,
and I'll be set
and studying yet
with a book that's built to use.

She always sought the spotlight - with her trusty sidekick Carl.

2005 CCC System Office Technology Awards Honor Excellence [in .pdf]

2005 Excellence in Technology: Focus Awards

The HTCTU has provided a centralized, Web-based resource that allows alternate media specialists at community colleges statewide to share information about books and videos in various alternate media formats. This newly initiated resource dramatically improves access to alternate media, reduces duplication of effort, increases the ability to share resources and provides a common method for recording the availability and location of alternate media created at the 109 community colleges statewide.



[left to right] Sean Keegan, Carl Brown, Bradley Creamer, Peggy Tate

For more information about the High Tech Center Training Unit, De Anza College and the Alternate Media Exchange Database Project, see:

• www.htctu.fhda.edu
• www.deanza.edu
• www.amxdb.net

Ron embraces DAISY

Daisy, Daisy give us your alt-text do,
Ron's half-crazy all for the format of you,
It will be a stylish marriage,
Of XML as the DTB undercarriage,
And it will look [and sound] clean,
Upon the screen,
Of a laptop for me and you.

---With regards to Kubrick.

Twenty Years of Windows

Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

Best gift for Boss's Day

Let me take a poll - how many of us in the alt-media profession [besides Ron] can rightfully be called "the boss"?

We spend so much time talking about the technical stuff that I fear we overlook the interpersonal aspects of what we do. Certainly we get along with our colleagues and support our students but how often do we offer "positive reinforcement" to our supervisors? Before you scoff - keep in mind that it is our boss's who support us [even if they have little idea what it is we do while staring at a monitor all day] and run the occasional interference that allows us to do our jobs relatively unmolested.

And let us not forget who signs the requisitions that land us all the toys ... ah yes ... the toys.

Progress at light speed: Ray Kurzweil

Just cannot seem to get enough of this guy. He's a guru and here is more for you...you.

Blackboard and WebCT Announce Agreement to Merge

Blackboard, WebCT to Merge [Inside Higher Ed]

As a profession we should keep our eyes on this sort of thing. Though both claim accessibility, neither Bb or WebCT have a stellar track record when it comes to on-line accessibility. The gist of the matter [according to WebCT] is that pages can be designed in an accessible manner, but the general opinion of my peers is ‘yes...well...’ WebCT pages and functions can be made accessible, but it takes work on the part of the institution to make certain the pages are created as such in the first place. In other words - some assembly is required. Granted, WebCT is just one of the Learning Management Systems presently available - but for higher education it is one of the more popular. With respect to the accessibility of the platforms, here are a few of the areas where problems/challenges generally occur: [Courtesy of Sean Keegan at the HTCTU]

• Quizzes: Technically they may be accessible, but for a student using a screen-reader, it requires some real understanding on how to use their technology. A big issue here is also the ability to allow for qualified students to have extended time on their quizzes.
• Synchronous Chat: Most of the LMS vendors keep saying that they are working on this one. I am looking into this again and will send a message out when I get something back. Most synchronous chats tend to be java applets (and these just don't always work with assistive technologies). Workarounds that have been used in the past: use a third-party chat client like AIM, MSN Messenger, etc.
• Electronic Whiteboards: Basically a chalkboard on the computer. Make sure the instructor knows how to verbally describe what they are doing.
• For the most part, the "shells" of the LMS platforms have really been improved compared to initial versions. Beyond the challenges I have listed above inherent to the platforms, it becomes an issue of educating the content creators to design accessible/usable course content.

Other resources and examples on the Web:

• The HTCTU has published a White Paper [in .pdf] which pertains directly to the issue of creating accessible instructional material using instructional authoring tools such as WebCT.
• London Metropolitian University has a very good page dedicated to this subject - WebCT Accessibility - A Good Practice Guide.
• The SNOW Program [Special Needs Opportunity Program] at the University of Toronto has a FAQ page on WebCT Accessibility.
• Latrobe University in Wodonga-Victoria, Australia [can you say "field trip..."]
• Georgia State University Web Resources Manager Stephen Rehberg.

Better Desktop [Linux Visual Research]

Better Desktop is a project dedicated to sharing usability data with Linux developers. Over the past year, we have conducted many usability tests on different parts of the KDE and GNOME desktops. We created this site to serve as a place where developers can watch videos of these tests.

Linux is a-comin...and Dell's coming with 'em!

Dell began offering a new desktop PC this week with no operating system installed. The machine is designed for people who want to run open-source software such as Linux instead of Windows.

If you have been waiting for a sign the open-source movement has come of age - this may just be it. Don't be suprised if in the very near future you hear from a student in need of AT or Alt-Media whose parents sent them off to college with a shiney new laptop running Red Hat & OpenOffice instead of XP & MS. Before you think Linux is some hackers pet project - In Massachusetts, the state government wants to unburden itself from the yolk of Microsoft and entire school districts in the Midwest are going with Linux.

Should we care - yes. At the very least we should have working knowledge of Linux and what is being done on the accessibility front. If you don't already have one in place, consider a policy outlining not only the alt-text formats you can provide and support, but which operating systems as well.

• Is Linux Accessible?
• Linux Accessibility courtesy of the ATRC
• Consider Accessibility from the Linux Journal
• Free Standards Group Drives Accessibility
• Free Standards Group Accessibility Workgroup
• Blind + Linux = BLINUX

Gift Horse Alert - SafariX

On the Alt-Media listserv - Fred Delvey of Evergreen Valley College posted:

I have discovered that a number of book publishers are offering "eTextbook" versions of their standard textbooks. For example,Safarix. The eTextbooks are pretty much the same thing that we might provide as alternate media for a student when we get books (etext) from the ATPC or directly from the publisher. I have to believe that the availability of these eTextbooks will eventually affect how we do our jobs. For example, is the publisher required (at least in California) to provide alternate text if the student can purchase an eTextbook? Since the student does not have to purchase the hard copy of an eTextbook, the student can save some money (at least compared to a new hard copy) by buying the eTextbook.

To which Carl Brown of the HTCTU responded:

While you are right to be considering how the emergence of electronic textbooks might affect the future of alternate media text production, a second and more compelling component of this development is the format in which these electronic texts will be delivered. It is our hope that electronic textbooks will be delivered in a format that is entirely accessible. Whether or not this turns out to be the case is yet to be discovered. Publishers of electronic books are no less concerned about protecting copyright and intellectual-property than the publishers of hardcopy books.

Electronic textbooks that are being released in PDF format are good example. Are the books in image only, searchable text, or some other form of PDF which does not preserve reading order when the material is used with a screen reader? I rather expect that alternate media specialists will continue to be gainfully employed into the foreseeable future.

I checked the SafariX website for myself. Information about accessibility [508 compliance] is available, but even so there are no guarantees. One criticism I have of 508, and which becomes evident here, is criteria (m) When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with 1194.21(a) through (l). Though supported by SafariX – the explanation that The Adobe Acrobat Reader is the only plug-in required seems inadequate. As we know, Adobe Reader [even the latest 7.0] may be a fine salve for some student needs, but is hardly a cure.

Will these books work in the real world of accessibility? Most likely they will [to a degree], but how friendly they are for individual needs remains to be seen. The books themselves are server-side, meaning that students need an “internet connected computer” to access them. Unfortunately, this may not always be feasible. My first reaction upon viewing the Brief Tour [in Flash] is how very much like DAISY they appear to be -- but not quite. I appreciate the work of Pearson Education and see this as several steps in the right direction but it's not there yet. Even ATHEN's own queen of alt-media Khaki Wunderlich provides a caveat on her list of other sources for alt-media materials as next to SafariX she notes "check for accessibility".

As for those soon to be unemployed alt-media specialists - chin up I say! Pearson and SafariX represent only a portion of the more than 1,700 publishers [.xls document] out there. We and they still have a distance to travel.

The conversation continues - Ryan Collier of U. Nevada Reno commented:

It seems to me that the particular E-Text book store Fred is referring to does not use PDF documents at all, rather formatted HTML employing style sheets for formatting. It looks like the site has a number of accessibility features like tab indexing, text-resizing and keyboard navigation commands as well. If electronic text books could be delivered this way, we'd be in business! Take another look at the preview materials at http://www.safarix.com/ --they are certainly better than any e-text I have seen from a publisher thus far.

RFB&D digital recording in the field

From the Alt-Media Listserv:

Some campuses out there are still recording books on tape for students who need audio materials. If your campus is one of these, you may be interested in a program sponsored by RFB&D. RFB&D will provide a recording station (laptop) that your readers can use, and the recorded books will go into the RFB&D system so that other students can benefit from the books, as well. You will work with the nearest RFB&D office to learn the equipment and the RFB&D recording techniques. If your campus might be interested in the program, please contact Bernice Shapiro at the RFB&D head office.
[You can say that Gaeir sent you. ;-) ]
BShapiro@rfbd.org (609) 243-7086
Please note that the head office is in New Jersey, so make allowances for the time difference if you call.