Mac-onomics [Wired Campus Blog]

Apple Computer finds that its Macintosh computers are gaining popularity on campuses thanks to the growing use of iPods for both entertainment and education. Apple officials have recently reached out to colleges to try to encourage educational uses for iPods. The latest example is iTunes U, a program that encourages colleges to distribute recorded lectures and other course materials using the company’s free iTunes software, which is used to manage and play music and video files and to transfer them to iPods.

The Access Technology (AT) community has witnessed this trend with a fair amount of concern as students with disabilities who would otherwise purchase Windows based PC’s are turning to Macs. Students with non-cognitive issues such as blindness, low vision and mobility impairments know to steer away from Apple products because there are simply not as many access options in both hardware and software as for the PC. Where we have seen an unfortunate increase is in the number of students with learning disability based print impairments who, having spent their K-12 years on an IEP and having access to their textbooks in alternate format [primarily cassette tape] via the learning lab or resource room with the support of SPED teachers, are unaware of OS and AT access issues.

As these students prepare to move ahead to postsecondary education, they will likely acquire a personal computer to fulfill their academic (and social) computing needs. Without much thought to what access technology may be necessary or available, students are purchasing Macs based upon their previous Apple ownership and experiences. As alternate access to print materials moves away (runs away is more like it) from cassette tapes to the digital realm of DAISY Talking Books, MP3, Text-to-Speech programs and the like, we are seeing an increase in both the quality and quantity of programs for accessing print in alternate formats for Windows and Linux – but not of the Mac.
In a typical scenario, a student receives an iPod as a gift while still in High School. As a graduation gift, student receives (or chooses) a Mac as their college computer. Due to a learning disability, student registers with the Disability Services office at college and requests their textbooks in an alternate format. The university has converted its alt-format process to digital and is, through no fault of its own, greatly curtailed in their ability to provide equal access to the Mac user as it is to other students using PC’s.

On a positive note, it is anticipated that the switch to Intel processors will greatly facilitate the development of access technologies for the Macintosh, especially if (and when) the ability to boot Windows on the Mac becomes a reality.