Accessing Higher Ground

My all time favorite conference (and the annual meeting of the ATHEN membership) is the Accessing Higher Ground conference put on by the University of Colorado at Boulder. This is the 10th anniversary and it gets better each and every year. Boulder is beautiful, the hotel is fantastic, the conference is small and the attendees are focused. This is the third year I have attended this conference but it seems like I have been going there forever!

Last year the leadership of Accessing Higher Ground and ATHEN got together and now we are one of the sponsors of the conference. Besides the obvious perks of getting to pick which room to have the annual meeting and the ability to cut into the buffet line with no backsies, it is quite an honor to be so closely associated with this conference. ATHEN also sponsors an educational track of presentations by our members (refer to the conference program for specifi details):

PRE-CONFERENCE SESSIONS

• The AHEAD Institute on E-Text Production (2 day pre-conference workshop): Ron Stewart, Dolphin Computer Access and Gaeir Dietrich, High Tech Center Training Unit
• Hardware and Software Players for Digital Talking Books (DAISY): Robert Beach, KCCC

GENERAL SESSIONS

• Planting Textbooks and Harvesting DAISY: A Model Program for E-Text Production: Daniel Berkowitz & Adam Randazzo, Boston University
• Planting Textbooks and Harvesting DAISY (part II): A technical demonstration of the Boston University production process: Daniel Berkowitz & Adam Randazzo, Boston University
• Innovative AT Research at the University of Washington: Dan Comden, University of Washington
• DAISY for All: Ron Stewart, Dolphin Computer Access
• Lab: Designing Accessible PDF Forms through Adobe's LiveCycle Designer: Sean Keegan, High Tech Center Training Unit
• Software Players and Digital Talking Books (DAISY): Robert Beach, Kansas City, Kansas CC
• STEM and Blind Student- A Survey and Analysis of Current tools, Strategies and Solutions: Saroj Primlani, North Carolina State University
• Using the Duxbury Braille Translation Software: Gaeir Dietrich, High Tech Center Training Unit
• Lab: Using Adobe PDF to Create Alternate Media, Gaeir Dietrich, High Tech Center Training Unit
• Design of an Assistive Technology Online Class: David Schwarte & Joe Humbert, Purdue University
• Web Accessibility in Higher Education: How Are We Doing?: Terry Thompson, DO-IT, U. of Washington, Saroj Primlani, North Carolina State University
• Improving Math Access on the Web with MathML-based Web Pages: Sean Keegan, High Tech Center Training Unit

The Key Note speaker for this year is one of my favorite folks working in the Access Technology Field - E.A. Draffan. Trained as a Speech and Language Therapist, E.A. worked for several years within the fields of various communication disabilities before specialising in Dyslexia and Assistive Technology. She has since worked with disabled students in Further and Higher Education, set up an Assistive Technology Centre, trained assessors, developed a database of assistive technologies and is working with a research group at the University of Southampton (UK).