CREATING A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES

Below is the brochure created by PBS to advertise the original program. The program is available as a two-hour video in return for a donation to EASI. There is also an electronic version of the program workbook.

For further information, send mail to Norman Coombs: nrcgsh@rit.edu

"CREATING A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES:
Liberating People with Disabilities Through Adaptive Technology"

Live Via Satellite and Closed Captioned
May 18, 1995
2:30-4:30 pm ET
Standard Fee: $295
ALSS/TBC: $195
Late fee: $25 (after May 4, 1995)
Produced by: Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
Sponsored by: RIT, PBS, AAHE Project EASI

Printed program resource materials are included in fee.
Registration info follows at the end of this message.

Adaptive technology has the potential to remove obstacles to social access and employment for persons with disabilities. Such equipment can empower people to help themselves, yet fear of disabilities and ignorance of technology can hinder the use of adaptive technology. This videoconference will not only review the hardware and software that is now or soon to be available, but will also examine ways to overcome barriers to their use.

New ADA regulations make this topic a must for all who are trying to comply. Given the constant changes and updates in the technology available for persons with disabilities, this direct satellite telecast can bring the latest information to your community like no other medium. Users and providers of adaptive technology will gain information about new government regulations relative to the ADA and will learn how to plan and fund acquisition of equipment, the reasons to adapt, and what the future holds for adaptive technology.

Those who will want to attend include:

personnel directors, managers and staff
ADA compliance managers and staff
special services coordinators and staff
computing managers and computer lab assistants
librarians and library staff
legal counselors
higher education faculty
principals and administrators
k-12 special education teachers
anyone interested in how the technology can help persons with ANY kind of disability

PANELISTS

Norman Coombs has been teaching history at the Rochester Institute of Technology since 1961 and is a leader in using computer mediated communication to mainstream physically disabled teachers and learners. Professor Coombs, who is blind, was recently named chair of Project EASI: Equal Access to Software and Information, a project of the American Association for Higher Education.

Deborah Kaplan is vice president of the World Institute on Disability and director of its Division on Technology Policy. Under her leadership, the agency has initiated WIDnet, a national computer-based bulletin board and database service on disability policy. In 1976 Ms. Kaplan founded the Disability Rights Center in Washington, D.C. and served as executive director for four years.

Harry J. Murphy is founder and director of the Center on Disabilities at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). He is the former assistant director of the National Center on Deafness and former director of the Office of Disabled Student Services at CSUN. He also founded and directs the world's largest conference on "Technology and Persons with Disabilities", held each March in Los Angeles.

Lawrence Scadden is senior program director for the National Science Foundation's Program for Persons with Disabilities. This program develops and supports research and educational projects that promote full inclusion and participation of individuals with disabilities in science, math, engineering, and technology education.

Ramon Rodriguez is director/liaison officer for theOffice of Special Institutions in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. He is responsible for program analysis, evaluation and improvement; policy interpretation; adult continuing education; and programs for children and youth with disabilities.

Gregg Vanderheiden is director of the Trace Research and Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a rehabilitation engineering research center focusing on access to communication, computer, and information systems. He is also an associate professor in the industrial engineering department and past president of RESNA.

Bob Smith, moderator, is a host and producer of two WXXI radio talk shows in Rochester, NY: "1370 Connection with Bob Smith" and "Computers and Technology."

OBJECTIVES

This videoconference will give your participants a chance to:

Find out how adaptive technology can empower persons with disabilities in school, work and personal life.
Discover how institutions, organizations and corporations deliver better services for people with disabilities through adaptive technology.
Understand the benefits of adaptive technology for their organizations.
Understand the laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, that could affect their organization's use of adaptive technology.
Learn how to plan and fund acquisition of adaptive technology.
Discuss some of the social barriers to the use of technology.
Find out about resources for learning about adaptive technology.
Hear about cutting-edge research and development projects that indicate the near future of adaptive technology.

REGISTRATION

To receive information on how to register and obtain a license agreement, please contact:

PBS Adult Learning Satellite Service
1320 Braddock Place
Alexandria, VA 22314-1698

1-800-257-2578 (phone)
703-739-8495 or 703-739-0775 (FAX)

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