Faculty members teaching online often find themselves unsure about the best way to help students who have identified accessibility problems in their courses. Many disability support providers are ill-equipped to resolve these problems, and may pass them on to academic computing staff, who struggle to integrate them into their regular work. Faculty and staff need to work together successfully to address accessibility problems in the online environment. Colleges and universities must begin to think about accessibility plans for online courses and services that will serve the needs of all students.

Produced by University of Maryland University College, this moderated panel discussion considers the implications of accessibility for online education and suggests ways that faculty and staff can work together to address major challenges. The event is free of charge and open to the University community.

Sponsored by ASU's Information Technology Instruction Support Group (IT|IS), Distance Learning Technology (DLT), and Center for Learning and Teaching Excellence (CLTE).

The program is structured in three parts:

• Realities, which explains problems that students with disabilities commonly encounter in online courses as well as problems faculty and staff encounter in trying to help them
• Challenges, discussing complex barriers to online accessibility that faculty and staff working together will be unable to resolve without outside intervention
• Progress, which focuses on reframing accessibility so that the focus for faculty and staff is on the environment rather than on individual students.

This live event is aimed particularly at faculty and staff in higher education, but anyone affected by accessibility in the online environment or interested in understanding the critical issues will benefit from participation.

Sue Kroeger
Disability Resource Center
University of Arizona

Sue Kroeger directs the Disability Resource Center at the University of Arizona, which serves over 1300 students with disabilities. She is a past president of the Association on Higher Education And Disability and is well known for her presentations on the the advantages of Universal Design and has made numerous presentations on the advantages of Universal Design. She has been principal investigator for several federal grants and has consulted nationally and internationally.

Brenda Matthis
Assistant Professor of Technology
Lesley University

Brenda Matthis is an assistant professor of technology at Lesley University, where she specializes in technology and special needs and in emerging technologies. Her professional background is in software design and analysis; she most recently worked with the Center for Applied Special Technology, where she served as Lead Researcher for the Bobby accessibility repair tool.

Kristine Neuber
Assistive Technology and Web Accessibility Coordinator
George Mason University

Kristine Neuber is the assistive technology and web accessibility coordinator for George Mason University. She provides assistive technology screening, training and support for all university students and employees. She has extensive experience in building support for large-scale web accessibility initiatives and has partnered with WebAIM in developing institutional models and plans for accessibility.

John Slatin
Accessibility Institute
University of Texas Austin

John Slatin directs the Accessibility Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. He has been involved in accessibility issues since 1985 and currently chairs a statewide initiative on accessible electronic government services in Texas. He is the author (with Sharron Rush) of Maximum Accessibility: Making Your Web Site More Usable for Everyone.

Kojo Nnamdi
Moderator
Kojo Nnamdi's reputation as an interviewer and talk show host is legendary in the Washington, D.C. area. His own programs are The Kojo Nnamdi Show, a daily public affairs radio hour, and the very popular Evening Exchange. Both programs address a very wide range of political and social issues and are notable for the diversity of their topics and guests. Kojo's style as an interviewer as well as his versatility and preparation make him well-suited to moderate this program.

Special Appearances:

In addition to the panel discussion, two short interviews with prominent experts will be featured during this live event:

• Dr. Gerald Heeger, President of University of Maryland University College, discusses the surging popularity of distance learning and its impact on students hitherto unable to take advantage of learning opportunities.
  
• Larry Goldberg, CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), Boston, will outline the major accessibility issues facing society today and how colleges and universities can help in addressing them.