Mary Cheng
California State University
AHEAD Conference
San Diego
July 18, 2006

The method of making materials accessible to persons with disabilities. Common formats:




Large Print
Audio
E-Text
Braille
 Tactile Graphics

 Obligation of the higher education institution to provide access to its programs and services to students with disabilities (Section
504, the ADA)
 Not just mere access but effective communication access

 timeliness of delivery (Fullerton, 2004)
 accuracy of the translation
 provision in a manner and medium appropriate to the significance of the message and the abilities of the individual with the disability (City
College of San Francisco

 Get the tape recorded book from RFB&D
(Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic)


Hire readers to read text aloud to student
Hire readers to read student’s books onto tape
 Enlarge the print by photocopying



Assistive technology has improved access to course materials


Screen readers: specialized software that reads the contents of a computer screen , converting the text to speech. JAWS and Outspoken are two commonly used screen readers.
Reading systems: software that enables multiple ways of interacting with text that assists the student in reading, writing and learning. Examples of such systems are
Kurzweil 3000 and
The use of assistive technology requires digital formats of materials or e-text

Audio or
Audio & Text

 From repositories of existing alternate media
(RFB&D, Bookshare, CAM, AMX)
 publishers (via state e-text law)
 From scanning (in-house produced)


Via state law, for example, California’s AB
422 (major publishers will supply even to states that don’t have higher ed e-text laws):
Publishers doing business in California will supply electronic file of textbook free of charge to eligible students with disabilities provided certain conditions are met (proof of purchase of book etc.)

 Obtain title of book and other info (ISBN)
 Locate publisher and contact point for making request
 Send request to publisher (web form, fax, phone)
 Publishers may or may not respond

 Timeliness of response: 15 minutes, 2 to 6 weeks, 3 months …
 File quality: incomplete content, content in wrong order, no page numbers, unwanted character
 No response








Obtain the book
Debind book
Scan pages (image file)
Convert to digital text via OCR process
Edit for accuracy: spelling, page #s, columns, spacing, headers, formulas, tables, graphs
Secondary conversion to appropriate format as required (i.e. MP3)
Braille requires additional effort

 Skill set and knowledge of staff
 Availability of hardware and software
 Limitation of Optical Character Recognition
(OCR) technology: not 100% accurate
 Requires editing: How much editing dependent on the type of material being converted
 Non-textual math and science, most difficult
 Copyright vs Civil Rights concerns









Student registers during advance registration and turns in request
(student does not register during advance registration or courses are added and dropped)
Disability Services (DS) staff researches for textbook titles based upon course registration (no textbook is identified for the course)
DS staff attempts to contact instructor to find out textbook title (can’t reach instructor or don’t know who is assigned to teach the course)
1 st day of term: student buys book and brings in to DS office (usually doesn’t happen on the first day)
1 st and 2 nd week of term: DS office checks repositories for available alternate format ( not available in any repository)
Order e-text from publisher (publisher takes 2 to 6 weeks to respond)
4 th week of term: DS office receives file from publisher (file needs editing)
5 th week of term: e-text file is cleaned up and alternate format of textbook is finally ready for student

Student Responsibilities
1. Early Registration
2. Request in advance
3. Communication with DS Office
Publisher Responsibilities
1. Supply accurate, complete,
Accessible files within 48 hours
2. Notify campus if unable, supply
A desk copy
Institutional Responsibilities
1. Early identification of textbook by faculty
2. Cooperation from Bookstore
3. Cooperation from Library
4. Adequate resources:Crosstrained staff, redundant systems, updated equipment for alternate media conversion







Complex problem with many levels and stakeholders. Education
& training is needed at all levels
Identify where in the process the gaps exist
Identify what can be done to improve efficiencies in the identification, request, production/modification, and delivery processes.
Work with publishers on low-hanging fruit to increase current efficiencies
Possibility of linking various repositories and creating best practices for the sharing of alternate media for eligible students
Adopt a common file format that lends itself to preserving the structural integrity of the book

Responsibilities in Meeting the Timely
Provision of Instructional Materials







Students: register in advance and submit request to DS office in a timely manner
Faculty: identify textbooks in a timely manner
Bookstore: make available the book list to Disability Services (DS)
Office
DS Office: have policies and procedures in place and develop an efficient workflow for obtaining/producing/modifying and delivering alternate media requests
Publishers: provide accurate, complete, and timely files in accessible formats
Institution: ensure that the office responsible for conversion has adequate trained staffing & resources
CSU Center for Accessible Media: work with publishers to increase their level of compliance; coordinate and disseminate promising practices and resources to assist campuses in the provision of timely instructional materials











California Community College (1998)
City College of San Francisco (1998)
California State College, Los Angeles (1997)
California State College, Long Beach (1999)
Loyola Marymount University (1992)
Brooklyn College (1996)
California State College, Fullerton (2004)
California State University, Los Angeles (in progress)
California State University, San Bernardino (in progress)
California State University, Channel Island (in progress)



 www.htctu.net
High Tech Center Training Unit

 http://www.htctu.net/publications/guidelines/altmedia/altme dia.htm
http://www.htctu.net/publications/guidelines/distance_ed/dis ted.htm
www.tc3.edu/bcl/altformhandbook SUNY Disability
Services Council Alternate Format Materials
Handbook www.calstate.edu/accessibility California State
University Accessible Technology Initiative (will be launched September 2007)