Resources

You can find the full text for Policy #188, information about waivers, and the minimum accessibility standard by visiting the following:

• Policy #188 
• Standard #188.10 – Minimum Accessibility Standard
• Policy #103 – Technology Policy & Standards Waiver Request

The UW’s Accessible Technology website includes a variety of resources:

• the IT accessibility policy and guidelines for the UW
• legal issues and civil rights complaints and resolutions nationwide
• instructions and tips for making IT accessible
• more resources for creating and procuring accessible IT products

The DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) website contains the following:

• information about DO-IT projects
• evidence-based practices that support project goals and objectives
• resources for students with disabilities
• educational materials for teachers and administration

DO-IT maintains a searchable database of frequently asked questions, case studies, and promising practices related to how educators and employers can fully include students with disabilities. The Knowledge Base is an excellent resource for ideas that can be implemented in programs in order to better serve students with disabilities. In particular, the promising practices articles serve to spread the word about practices that show evidence of improving the participation of people with disabilities in postsecondary education.

Examples of Knowledge Base questions include the following:

• Are electronic whiteboards accessible to people with disabilities?
• Are peer review tools accessible?
• Are there computer keyboards designed to be used with only one hand?
• Are touch screens accessible?
• Do postsecondary institutions have to provide assistive technology (for example, screen enlargement or voice recognition software) to students with disabilities who enroll in distance learning courses?
• Does a postsecondary institution have to provide specific hardware or software (known as assistive technology) that an individual with a disability requests so that they can access information technology used on campus?
• Does making our school web content accessible mean I cannot use multimedia on my site?
• How can educational entities determine if their websites are accessible?

Individuals and organizations are encouraged to propose questions and answers, case studies, and promising practices for the Knowledge Base. Contributions and suggestions can be sent to doit@uw.edu.

For more information on making your campus technology accessible and to learn more about accessible learning or universal design, review the following websites and brochures:

• The University of Washington’s hub for information on accessible technology, featuring how to create and develop accessible documents, videos, and websites, can be found at Accessible Technology.
• WCAG 2.0 are the expected guidelines to be followed for all websites.
• The Access Technology Center’s website.
• A list of thirty different web accessibility tips, and how to implement those tips.
• Accessibility training and certification.
• More information about accessibility standards and procurement.
• Cheat sheets for making accessible documents and content, as well as a plethora of other resources for accessible websites, can be found at the NCDAE.
• The AccessDL website shares resources for making distance learning and online courses accessible.
• Accessible University’s website featuring common web accessibility principles and solutions.
• A brochure on universally designing distance-learning programs.
• A brochure on what accessible distance learning is and how it helps students.
• A brochure on the top tips for creating an accessible distance-learning course can be found at the 20 Tips website.
• A brochure on why accessible web design matters, and some resources to make your website accessible, can be found at Accessible Web Design.
• Blindmath is a listserv for those who want to learn more about all issues around accessible mathematics.
• More information on universal design in education can be found at the Center for Universal Design in Education.

Conferences can be a great way to share resources, collaborate, and come up with new ideas. Consider attending the following:

• ATHEN (Accessing Higher Ground)
• CSUN
• ATIA
• Closing the Gap
• Smaller, local IT conferences, like TechConnect
• NW E-Learn
• EDUCAUSE
• Building Bridges
• Faculty Accessibility Retreat for 2-year colleges