EASI: EQUAL ACCESS TO SOFTWARE & INFORMATION

PEOPLE NOT TECHNOLOGY
EASI is a non-profit organization, committed to the belief that students and professionals with disabilities have the same right to access information technology as everyone else.

Note to EASI Annual Webinar members: we have changed how you register for Webinars. You will read about Webinars and register from a member-only Webinar page.

EASI Annual Webinar Members take this link for the Passworded Member Webinar Page

EASI is producing 2 series of Interactive Webinars on specific accessibility-related topics. One consists of single, free Webinars which are open to the public. While the fee-based Webinars consist of 3-4 Webinars providing more in-depth information.

Registration for the fee-based Webinar series is currently $225.00. EASI is pleased to host Webinar presenters from across the US as well as several other countries. As usual, some presenters are, themselves, adaptive technology users, and others are professionals supporting adaptive technology. Webinars use conference systems that facilitate hosting an accessible event.

Join the EASI E-mail Announcement Listserv to Keep UP on What's Next!

What equipment do I need to participate?

You will need working speakers so you can hear the presenter. The room has both text and voice chat. (A microphone is optional). A PC running Windows is the best operating system, but a Mac can access the system. Internet Explorer is the best browser, but others should also work.

We strongly urge you, if this is your first EASI Webinar, to come early to the presentation to iron out unforeseen problems. (The conference room is normally locked, and it is usually opened 45-60 minutes before the event.

Dick Banks Memorial Scholarship for EASI Webinars and Courses

Dick Banks

This scholarship provides people who are unable to procure other financing, with registrations to either the fee-based Webinar series or to EASI online courses. While EASI relies on fees to support our work, nevertheless, we want to share these resources as broadly as possible.

Read about and apply for the Dick Banks Memorial Scholarship

EASI Annual Webinar Membership Program

EASI has 2 membership programs: one for individuals and another for institutions. These annual memberships provide free access to all the fee-based Webinars for a full year, free access to an archive of selected Webinar recordings from 3 previous years and a discount to all the EASI courses At a time when budgets are being cut for training and for travel to conferences, these memberships can fill the void.

Read about and register online for the annual membership program

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Free and Fee-based Webinars Listed by Month

May Webinars

June Webinars

Future Webinars Being Finalized for Delivery

May Webinars

EASI Free Webinar: AzzCardfile – The Easy to Use Personal Information Manager

Date: Thursday May 23 11 Pacific noon Mountain 1 Central 2 Eastern 6 PM UTC and 8 PM European Central Daylight

Presenter: Mr. Michael Micallef Dip IT. From The Foundation Information Technology Accessibility (Malta)

Webinar Description:

Many types of Databases exist and most of them are complicated to use or setup. Also most of today’s databases has accessibility issues. One good, easy to use, and productive database is the AzzCardfile. I have been using this database for these past 15 years. So in this Webinar you will learn the following:

What is the AzzCardfile.
Creating a Database File.
Adding, and deleting Records.
Rename Cards.
Formatting Text.
AzzCardfile Help.
Exporting Cards into other formats.
Protecting Database Files from unauthorized use.
Easy filtering cards.
Sorting Cards
Creating Groups
Adding Cards to Different Groups.
Printing Cards.
Insert Objects.
Create Portable AzzCardfile on a Pen drive.
The AzzCardfile Options.

A question and answer session will be included as part of the webinar.

The application Cost: Shareware $29.95 and it is online at:

Website: http://www.azzcardfile.biz

EASI Free Webinar: Use Tobi to create EPUB3 talking books

Thursday May 30: US times 8:30 AM Pacific, 9:30 Mountain, 10:30 Central and 11:30 Eastern
15:30 UTC, 16:30 UK, 17:30 Central Europe, 21:00 India.

Presenters: Avneesh Singh from DAISY Consortium, Obi/Tobi project manager, software developer
Daniel Weck, DAISY Consortium, Software developer

EPUB3 is the ebook standard recommended for both mainstream and accessible publishing. Tobi supports the DAISY3 and EPUB3 talking book formats, and provides tools to upgrade existing content to the new standard. Learn about EPUB3 features, and about Tobi production workflows.

Go to the TOBI Web Site

EASI Free Webinar: WCAG - Do screen reader users take full advantage?

Friday May 31: 11 Pacific, noon Mountain, 1 Central and 2 PM Eastern (daylight)

Presenter 1: Birkir Gunnarsson, Electronic Accessibility Officer, Blindrafelagid, Iceland Organization for the Visually Impaired and Accessibility Subject Matter Expert, Deque Systems)

Presenter 2: Hinni Hreinsson, Assistive Technology Trainer, Stockholm Low Vision Center

This has been moved from May 2

WCAG, ARIA and developer best practice guides and recommendations have made the web a better and more accessible place. However, our experience indicates that a significant group of screen reader users are not aware of some WCAG best practice guidelines, particularly in the area of page structure elements (headings, landmarks, tables), and therefore some of the hard work put in by developers and accessibility experts does not fully translate to the optimal end user experience.

We conducted a study to investigate if this was indeed the case. In this Webinar we will cover the results of our study and our plan to solve this problem through a central, free, online screen reader user training resource.

June Webinars

Webinar 4-part Fee-based Series: Accessible STEM Made Easier

Dates: Tuesday June 4, 11, 18, and 25

Times: 11 Pacific Noon Mountain, 1 Central and 2 PM Eastern

I am not a scientist although as an adult I have a growing interest in it. My reason for organizing this series is that STEM content provides some of the toughest accessibility hurddles. I have watched dedicated leaders struggle to transcend the problems. Now, real progress is happening, and at the same time authors can provide accessible content with better and easier tools than ever.

Week 1: June 4. Access to complex graphics using IVEO

Presenters: John Gardner and John Taylor

John Gardner and John Taylor will demonstrate conversion of graphical information to accessible SVG (Scalable vector Graphics) using IVEO authoring software. The resulting SVG file is then easily accessible by blind users using the IVEO audio-tactile access method.

Week 3: Specific topic and presenter TBA

Week 3: June 18. LEAN Math

Presenter: John Gardner

John Gardner will demonstrate the new LEAN Math editor interface to MS Word/MathType. LEAN provides both compact audio and Braille access to MathType equations in Word. MathType equations can be edited, and new equations created in the LEAN editor. In addition to reading and composing math, the editor includes a number of powerful efficient navigation and processing features such as ability to copy a fraction with a single keystroke and then invert it when pasting with another keystroke; cutting out the denominator of a fraction and pasting it into the opposite side of the equation, etc.

Week 4: Specific topic and presenter TBA

The fee for this 4-part Webinar series is $225, but it is free for all annual EASI Webinar members.

Members use the member username and password to access this Member page

When non-members register at the link below, select the Webinar conference for June 4

Non-members register and arrange payment from this link

EASI Free Webinar: Web and IT Accessibility Policies in Higher Education

Thursday, June 13 at 11 Pacific, noon Mountain, 1 Central and 2 PM Eastern Daylight

Presenters: Sheryl Burgstahler Director of UW Accessible Technology & DO-IT University of Washington

Terrill Thompson Technology Accessibility Specialist University of Washington

How many higher education institutions in the United States have web or technology accessibility policies?

What do these policies look like?

Are they effective?

What constitutes a good accessibility policy?

Presenters in this session will be exploring these questions with results from their recent research project on this topic, and by sharing their own experiences with policy development and accessibility-related planning.

Science and Math accessibility: a 4-part Fee-based Series

EASI is actively working to schedule a series on accessible STEM. Significant progress is being made both in making STEM content more accessible and also in making it easier for authors to create. Tentatively this will be on:

June 4, 11, 18 and 25

Come back soon as we hope to have details and registration here SOON!

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Future Webinars Being Planned

Free Webinar: Creating Accessible Math Made Easy

This presentation will demonstrate how math faculty can provide students with math that is fully accessible regardless of whether or not the student has a disability. It will also demonstrate the special math reader that will permit the student to readily access the content provided by his or her faculty.

Validating and Repairing Web Accessibility Using Toolbars

There are several toolbars to assist users to validate their HTML and evaluate their accessibility. While there are large, commercial applications to function on an entire site, these tools are handy for individuals needing to check a small number of pages at any one time.

Accessible Science and Math: 4-part STEM Series

This series will probably take place in the late fall or mid winter. It will be aimed not at technical experts but at faculty and instructional design staff who focus more on course content than on the technology behind accessibility. It will strive to make creating accessible science and math content easier and less time-consuming for faculty and staaff. It will cover:

Accessible Math, reading and writing

Accessible tactile graphics, reading and writing

Accessible science labs

HTML5 and Progress Towards Accessibility

This will be a single, free Webinar

The TC Conference system has an improved client for the Mac. This will enable us to finally provide Webinars on the Mac computer and on its accessibility features

IPhones, IPads and other Mobile Products

We will do at least one Webinar on the vast array of Apple products that are revolutionizing our lives

What do you know that you'd like to tell us about?

Getting ideas and finding someone knowledgeable who will share what they know is the hardest part of bringing you these Webinars.

EASI Annual Members take this link to go to the passworded Webinar page for members

Drop e-mail to me with your help at Norm Coombs with your ideas