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Leadership and Technology
Accessibility Initiative
Louisiana Accessibility Awareness Week September 8-12, 2008
The Louisiana Department of Education is celebrating Accessibility Awareness Week.
The purpose of Accessibility Awareness Week is to spotlight programs, activities, and training events that focus on providing curriculum access for all students. The Louisiana Department of Education and regional Assistive Technology Centers would like to invite district educators, parents, students, and program specialists to join us by participating in one of the activities below and by sharing the news of accessibility with others.
Here's how you can get involved:
*Visit the LA Department of Education Accessibility web page at www.louisianaschools.net/lde/lcet/2389.html to learn more about initiatives that focus on accessibility and events for Accessibility Awareness Week.
*Review the calendar of training below and attend a workshop at one of the Regional Assistive Technology centers.
*Announce Accessibility Awareness Week in your school or district.
*Register for the online course on UDL.
*Contact your AT Regional Center to get on their e-mail distribution list to learn more about accessibility training throughout the school year.
To view the activities being held during the Accessibility Awareness Week.
Accessibility Awareness Week Activities
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This survey will help us serve districts and schools in reaching their accessibility needs.
Click here to complete the Accessibility survey
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Louisiana's Accessibility Initiative
The Accessibility Initiative represents a collaborative effort across the Department of Education and is designed to foster curriculum support for all learners. In addition, this initiative addresses state and local needs relative to meeting the criteria of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under the guidance of a statewide Accessibility Task Force, the program will establish statewide structures focused on the development and implementation of policies pertaining to Accessibility.
The Accessibility Initiative builds upon existing statewide programs, such as:
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Univeral Design for Learning
UDL is designed for educators who are committed to improving educational outcomes for all learners. The central practical premise of UDL is that a curriculum should include alternatives to make it accessible and appropriate for individuals with different backgrounds, learning styles, abilities, and disabilities in widely varied learning contexts.
Visit the Bridging the Gap website for more information about Louisiana's UDL program.
Bridging the Gap: Universal Design for Learning
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Louisiana Assistive Technology Initiative (LATI)
This initiative provides funding for the eight Assistive Technology Regional Centers. The centers have been established to improve outcomes for children and youth with disabilities through the use of assistive technology, to offer access to school programs and curriculum, and to increase the capacity of school districts to provide assistive technology services by making training and technical assistance available to teachers, therapists, administrators, paraprofessionals and parents.
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Anytime, Anyplace, Anyone K-20 UDL Project
Partnering K-12 and Higher Education, the mission of the initiative is to design and implement a model for teaching and learning that will meet the needs of all learners through the use of best practices, adaptive technologies, and instructional techniques to accommodate all teaching and learning styles.
Visit the K-20 UDL website for more information.
K-20 Universal Design for Learning Project
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Louisiana's First Accessibility Awareness Week
Governor Blanco proclaimed September 11-15, 2006 as Louisiana Accessibility Awareness Week. This first annual event had approximately 112 participants in attendance at such state-sponsored activities as Accessibility Awareness: The Whole Picture; UDL and the SETT Framework: Strategies for Addressing the Needs of All Learners; and the Web Accessibility Training with Web Authoring Tools. We welcomed three national presenters, Bryan Ayers, Joy Zabala, and Terry Thompson. Their experience, knowledge, and passion were exemplified as they presented their respective topics.
In addition, there were approximately 205 educators or parents who participated in regional, district, and local school activities, including Target Tuesday, AT on the Road, the UDL in the Classroom demonstration, Accessibility displays and bulletin boards, UDL online course, Accessibility Town Talk, and many others.
Louisiana Accessibility Awareness Week events were a collective effort of many entities, such as the Louisiana Department of Education's Division of Leadership and Technology and the Division of Education Assistance and Improvement; the Louisiana Board of Regents' Office of Information & Learning Technology, the Disability Law Resource Project (DLRP), the Assistive Technology Regional Centers, the Statewide Compressed Video Conference Coordinators, the Technology & Curriculum Access Center (Arkansas), the Arkansas Department of Education Distance Learning Systems, and all technical personnel.
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