The National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education

Welcome to AccessIT

AccessIT promotes the use of electronic and information technology (E&IT) for students and employees with disabilities in educational institutions at all academic levels. This Web site features the AccessIT Knowledge Base, a searchable database of questions and answers regarding accessible E&IT. It is designed for educators, policy makers, librarians, technical support staff, and students and employees with disabilities and their advocates.

Popular Resources

• FREE Web Design Curriculum - This curriculum was designed for high school introduction to web design courses. It stresses standards-based and accessible design, and is vendor-neutral, project-based, and FREE.
• Video: Accessible Information Technology in Education: Building a Better Future - This video presents the voices of students with disabilities and experts in accessible IT as they discuss the importance of ensuring that information technology is accessible in educational settings.
• Video: Surfing the Web With a Screen Reader
  What's all the web accessibility talk about? Surf the web with a blind user and see for yourself! To find out more information, follow the above link.
• Web Course: Introduction to Accessible Information Technology in Education
  This free online course is for anyone who wants to learn more about information technology accessibility and related law and policy issues in education.
• Information Technology in Education Accessibility Checklist
  Use this on-line interactive tool to learn about IT accessibility, and to manage your educational entity's IT accessibility goals.
• Accessible University Mock Site
  Use this mock site for demonstrating web accessibility principles in presentations. Includes a Companion Guide tutorial which presents Web accessibility problems and solutions in an easy-to-understand way, using Web pages as examples.
• Select Presentations
  A small sample of slide shows from presentations by AccessIT staff are availalble.

Archived Training Events and Videos

AccessIT web-based training archives are provided either as Real Media files, or Windows Media files. Viewing these files requires the free Real Player or Windows Media Player respectively.

• Free Curriculum: Web Design & Development I - Windows media
  

  Curriculum co-author Terry Thompson describes the course curriculum and explores its organization and content.

• Making Web-Based Navigation Accessible - Windows media
  

  Includes a demonstration of various approaches to implementing skip navigation links and an in-depth look at the accessibility of dynamic menu systems. (05/06/05)

• PDF Accessibility - Windows media
  

  Includes discussion of PDF accessibility issues and demonstrations of techniques for maximizing the accessibility of PDF files. (04/04/03)

• Access to Information through Technology in Education
  

  This webcast covers both K-12 and post-secondary educational entities and features Tim Spofford, Attorney with the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and David Stockford, Director of Special Services with the Maine Department of Education.

Accessible Information Technology Publication Series

1. Accessible Information Technology in Education and Related Terms
2. Accessible Websites for All: Individuals with Disabilities and Web Accessibility in Postsecondary Education
3. Resources For Accessible Web Design
4. Universal Web Design: Designing For Everyone
5. Accessible Web Design
6. Accessible Instructional Software in Education
7. Assuring that IT in Distance Learning Courses is Accessible
8. Accessibility of Electronic Tools and Features Used in Distance Learning
9. Providing Accessible IT in your Computer Lab
10. Webmaster Accessibility FAQ
11. Accessible File Formats

Are you new to accessible E&IT?

As a starting point for exploring accessibile E&IT, review answers to the following questions from our Knowledge Base:

• What is electronic and information technology?
• What is assistive technology?
• What makes electronic and information technology inaccessible to people with disabilities?
• What is universal design?
• What is accessible electronic and information technology?

Copyright © 2002 - 2008 by University of Washington. Permission is granted to copy these materials for educational, noncommercial purposes provided the source is acknowledged. For more information see the larger AccessIT Copyright Statement. AccessIT was funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education (grant #H133D010306) through September 30, 2006; it is now maintained with funding from the National Science Foundation (grant #CNS-054061S). The contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the U.S. federal government, and you should not assume their endorsement.