John Slatin AccessU 2017 Conference Backchannel

By Sanjay Nasta | May 16, 2017 | | 1

The John Slatin AccessU 2017 Conference (#ACCESSU2017) sponsored by Knowbility is being held at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas on May 17, 18-2017. Microassist is sending ten team members from our learning and development team to AccessU. Among them are: Chief Technology Officer Hiram Kuykendall – Hiram is a speaker at AccessU. He will have two sessions—Accessibility of Things, OpenAIR: Creating an Online Mentor Based Accessibility Training Program VP of Sales[…]

State Accessibility IT Services Contract Awarded to Microassist

By Vivian Cullipher | May 8, 2017 | | 2

New DIR Accessibility Contract Provides Accessible Websites, Online Training, Applications, Documents, and More. Microassist is pleased to announce it has been awarded contract DIR-TSO-3813: Accessibility IT Services from the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR). This contract will help ensure your software platforms, online content and training, digital documents, and more comply with state accessibility requirements. What Does Microassist’s DIR Accessibility IT Services Contract Provide? Contracted offerings abide by international,[…]

Accessibility Improvements Urged for Transportation, “Smart” Cities; Higher Ed Pursues Inclusion

By Jack McElaney | May 5, 2017 | | 0

Accessibility in the News—May 5, 2017 The need for transportation and related infrastructure accessibility improvements took the spotlight this week, with New York being the prime focus. Recent lawsuits say the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the subway system throughout New York City, is responsible for running the least accessible subway system out of all major U.S. cities. And, at the Smart Cities NYC conference, nonprofit and technology groups addressed the risk of developing high-tech government service delivery[…]

Government Forcing Accessibility Standards Implementation

By Jack McElaney | April 28, 2017 | | 3

Accessibility in the News—04/28/17. Government is the driving force for disability rights in every country. Without government, there would be no laws protecting disability rights or enforcing accessibility standards. This week’s news articles have a large focus on government laws, litigation, and accessibility lawsuits, particularly in the higher education space. At The University of California Berkeley, a Justice Department decision prompted the university to remove 20,000 digital lectures due to[…]

Accessible Travel: Up in the Air and Down on Land

By Jack McElaney | April 21, 2017 | | 0

Accessibility in the News—4/21/17. This week brought up travel accommodation issues for many with disabilities. There’s the transportation aspect — For instance, how well do planes, trains, busses or cars meet the needs for people with mobility or visual disabilities traveling from one city or country to another? But what about enjoying the actual destination? This week includes news on tools that help identify facilities with accessible features. That’s the[…]

Higher Education and Accessibility: Tackling Facilities Access, Online Access, and Inclusion

By Jack McElaney | April 13, 2017 | | 0

Accessibility in the News—4/13/17. Colleges and universities have been in the accessibility spotlight recently, and this issue showcases a host of initiatives and needs within that sector. Here’s some of the goings on with higher education and accessibility: In Cincinnati, the student body is pursuing more immediately accessible digital content for both its websites and elearning programs. In New York, Cornell has documented its commitment to web accessibility and continues to[…]

Accessibility Litigation: Essential for Complete Inclusion

By Jack McElaney | April 7, 2017 | | 0

Accessibility in the News—4/07/17.. Litigation due to accessibility inclusion has been a large focus in this week’s Accessibility in the News. Litigation is shown in all fields of accessibility such as digital access, and building/facility access. Some restaurants are even having lawsuits filed due to inaccessible kiosk design. National News (U.S.) | International News AITN Quote of the Week “People didn’t always see a person with a disability who had to[…]

Two Website Accessibility Suits Dismissed; Int’l Symbol of Access Prompts Guidance

By Jack McElaney | March 31, 2017 | | 0

Accessibility in the News—3/31/17. This week, we doubled our accessibility news content, opening the gates for more in-depth coverage of U.S. and international news. We’ll be experimenting with this format over the next few weeks, so if you have feedback or questions, please let us know. Skip to National News (U.S.) | Skip to International News AITN Quote of the Week “The worst thing about a disability is that people[…]

Making a Splash! Tactile Coding, Fitness for Mobility Impaired, Water-Friendly Prosthetics

By Jack McElaney | March 24, 2017 | | 0

Accessibility in the News—3/24/17. The Importance of Accessibility When dealing with technology day in and day out, it can be easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees: In the end, technology serves people. Individuals. Humanity. Accessible technology is no different, and the importance of accessibility comes from its impact on enhancing independent living, online or off. This week’s stories are heavily focused on the people factor: The former[…]

Cognitive Disabilities Perspectives, Ground-Breaking Innovation, and Accessible Travel

By Jack McElaney | March 16, 2017 | | 0

Accessibility in the News—03/16/17. Cognitive and visual disabilities blanketed the news this week. Articles highlight amazing and ingenious advances in technology: The ability to type from thought, the ways visually impaired users harness the Apple’s built-in VoiceOver feature, electricity used to improve short-term memory, and extensions that help users personalize their experience in browsers and smartphones are just a few. The flip side is, of course, that while technologists continue to[…]