IBM Accessibility Technology Opens Web to Students and Faculty at California State University, Long Beach10 April 2006
California State University at Long Beach(CSULB) has selected WebAdapt2Me software from IBM to help its students andfaculty gain easier access to the Web.
The installation of the software at the Long Beach campus is part of thenew IBM Global Services consulting specialty in accessibility. IBMconsultants are helping the university improve access to Web sites and Webapplications for members of the university community who have disabilities,as well as those who need help accessing the Internet because ofage-related vision or motor difficulties.
IBM WebAdapt2Me software allows individuals to view the Web in a way that'smost productive for them. For example, people with low vision can changethe size of the type and the colors and contrast of the page for easierviewing. People with learning disabilities can reduce the visual clutterof the page by, for example, reducing several columns to one, so they canfollow the text more easily. People without full mobility can set up theirsystem so the mouse and keyboard are easier to use. And people withlearning disabilities can ask WebAdapt2Me to read the text on the screenaloud, using IBM ViaVoice technology.
"I love the innovation behind WebAdapt2Me," said Professor Wayne Dick,chair of the computer engineering and computer sciences department anddirector of the campus WebAdapt2Me project. "When it comes to disabilities,one size does not fit all." People with disabilities can have a widerange of challenges, he explained, from vision problems to motorimpairments to learning disabilities. WebAdapt2Me helps users overcomethese challenges, and, because they can set up the software to meet theirpersonal preferences for viewing the Web, it also benefits a diversespectrum of people, regardless of their abilities.
Born with low vision but who now uses WebAdapt2Me on a hand-held computerto read college textbooks that, by California law, are made available onthe Internet, the CSLUB professor said he hopes to make WebAdapt2Meavailable to all campus faculty, students, and staff who have disabilities,as well the university's sizeable population of older students and faculty.
IBM consultants are working with campus IT staff at several otheruniversities to provide accessible information to students and faculty whoare living with disabilities. Some of those universities include: CapeBreton University in Nova Scotia, Canada; Tokyo Metropolitan University andNagano University in Japan; and Bologna University in Italy. In addition,IBM is running a pilot program at Wake Forest University where students aretesting speech-enabled Web applications on hand-held devices like phonesand iPods.
"With IBM's long-standing interest in advancing higher education," saidFrances West, director, IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center, "it isa natural fit for us to work with institutions of higher learning totransform the way education is delivered to all students."
Contact:Catherine CollinsMobile: 917-374-0541ckc@us.ibm.com
SOURCE: IBM
Source: marketwire
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