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This article from PCMag.com discusses the adoption of Google Apps for Education at New York University and Northwestern University. The adoption is being challenged by the National Federation for the Blind, because of its inaccessibility to visually impaired and blind individuals on these campuses. 

Press release: 26th October 2011 A consortium of researchers and user organizations from across Europe is investigating the accessibility of Web 2.0 applications for disabled and older people. The group will then create new tools to help developers produce applications that are more accessible to these groups. I've included this because I think it speaks to the relevance of how difficult it is for disabled folks and older folks to use the new technology found within Web 2.0. It is wonderful to see that a group (NCBI Centre for Inclusive Technology) is taking the initiative to try a determine a solution that is prevalent for a portion of the world's population.

Windows  8 will be easier to use for those who are visually impaired or face other disabilities

The ipad is beig used to help autistic students communicate. I had an autistic students two years ago. He was not able to speak clearly and could not follow directions very well. He was a sweet boy and loved to spend time in the computer. It was the only place where he could produce and made him very happy.

Enabling an Accessible Web 2.0 is a paper written by Becky Gibson IBM Emerging Technologies . I was unable to highlight (not sure why). I found that this article is very similar to a lot of the assigned reading. The article discuss key points:" The original Web was not perfect but with some work by Web developers it could be used by all. Now we are entering the next generation of the Web - Web 2.0. It is all about interaction, collaboration, and social networking It is more dynamic and fluid and no longer just static pages of information. This presents yet another challenge for people with disabilities. These new interaction models are pushing the limits of the technologies of the Web and the ability of assistive technologies to interpret the changing face of the Web. This paper describes new technologies and tools being developed to help enable accessibility for Web 2.0." " Such as : Ajax interactions, data binding, graphic effects as well as rich, customizable user interface components [13]. Examples of such toolkits include: * Dojo http://www.dojotoolkit.org/ * Google Web Toolkit - http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/ * Open Rico- http://openrico.org/ * Prototype - http://www.prototypejs.org/ * TIBCO General Interface (available via an open source license) http://www.tibco.com/software/rich_internet_application/default.jsp * Yahoo User Interface Library - http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/ * Zimbra Kabuki AJAX Toolkit (http://www.zimbra.com/community/kabuki_ajax_tool kit_download.html)

This article explains accessibility issues with social network sites such as facebook and myspace. also addresses the use of CAPTCHAs

Assitive technology for students with learning disabilities is the main focus of this article. It is geared to parents and educators alike. The related articles are also helpful.

I like this article for the fact that it first introduces Assistive Technology (AT) to any parent. I've found that many of the parents I work with are sceptical about trying something new simply because they lack adequate information. Knowledge is power is what we teach our students, but far too many parents limit themselves and hinder the growth of their child due to ignorance. AT doesn't cure or eliminate learning difficulties, but it can help your child reach her potential because it allows her to capitalize on her strengths and bypass areas of difficulty. AT compensates for a child's learning deficits and equips a child to be able to reach more of their potential towards success.

I found this article to be a wealth of information to parents and educators alike. I am going to print this out for my teachers as we are a private school we aren't required to follow 504's and IEP's- although we do our best. I think sometimes teachers who don't work specifically with students that have LD forget that there are so many issues that students face. Articles like these are great points of reference.

This article communicates the urgent need to make accessibility friendlier and more affordable to those with assistive technology needs. The Department of Justice wants to broaden the authority of the Americans with Disabilities Act in regard to the Internet and specifically websites. Today is the final day for public comment on that proposal. Meanwhile, new data has emerged that shows far fewer people with disabilities using the Internet than people without.

In his book on new forms of personal expression and communication on the Internet, The Future of Reputation, Daniel Solove reminds us that "people scattered across the globe can now all congregate together in cyberspace" (2007:33). This article looks at how tweeter can be adapted to meet the needs of the the disabled and alow access to everyone.