Boards and Councils
NCAM's mission demands our active collaboration with a number of other organizations, projects, outreach efforts and advisory boards. One or more NCAM staffers are members of the following groups:
ATSC Implementation Subcommittee
NCAM chairs the Closed Captioning Working Group for this international organization developing voluntary standards for digital television, interactive systems and broadband
multimedia.
America Online Accessibility Advisory Committee
The Accessibility Advisory Committee will help AOL better evaluate new
products and services, provide high quality customer service and relevant
and useful content to persons with disabilities.
Association of Massachusetts Educators of Students with Visual Impairments (AMESVI) Advisory Board
AMESVI's goal as an association of professionals is to improve and enrich the lives of students with visual impairments through advocacy, professional development, and the education of others, including members of the general public, regarding the unique educational needs of students with visual impairments.
Electronic and Information Technology Access Advisory Committee (Federal Access Board) (EITAAC)
The EITAAC was convened by the Access Board in September 1998 to assist
the Board in fulfilling its mandate under section 508 (which requires that
when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and
information technology, they shall ensure that the electronic and
information technology is accessible to people with disabilities). It was
composed of 27 members including representatives of the electronic and
information technology industry, organizations representing the access needs
of individuals with disabilities, and other persons affected by
accessibility standards for electronic and information technology. The advisory committee unveiled its recommendations in the form of a final report it submitted to the Board in May 1999.
Consumer Electronics Association
NCAM is a long-time participant in this home electronics industry standards
organization. NCAM currently chairs a test materials task group for digital television data systems.
DTV Station Project, Inc. Steering Committee
This industry-supported project provides test facilities to encourage
development of DTV services and products.
FCC Consumer/Disability Telecommunications Advisory Committee
The Consumer/Disability Telecommunications Advisory Committee is a
federal advisory committee whose purpose is to "keep consumers in the
picture" at the Federal Communications Commission by providing general
guidance to the FCC, and to make specific recommendations on issues and
questions presented to it through the Consumer Information Bureau of the
FCC.
FCC Technological Advisory Council
The purpose of the TAC is to provide technical advice to the Federal
Communications Commission and to make recommendations on the issues and
questions presented to it by the FCC. Regulations must be examined in light
of rapid advances in technology , and the Federal Communications Commission
must remain abreast of new developments in technology so that it can
effectively fulfill its responsibilities under the Communications Act.
Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center (ITTATC at Georgia Tech) National Advisory Council
The Georgia Institute of Technology's Center for Assistive Technology &
Environmental Access (CATEA), supported by a cooperative agreement from the
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), has
established the Information Technology Technical Assistance & Training
Center (ITTATC) to promote the development of accessible electronic &
information technology (E&IT) by providing technical assistance, training
and information.
Microsoft Corporation Accessibility Advisor
Microsoft is dedicated to developing technology that is useable and
accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities. Microsoft's
Accessibility Advisors provide assistance in areas such as: strategic
advice; feedback for engineers; design issues; market testing; usability and
Beta tests.
National DTV Consumer Advisory Board
Comprised of leaders of organizations serving deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired communities, this group meets annually with DTV Access Project staff and other project participants. These meetings complement ongoing, informal communication between NCAM staff and these communities, and provide an opportunity to share updates on standards work, gauge desire for caption and description access features in DTV, and provide a voice at the table for the nation's 34 million viewers with sensory disabilities.
SMPTE Engineering Committee
NCAM participates in the standards-setting activities of this leading
international organization of broadcast and motion picture engineers. NCAM
staff submit draft standards and guidelines, write technical papers for the
prestigious SMPTE Journal, and make numerous presentations at SMPTE
conferences.
Trace Center/Gallaudet University Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Telecommunications Advisory Board
The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)
of the U.S. Department of Education, awarded a five-year, Rehabilitation
Engineering Research Center (RERC) grant to the Trace Research & Development
Center, University of Wisconsin - Madison, working in partnership with the
Technology Assessment Program at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.
The focus of this RERC is to identify telecommunication access barriers in current and future technologies, work with others in the field to identify solution strategies, test them, implement any necessary standards, and assist industry in transferring the ideas into commercial products.
Trace Research & Development Center Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Information Technology Access Advisory Board
The Trace R&D Center serves as the NIDRR Rehabilitation Engineering
Research Center (RERC) covering the area of disability access to information
technologies. This RERC covers access by individuals with all types,
degrees, and combinations of disabilities to a wide range of new and
emerging information technologies.
W3C/WAI Education and Outreach WG
Develops strategies and materials to educate the Web community regarding solutions to Web accessibility.
W3C/WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WG
Writes the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which provide guidance for Web content authors and developers to create Web content that is accessible and usable by the widest audience possible.
