Photo Caption: NCAM Director, Larry Goldberg
As I prepared for a recent conference in the Netherlands on accessible television, I gathered materials for my invited presentation, "What Does NCAM Do and How Does It Do It?" Good questions. On the cover of this edition of the newly designed Media Access is the subtitle "Making Media Accessible to People with Disabilities." That almost says it all, but there are some additional, recent answers to these questions.
The National Institute on Disability Research and Rehabilitation just awarded NCAM a new grant, "Access to Convergent Media." NCAM will be taking on some of the accessibility challenges of the vastly complex world of the new media hybrid of television and the Internet. It's not just the content of this new technology that needs to be accessible; the user interface must not block the front door to this exciting new medium. How we will do it is through a vital partnership with the companies developing the hardware and software and with consumers who have let us know their deep concerns about this developing technology.
Another example of what we do is NCAM's recently completed service on the U.S. Access Board's Electronic and Information Technology Access Advisory Committee (EITAAC). Through seven grueling months, our remarkably collegial team from industry, advocacy groups, R&D institutions, government, and academia developed recommendations for how the federal government should implement the newly amended Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This far-reaching law was designed to ensure that electronic and information technology purchased by the government and used by disabled federal employees and members of the public is as accessible as possible. NCAM was pleased to bring our expertise regarding accessible media to that group.
By staying ahead of technology; listening carefully to consumer concerns; collaborating with consumers, industry, and government; and gaining financial support from the many funders mentioned in this publication, that's how NCAM does what it does.
Media Access, Spring/Summer 1999:
The Phantom Menace Comes to NCAM | Accessible Digital TV | Enhanced Arthur 2000 | CD-ROMs, Useful for Everyone | MAGpie: Hot New Web Tool | Caption Center Links TV Viewers to the Web | MIT and Online Learning | From the Director | "Messages" at the Museum of Science
Priority Access: Serving NCAM Business Partners
NCAM Helps Prepare Business Partners for the Future | Millennium Partners | Collaborative Partnerships Increase Access | Equal Access: From the 1950s to the Future
Copyright © 1999 WGBH Educational Foundation
NCAM | WGBH Educational Foundation