Framing the Future of Learning with Technology
The goal of the Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems (CITES) is to empower school districts to create and sustain inclusive technology systems that serve all students, including students with disabilities who require assistive technology or accessible educational materials. To do this work, we are creating and disseminating a framework of evidence-based practices to enhance the successful use of technology by all students. We provide technical assistance to districts, educators, and families to ensure that students with disabilities are able to use the technology tools they need to foster learning and life success.

Students describe the impact of technology on their learning. They share specific examples of accessibility tools and highlight how each has supported their engagement and learning in school in powerful ways. This video is a great tool for highlighting the importance of making sure that instructional materials are accessible to all students. It is easier to ask instructional material providers before adopting curriculum rather than trying to retrofit materials (if that is even possible) after adopting materials.

Inclusion of all learners in classrooms begins with access to curriculum. Diverse learners include those who have a perceptual or reading disability, are blind, visually impaired or are unable to hold or manipulate a printed book. Federal and Oregon regulations require all materials for these eligible persons to be made available in alternative formats such as digital or recorded text, braille, or large print, captioning and video description to ensure Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) are provided in a timely manner and at the same time as non-disabled peers. Accessible versions of educational materials can turn learning barriers into learning opportunities. This guide was developed to assist IEP, 504 and other student support teams in Oregon to determine whether a student requires accessible formats of their educational materials, ways to acquire and provide them and strategies for their use across educational environments.

Checklist of best practices for creating accessible resources.The Accessibility Checklist is adapted from BC Open Textbook Accessibility Toolkit, CC-BY 4.0 International License.

This interactive and conversational session will focus on increasing awareness of AEM to families of students who receive special education. We’ll talk about barriers that can impede access, such as ableism and bias, and how increasing their knowledge can support their advocacy so their youth receive access and accommodations that create opportunities and possibilities!

This module is part of a course on Inclusive Educational Practices that offers professional development for educators who aspire to provide a supportive learning environment for dyslexic and with learning difficulties learners.Students have different needs, interests, and abilities. In order to effectively teach them and provide them with rich learning experiences, lesson plans need to be as diverse as they are. This module aims to help educators analyze different learning styles and accordingly build  their lesson plans as to embrace and support not only the needs of specific learners but provide quality education for all students. To this end, tools, articles, guidelines, videos, and examples are provided. Planning a lesson for an inclusive classroom entails less modifications for future use in a different learning context, facilitates a substitute to take over the class, and ensures learning for every child."It is not the disabilities of the students that prevent the implementation of a long effective instructional model, but the environment that is disabling"                               Katz, 2015 

This eighth and final session takes a look at the materials developed by the Oregon AEM Cohort. We will dive into the archived resources in the cohort OER Commons communications page. Join us as we explore the IEP Teams’ Guide to Accessible Educational Materials in Oregon and Advocating for My Accessible Educational Materials: An AEM Guide for Students. You too can be an AEM evangelist as we partner to dismantle barriers and empower learners across the lifespan through access to their education and their dreams.

NIMAS Q&A
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This Q&A provides states, state educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and other interested parties with information to facilitate implementation of the NIMAS and coordination with the NIMAC.

The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) in the U.S. Department of Education issued a Q&A document in August 2010 to provide states, state educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and other interested parties with information to facilitate implementation of the NIMAS and coordination with the NIMAC. OSERS has updated this document to reflect changes in the NIMAS resulting from the 2020 Notice of Interpretation (NOI) [3] and the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act (MTIA). [4] This Q&A document supersedes the previous document and will be updated with new questions and answers as important issues arise or to amend existing questions and answers, as needed.

The Marrakesh Treaty has resulted in changes to the disability categories used to determine eligibility for NIMAS-derived materials. Additionally, the term “accessible formats” replaces “specialized formats.”

The terms “eligible person” and “accessible formats” are now used in relation to the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) provisions of IDEA.

The National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) is a technical standard publishers can use to produce source files (in XML) that may be used to develop multiple accessible formats (such as Braille or audiobooks).

In addition to the technical specification, our NIMAS Exemplars provide NIMAS-conformant filesets you can inspect to learn more about best practices based on the technical specification and the DAISY Structure Guidelines.

MathML is the recommended way to represent mathematical notation in NIMAS. For more information, visit MathML in NIMAS.

Visit Resources for Publishers and Conversion Houses on the NIMAC website for additional resources related to the production of NIMAS files.

Both State education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) have responsibilities related to the provision of accessible formats from NIMAS files through the NIMAC for qualifying students. The State Director of Special Education leads the following activities on behalf of the SEA and LEAs.

Are some terms new to you? See the definitions section on this page or visit NIMAS & NIMAC. The NIMAS Q&A also provides answers to common questions related to the implementation of the NIMAS and coordination with the NIMAC.

On November 17, 2004, a bipartisan House-Senate conference committee approved a final special education reform bill that reauthorized the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and set in motion important reforms that helped teachers, parents, and schools ensure every student with disabilities receives a quality education. The bipartisan agreement is based on legislation authored by House Education Reform Subcommittee Chairman Mike Castle (R-DE) that passed the House in 2003 with bipartisan support. The measure includes reforms recommended in 2002 by President Bush's special education commission, as well as key elements of the IDEA reauthorization bill passed by the Senate in 2004. On December 3, 2004, the President signed IDEA 2004 and stated:

"All students in America can learn. That's what all of us up here believe. All of us understand we have an obligation to make sure no child is left behind in America. So I'm honored to sign the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, and once again thank the members for being here."

About the AEM Center
The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning at CAST provides technical assistance, coaching, and resources to increase the availability and use of accessible educational materials and technologies for learners with disabilities across the lifespan.

The materials in this module -- including PowerPoint slides and a handout -- were developed for the Washington State Canvas Conference (WACC) 2019, co-presented by an Instructional Designer and OER Librarian. Therefore, the focus is on best practices of integrating UDL and OE principles and materials into Canvas courses. However, many concepts are basic and universal and could be adapted to any learning management system. These materials were also designed for a 60-minute session but could easily be adapted for a longer session or workshop. These materials were designed for educators already familiar with the basic concepts of UDL and OER.

Oregon Department of Education's Program Analyst and Instructional Materials Coordinator Aujalee Moore shares the states processes and guidelines for school district purchases of accessible curriculum and supplemental materials for K-12.

This webinar presents information about Bookshare and how the service can be used to ensure timely access to accessible instructional materials.

The process of leaving the support systems put in place by our high school can sometimes be difficult to navigate. As AT Specialists, we have a wealth of experience in assisting and witnessing the varied paths people take to find meaningful work and/or post-high school education after leaving high school. This presentation focuses on the technology that has opened doors for people that have successfully transitioned to the adult world.

Information and video tutorials to help teachers and students take advantage of built-in features, apps and extensions on a variety of devices to support a personalized and accessible reading experience for everyone.

This is a recording of the monthly Oregon AT and AEM Cohort meeting from September 26, 2024. Guest speakers Daniel Cochrane and Sayard Bass join us to discuss the use of AT in Post-Secondary settings and transitions.