about Adaptech and Dis-IT

about Adaptech and Dis-IT

by Jennison Asuncion -
Number of replies: 0

Hello,

I wanted to provide a bit of background about the Adaptech Research Network and the disability and Information Technologies Research Alliance.

The Adaptech Research Network is based out of Dawson College in Montreal. It is co-directed by Maria Barile, Catherine and myself. We have been conducting federally and provincially funded scientific research involving Canadian college and university students with disabilities since 1996. We have three focus areas. The first is on the use and accessibility of computer, information and adaptive technology. The second focus area is on the facilitators and barriers that impact on academic success and the persistence of students with disabilities in postsecondary education. Finally, we research and evaluate free or inexpensive ($200.00CDN or less) hardware and software that may be of use to students with disabilities. You can see our current library of free or inexpensive titles by going to our web site http://www.adaptech.org and clicking on Downloads.

The Disability and Information Technologies (Dis-IT) Research Alliance (http://www.dis-it.ca) is a group of researchers, people with disabilities, companies, accessibility experts, government policymakers, and service providers. It is studying what needs to be done to ensure that Canadians with disabilities can be part of the innovations and emerging ICTs of the knowledge-driven economy. Dis-IT is funded by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada until September 2007.

Tying it all together, The eLearning research which we will be discussing here is a theme of the Dis-IT research alliance.