Benetech Showcases Leading Edge Literacy Initiatives at 32nd Annual CSUN Conference

See what’s new with Bookshare, DIAGRAM and Born Accessible

Assistive technology — whether it’s a mobile app or a modified wheelchair — can transform the lives of people with disabilities. The latest in the field of assistive technology will be the focus of the world’s largest gathering of people who develop or use assistive technology, taking place at the 32^nd Annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference from February 27-March 3 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego.

The “CSUN Conference,” as it is known in the industry, is organized by California State University, Northridge’s Center on Disabilities. It provides a unique opportunity for people with disabilities to have direct input on the creation of or modifications to assistive technologies intended to make their lives easier. The conference explores all aspects of technology and disabilities, and it features a faculty of internationally-recognized speakers, more than 350 general session workshops, and more than 130 exhibitors displaying the latest technologies for people with disabilities.

Benetech, a nonprofit that empowers communities in need by creating software for social good, is committed to driving innovation in assistive technology to promote inclusiveness for people with disabilities. Access to literacy is a basic human right, yet there are millions of people who are denied this right because they cannot read text, see images, or manage traditional books due to disabilities. Benetech strives to make information accessible to all by leveraging technology to remove the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from reading and learning.

To that end, the Benetech team is excited to have a significant presence at the conference and showcase the latest developments in three key initiatives dedicated to making literacy accessible to all:

• Bookshare – the world’s largest library of accessible ebooks that lets people with visual, physical, and learning disabilities like dyslexia read in ways that work for them
• DIAGRAM – a research and development center whose goal is to dramatically change the way image, graphic, and math content is produced and accessed
• Born Accessible – an initiative dedicated to driving systemic change by helping publishers create accessible books at the onset

We invite you to visit the Benetech booth (#722) and watch reading tool demos by our partners Voice Dream, HumanWare, Kurzweil, Capti, HIMS, and Dolphin. We will be in the exhibit hall on Wednesday from 12:00-7:00 pm and on Thursday and Friday from 9:30 am-5:30 pm. Read the full demo schedule.

In addition to the exhibit hall, you can find us presenting at the following sessions:

Thursday, March 2

• 9:00 am – Repository-Registry of Accessible Images: Find and Share Alternate Formats – Lisa Wadors Verne and Sue-Ann Ma, Benetech; Sina Bahram, Prime Access Consulting
• 2:20 pm – Create, Build, Find & Buy Accessible: Creating a Fully Accessible Education – Lisa Wadors Verne and Robin Seaman, Benetech

Friday, March 3

• 10:00 am – Accessible Mathematics – Highlights from the Past Year and What Lies Ahead – Ginny Grant, Charles LaPierre, and Sue-Ann Ma, Benetech; Volker Sorge, MathJax Consortium, Progressive Accessibility Solutions
• 11:00 am – An Accessible Textbook Ecosystem in a Time of Improving Requirements – George Kerscher, Benetech and DAISY Consortium; Rick Johnson, VitalSource Technologies; Jonathan Thurston, Pearson
• 2:20 pm – Accessible Reading Solutions from Mainstream Publishers – George Kerscher, Benetech and DAISY Consortium; Amaya Webster, Benetech; Richard Orme, DAISY Consortium
• 3:20 pm – Finally, Certified Accessible Educational Materials from Publishers – George Kerscher, Benetech and DAISY Consortium; Charles LaPierre, Benetech; Rachel Comerford, Macmillan Learning

Benetech is honored to join scientists, practitioners, educators, government officials, industry executives and entrepreneurs who are committed to driving innovation in assistive technology to promote inclusiveness for people with disabilities. We hope you will join us at the conference.

Consult the full conference schedule for exact session locations. The CSUN Conference Exhibit Hall is free and open to the public.

Source: Benetech