See CAST at ATIA 2020!

Dates
Wednesday, January 29 – Saturday, February 1, 2020

Please Note: This is not a CAST-hosted event. Registration through ATIA is required.

Location
Caribe Royale Hotel & Convention Center
Orlando, FL

Audience
Practitioners and parents, teachers and researchers, manufacturers, and distributors—individuals and organizations who together reach more than 1 million people with disabilities—all come to the ATIA Conference.

Description

The ATIA Conference addresses all disabilities and all types of assistive technology for all ages, from early childhood to seniors. Sessions and events embrace the education market, university-level disability services, technology for independent living, accommodations for the workplace, the needs of an aging population, and research on technology developments and outcomes. Follow along on social media using the #ATIA20 hashtag.

Visit our CAST of Characters at these fantastic sessions, and stop by our booth in the expo hall (booth 119):

• LDR Spotlight: The Meaning and Place of AT Leadership, Today and Tomorrow
  Thursday, January 30, 8:00–9:00 am ET
  Presenters: David Banes, Luis Pérez, Cynthia Curry, & Mark McCusker
  How do we respond to the changing pressures in the provision of assistive technology? The term leadership is used frequently, but with little discussion of what we mean by effective leadership in the field, and with leaders emerging in different sectors and markets. In challenging times this leadership strand spotlight asks four influential figures in the field to share their perceptions of the current and future needs for AT leadership and to highlight one figure they respect and would recognize as a leader. The panel will also consider how we develop the next generation of AT leaders to meet future demands.
• Designing Accessible Stem Content: Extreme Makeover Edition
  Thursday, January 30, 9:20–10:20 am ET
  Presenters: Cynthia Curry & Luis Pérez
  Learn how to make self-created K-12 and higher ed STEM curriculum materials, including documents, graphics, and videos, accessible to all learners. The four accessible design principles of POUR will be applied to STEM-related course content through a series of material makeover demonstrations. Common examples of materials created by K-12 and higher ed STEM faculty will be first displayed in traditional formats, followed by POUR-aligned accessible versions. Skills covered in this session will include best practices for writing alt text and descriptions for technical images, charts, and graphics; creating closed captions and audio descriptions for video; the application of MathML in documents and websites to make mathematical and scientific notation accessible; and tools for making coding and basic computer science concepts accessible for all learners.
• Five Strategies for Accessible Social Media
  Thursday, January 30, 2:20 – 3:20 pm ET
  Presenter: Mindy Johnson
  For better or worse, social media is part of our everyday lives. We post life events on Facebook. We tweet about an article we just read. We post photos of our classrooms on Instagram. We network on LinkedIn without leaving the comfort of our own homes. But what if you can’t see those photos, or hear the voiceover in the video, or understand all the acronyms in the post? In those cases, social media feels like a party you weren’t invited to. But it doesn’t have to be that way; each of us has the power to make our social media posts more inclusive and more accessible for our followers. In this hands-on session, I will not only share five easy strategies you can use today to improve the accessibility of your posts, but I’ll show you how to do it.
• Improved Technology Systems Can Expand Learning and Student Success
  Thursday, January 30, 2:20–3:20 pm ET
  Presenters: Janet Peters & Joy Zabala
  This session is an introduction to the newly created Center on Inclusive Technology Education Systems (CITES). CAST and their partner, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) have been funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs to create the center. CITES is designed to fill a pressing, nationwide need to improve the use of assistive and educational technology (AT and EdTech) for all students, including students with disabilities. Join us for this important and timely discussion. We want to hear about what’s happening now in your district with AT and Edtech and discuss the ways your district could be involved with this timely work. This session is an opportunity to impact the CITES work by sharing your thoughts, experiences and ideas for increasing collaboration between AT and EdTech so that districts can create and sustain balanced technology ecosystems that benefit ALL students.
• Take Flight to Accessibility with the AEM Pilot
  Thursday, January 30, 2:20–3:20 pm ET
  Presenter: Cynthia Curry
  State and district administrators are in positions of decisive leadership to provide accessible educational materials (AEM) and accessible technologies in a timely manner to all learners who need them. This responsibility frequently goes unmet, however, due to a lack of technical knowledge and, until now, a tool that can guide leaders and their teams through the critical components of provision systems for AEM and accessible technology. Meet the AEM Pilot, a free web-based teaching, self-assessment, and progress monitoring tool for school districts. In this session, you and your fellow passengers will be guided through the tool and given an opportunity to create your own accounts. Coaching on how the AEM Pilot can be used in your own setting will be included.
• Math-tastic: Accessible Math for All Learners
  Thursday, January 30, 4:30–5:30 pm ET
  Presenters: Luis Pérez & Lynn McCormack
  Experience the latest technologies for making math accessible to diverse learners. Math is its own language, and the ability to perceive and process the information in math content can be a barrier that prevents some learners from pursuing careers in math and related STEM fields. In this session, you will explore tools that provide multiple representations of math text, including text to speech supports as well as math sonification of graphics.
• Building Flexible and Adaptive Digital Tools for Learning with UDL
  Friday, January 31, 4:30–5:30 pm ET
  Presenters: Lynn McCormack & Kristin Robinson
  The presence of technology in classrooms holds promise for creating more accessible learning environments for students with disabilities, but is this promise being delivered? Too often digital learning materials are just as inaccessible as pen and paper. We are creating a suite of innovative tools that harness the power of technology to support the diverse needs of today’s learners. These tools will provide not just accessibility, but also learning supports, scaffolds, and adaptivity based on the principles of Universal Design for Learning, to create improved learning opportunities for all. In this hands-on, bring-your-own-device session, participants will be introduced to our tools, accessing resources that can be incorporated into instructional practice. Participants will hear a brief overview of the project before trying out the tools. Participants will leave this session with new knowledge of how to find and create digital materials that meet diverse needs.