|
Richard BernsteinRichard Bernstein is a tireless advocate for disability rights and providing a voice to those who would otherwise be forced into silence. Blind since birth, Richard is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Northwestern University School of Law. He is an attorney with the Bernstein Law Firm in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Richard is committed to taking action to help clients who need him. He fought successfully to preserve special education funding throughout the State of Michigan. He represented the Paralyzed Veterans of America in an action against the University of Michigan’s plans for disabled seating in Michigan Stadium with the United States Department of Justice and represented disabled residents who sued the Oakland County (Michigan) Road Commission after “roundabout” traffic circles were built without disabled access. Richard is chair of the Board of Governors at Wayne State University in Michigan, elected by voters statewide. He also serves in the Board of Directors for several not-for-profit organizations and teaches a political science course in social activism at the University of Michigan.
“Unless and until it is made accessible” is Richard’s motto when considering adopting technologies. As a lawyer who has led class action suits, he practices his social activism on a large scale.
Download: Transcript  | Audio
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
|
|
Sheryl BurgstahlerSheryl E. Burgstahler directs project DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology) at the University of Washington. DO-IT promotes the success of students with disabilities in postsecondary programs and careers. It sponsors programs that increase the use of assistive technology and promote the development of accessible facilities, computer labs, electronic resources in libraries, web pages, educational multi-media and Internet-based distance learning programs. DO-IT has received many awards, including the President’s Award for Mentoring, the Golden Apple Award in Education, and the AHEAD Program Recognition award. Also, Sheryl is also co-director of the National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education (AccessIT). This center, funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education, coordinates a nation-wide effort to assist educational and governmental institutions in reaching the goal of making education-based information technology accessible to all students and employees, including those with disabilities. She is the author or co-author of six books on using the Internet with pre-college students.
“It’s harder to get into DO-IT than it is to get out,” says Sheryl of the program at the University of WA that supports college students with disabilities and expects great things of them.
Download: Transcript | Audio
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
|
|
John CastellaniJohn Castellani specializes in instructional design and development, assistive technology, and telecommunications. He is currently an adviser and instructor for Technology in Special Education programs and Technology for Educators programs at Johns Hopkins University. He is program director for the Maryland State Department of Education partnership grant in assistive technology, in collaboration with the Center for Technology in Education, and is coordinator of the Technology for Educators partnership program. John’s research interests include data mining and neural networks, special education technology and multimedia development, and the use of emerging technologies for teaching, learning, and school leadership.
Get a state-level look at testing accommodation reform efforts in Maryland and where John and his colleagues are hoping to steer R&D for future data use and data mining.
Download: Transcript | Audio
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
|
|
Alan GershenfeldAlan Gershenfeld has spent the last 20 years at the intersection of entertainment, technology, and social entrepreneurship. He is currently co-founder and managing partner of E-Line Ventures, a “double bottom line” early-stage venture fund focused on empowering individuals, small businesses, and disenfranchised communities through innovative uses of personal fabrication, digital media, and on-demand business services. Prior to E-Line, Alan spent 7 years as CEO and co-founder of netomat, a leader in mobile-web community solutions, and 6 years at Activision, a global leader in entertainment software. Earlier, Alan spent nearly 10 years in the film industry where he worked in development, production, and post-production with credits on such films as Waiting for the Light, To Sleep With Anger, Reversal of Fortune, and Homicide. He also directed an award-winning documentary, The Expatriates.
What is the commercialization model that best fits “impact” games and assistive technology? Alan considers a publishing model as a more constructive approach than marketing.
Download: Transcript | Audio
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
|
|
Monica MartinezMonica Martinez, vice president for Education Strategy, guides the KnowledgeWorks Foundation’s work to transform the national education landscape, overseeing the development of new initiatives and coordination of strategic planning that result from the 2006-2016 Map of Future Forces Affecting Education. Prior to being named vice president, Monica was an adviser to the foundation as senior fellow, providing expertise on issues related to educational access and achievement for low-income and minority students. Monica founded the National High School Alliance, a partnership of more than 40 organizations sharing a common commitment to promoting excellence, equity, and development of high-school-age youth, while she was at the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) in Washington D.C. She also served as a Senior Associate overseeing IEL’s work with the Pathways to College Network. Monica has contributed to many policy and research initiatives to reform education, including a University of Maryland effort to improve the quality of teaching through engagement in collaborative action research and conducting research at the New York University Institute for Education and Public Policy to support the development of small schools in New York City.
New Tech Schools teach 21st century skills within an e-project based learning curriculum. Hear how they do it and how students respond to being cast as producers and creators of their own education.
Download: Transcript | Audio
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
|
|
Jan MorrisonJan Morrison is executive director of the Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES) and serves as senior STEM education consultant for the Ohio STEM Learning Network, a senior STEM consultant for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, NASA, the Battelle Memorial Institute, and the National Governors Association among others. After earning her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Rochester, and a master’s in administration from George Washington University, Jan has taught, designed, and implemented innovative STEM curriculum and instructional programs in public and private schools across the nation for more than 30 years, working to ensure student engagement in education.
Engaging students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education involves more than content, says Jan. She advocates for a transdisciplinary approach that appeals to today’s digital natives.
Download: Transcript | Audio
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
|
|
Annuska PerkinsAnnuska Perkins is an accessibility program manager, product planner, and user experience strategist in the Accessibility Business Unit for Microsoft. She has extensive experience in product planning and customer research for Windows accessibility features, deep knowledge of accessibility user needs, and expertise in accessible technology. She drove the redesign of the accessibility control panel in the Windows operating system; on the basis of market data, she defined necessary changes in the end-user presentation of the Windows accessibility features and created prototypes to illustrate the new design. Annuska is a former Microsoft representative to the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative’s working group that defines how to design accessible web content. She is a renowned industry resource for insights into accessibility and usability.
Microsoft is working to build awareness of accessibility options among educators, in the process, they have to inform the world. In this clip, Annuska also tells about the Imagine Cup competition that engages students around the world to take on a local problem.
Download: Transcript | Audio
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
|
|
Michael RussellMichael Russell is an associate professor in the Lynch School of Education, a senior research associate for the Center for the Study of Testing Evaluation and Educational Policy, and the director of the Technology and Assessment Study Collaborative. Mike directs several projects, including the Diagnostic Algebra Assessment Project, the e-Learning for Educators Research and Evaluation Study, the On-Line Professional Education Research Study, and a series of computer-based testing accommodation and validity studies. Mike is the founder and chief editor of the Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment. He has also been affiliated with the Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation, and Educational Policy (CSTEEP) since 1994. His research interests lie at the intersection of technology, learning, and assessment and include applications of technology to testing and impacts of technology on students and their learning.
Universally designed assessment: does it make student testing accommodations irrelevant? Michael describes the work he is doing on just this topic.
Download: Transcript | Audio
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
|
|
Arthur VanderVeenArthur VanderVeen is executive director for assessment and knowledge management at the New York City Department of Education (DOE). Arthur joined the DOE in 2008, where he manages the administration and development of New York City’s portfolio of summative and formative assessments. He also directs the city’s Knowledge Management Initiative designed to leverage local expertise and innovation happening across the city’s 1,400-plus schools to strategically disseminate promising practices and quality resources systemwide. From 2003 to 2007, Arthur helped lead the design and development of the College Board’s comprehensive systemic reform model to increase the number and diversity of students prepared for college. He led the development of the College Board Standards for College Success in Mathematics and Statistics and English Language Arts. He also helped lead the redesign of the College Board Advanced Placement exams in science. From 1997 to 2002, Arthur founded and directed ActiveInk Corporation, a curriculum development and publishing company in Austin, Texas, which provided consulting and curriculum development services to state education agencies, K–12 school districts, university programs, and publishers in multiple disciplines.
Arthur shares the innovations that NYC Department of Education is implementing across the district of 1.1 million students, especially those receiving special education services. Hear about the School of One project that is was piloted to accelerate learning and how teachers are being empowered to use data for daily decisions.
Download: Transcript | Audio
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
|
|
Cheryl VolkmanCheryl Volkman is co-founder and former CEO of AbleNet Inc. She stepped down as the company’s CEO in 2006 to drive a new initiative that focuses on merging academic research with market research. Her efforts are dedicated to delivering assistive technologies and curricula that consistently meet the highest standards for academic rigor and that can also be brought to market in a timely manner to benefit persons with disabilities. Prior to launching AbleNet, Cheryl, a certified occupational therapist assistant, served as the director of United Cerebral Palsy Center’s Preschool Developmental Achievement Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She also founded, and serves as CEO of, White Pines Concepts LLC, a company that holds several U.S. patents for accessibility products used by people with and without disabilities. Cheryl has served as board president, board member, and/or advisor to the Alliance for Technology Access (ATA), the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA), the National Center for Technology Innovation, the Illinois State University Special Education Assistive Technology Program, and the Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities.
What do you do when your customer base changes? AbleNet went out to meet them and listen to their concerns. Cheryl describes what they learned and how AbleNet worked with NCTI to help spread the knowledge about how administrators prioritize technology purchases.
Download: Transcript | Audio
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
|
|
NCTI thanks Chauncy Rucker again for his outstanding work conducting and editing the audio interviews with speakers at the 2009 NCTI Technology Innovators Conference. View Chauncy’s other projects at the ConnSENSE Bulletin and the Assistive Technology Oral History Project.
|
