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January
22, 2007
An update
on the accessibility of textbooks to students with disabilities
by Robert Martinengo
The issue
of whether students with disabilities can fully utilize instructional
materials normally presented in print format continues to gain
visibility. A major federal initiative in the K-12 arena, and
a variety of state efforts within higher-ed, point to an increasing
awareness that the problem faced by students with disabilities
is not being adequately addressed.
K-12
The US Department of Education has taken the initiative by defining
and promulgating a National Instructional Materials Accessibility
Standard (NIMAS), and encouraging educational agencies to incorporate
the NIMAS in textbook purchasing contracts. NIMAS files are to
be deposited in the National Instructional Materials Accessibility
Center (NIMAC), where they are withdrawn by the agency, or assigned
to a vendor for further conversion into formats such as Braille.
At the January,
2007 NIMAS Development Committee meeting in Orlando, Florida,
there was an announcement by a non-profit agency that provides
conversion services that they would not charge a conversion fee
to an educational agency if the agency assigned them the NIMAS
files. This non-profit would then make those files available to
their own members without further notification or compensation
to publishers, which prompted a few critical comments from a representative
of the Association of Educational Publishers.
Authors who
wish to learn more about the NIMAS should go to http://nimas.cast.org
for updates and background information.
Higher-Ed.
Without an overarching federal law, it is primarily state-led
efforts that have promoted the accessibility of college textbooks.
The original state legislation in California in 1999 has been
copied and extended by several other states since then. This has
led the Association of American Publishers to respond with their
own Alternate Formats Solutions Initiative, in which they hired
a consultant to report on strategies for tackling this problem
at a national level. At this time, the final report has not yet
been issued, but interested parties should check the AAP website
for their progress to date and further updates (www.publishers.org).
The move
towards more universally designed instructional materials that
would be equally effective for a student with a disability as
for one without is inextricably tied to the development of electronic
publishing, and emerging electronic publishing models. As the
traditional textbook comes under fire for high-cost, outdated
content, and all-around obsolescence, electronic content is expected
to save the day. However, there is much to be learned from the
efforts of the pioneers in the accessibility field, who have struggled
for years to make information more accessible to individuals with
disabilities. Care must be taken that electronic information technologies
close, rather than widen, the information gap for the disabled.
Relying upon non-profit and government agencies to provide accessible
materials will not lead to equality of information access and
education.
Robert
Martinengo has been converting textbooks into accessible formats
for 10 years. First as a Studio Director for Recording for the
Blind & Dyslexic, then with the California Community College
System, and currently with the University System of Georgia. He
recently completed a report for the Maryland Department of Disabilities
addressing the challenges faced by students with print disabilities
in accessing their instructional materials. He can be reached
at rmartinengo@gmail.com
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Block:
Hunting down cliches
Read broadcast
writing author and TAA member Mervin Block's latest article: "Chicago
News Producer Hunts Down Cliches" at http://www.mervinblock.com/cliches2007.html
Block's articles
contain some good tips on improving your writing.
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Why are
textbooks so expensive?
Association
for Psychological Science Immediate Past President Henry L. Roediger
says the root cause of the high cost of textbooks is the sale
of used books. Read his APS column, "Why Are Textbooks So Expensive?",
originally published in the Association's newsletter, The Academic
Observer, January 2005: Click
here
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'Textbook
Writing 101'
Read textbook
author M. Garrett Bauman's humorous and informative article on
why you should consider writing a textbook on the Chronicle of
Higher Education website: Click
here
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'Can
Plot Improve Pedagogy?'
Some textbook
authors are introducing plot into their textbooks. Read "Can
Plot Improve Pedagog? Novel Textbooks Give It A Try" (May
11, 2001) on the Chronicle of Higher Education website: Click
here
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Call for
nominations to TAA Council
Three officer
positions and two Council positions will be opening up on the
TAA Council July 1, 2007. Any member of TAA is eligible to serve
on the TAA Council. Self-nominations are encouraged. The officer
positions include Vice President/President-elect, Secretary and
Treasurer. Officers serve two-year terms. Council members serve
three year terms.
TAA Council
members are required to attend two meetings per year, one in January
in St. Petersburg, Florida, and one the day prior to the association's
annual conference (held traditionally in late June or early July).
Travel and lodging expenses related to attending these meetings
is reimbursed. Officers also attend monthly teleconferences.
To nominate
yourself or a colleague for the TAA Council, email your nominations
to TEXT@tampabay.rr.com
or mail to TAA, P.O. Box 76477, St. Petersburg, FL 33734-6477.
Contact TAA if you have any questions: (727) 563-0020 or TEXT@tampabay.rr.com
Nominees must
send a 100-150 word bio, and a 100-150 word position statement with
their nominations. Deadline for completed nominations is March 1,
2007. Ballots are mailed to the membership March 15, 2007. April
15, 2007 is the deadline for receipt of ballots from members. Terms
begin July 1, 2007.
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Lennie
Literary sponsoring TAA Conference
Lennie Literary
& Authors' Attorneys will be sponsoring the Friday and Saturday
Snack Breaks at the 2007 TAA Conference on Text and Academic Authoring
in Buffalo, NY, June 22-23. TAA thanks Alana and Michael Lennie
for their support.
For more info
on the conference: Click
here
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Promotional
postcards mailed
TAA has mailed
out more than 1,700 postcards promoting the February 12 at 1 p.m.
EST open registration date and time for its 2007 TAA Conference
on Text and Academic Authoring in Buffalo, NY June 22-23. The
postcards encourage people to register before the April 1, 2007
early registration deadline and offer a few incentives to do so:
the first 50 people to register by April 1, 2007 will receive
a "Goody Bag" containing a TAA logo coffee mug and items donated
by sponsors exhibitors and advertisers; everyone who registers
before April 1, 2007 receives their conference registration for
$125 (after April 1, registration is $150); and the first three
first-time conference registrants receive free conference registration.
For more info
on the conference: Click
here
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TAA to
award publishing aid grants
Beginning
in July 2007, TAA will accept applications for publishing aid
grants of up to $1,000 for articles and up to $5,000 for books
to members who are in their second or later continuous year of
membership. The purpose of the grants will be to assist members
in covering the costs of preparing camera-ready book copy, journal
charges or artwork. More information on how to apply for grants
and application guidelines will be available after July 2007.
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TAA
membership recruitment award in honor of Paul Anderson
TAA is developing
a membership recruitment award in honor of its first member, mathematics
author Paul Anderson, who died in November 2006. The new award
will be called the "Paul Anderson Memorial Award for Membership
Recruitment" and will honor those who have helped the association
recruit new members. The first award will be given during an Awards
Luncheon at TAA's 2007 Conference in Buffalo, NY.
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Asante
joins TAAF Board
Dr.
Molefi Kete Asante |
Dr. Molefi
Kete Asante, a professor in the Department of African American
Studies at Temple University, and the author of several academic
books and the successful high school textbook, African American
History: Journey of Liberation, has joined the Text and Academic
Authors Foundation Board.
"I look forward
to working with the TAA Foundation," said Asante. " I believe
it is worthwhile and very useful work."
Asante is considered
by his peers to be one of the most distinguished contemporary
scholars. He has has published 65 books, among the most recent are The
History of Africa: The Quest for Eternal Harmony (2007), Cheikh
Anta Diop: An Intellectual Portrait (2006), Spear
Masters: Introduction to African Religion (2007), Handbook
of Black Studies, (2005), co-edited with Maulana Karenga, Encyclopedia
of Black Studies, (2004), co-edited with Ama Mazama, Race,
Rhetoric, and Identity: The Architecton of Soul, Erasing Racism:
The Survival of the American Nation, (2003), Ancient
Egyptian Philosophers (2003), Scattered to the Wind,
Custom and Culture of Egypt, and 100 Greatest African Americans. The
second edition of his high school text, African American
History: Journey of Liberation, 2nd Edition, (2001), is
used in more than 400 schools throughout North America.
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2007 TAA
Conference registration opens Feb. 12, 2007 at 1 p.m. EST
To encourage
people to register for the 2007 TAA Conference on Academic Authoring
in Buffalo, NY, June 22-23, the association is offering some special
incentives.
- The first
50 people to register before April 1, 2007 will receive a TAA
logo coffee mug and a special "Goody Bag" filled with items
donated by sponsors, exhibitors and advertisers.
- Everyone
who registers before April 1, 2007 will receive $25 off their
conference registration (after April 1, 2007 conference registration
is $150).
- The first
three first-time conference registrations will receive FREE
conference registration. See registration
page for details.
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Seeking
Sponsors & Exhibitors for TAA Conference
Sponsor or
exhibit at the 2007 TAA Conference on Text and Academic Authoring
at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo in Buffalo, NY, June 22-23. The TAA
Conference is a terrific opportunity to network with authors and
get your products and services in front of them. For Sponsorship
& Exhibit Opportunities: click
here
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Geo-primer
for Buffalo/Niagra Falls region planned
Robert
Christopherson |
Robert W.
Christopherson, Professor Emeritus of Geography at American River
College in Sacramento, and author of three best-selling physical
geography texts, including Geosystems, will kick off the
2007 TAA Conference with his traditional overview of our host
city and region, Buffalo, New York. Learn about Lake-effect snowfall.
See a time in 1969 when engineers turned off the flow over the
American Falls at Niagara to inspect the cliff face. "Remember,
these popular falls retreat about 1.3 m (4.3 ft) per year upstream
from the Niagara Escarpment—a formation that snakes through
Ontario, Upper Michigan, curving south through Wisconsin some
700 km (435 mi)," said Christopherson.
For more info:
click here
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TAA to
offer grant writing workshop
Kenneth
Henson |
TAA has added
a fourth workshop to its Academic Authoring Workshop Series. The
new workshop, "Writing Grant Proposals" is led by Kenneth Henson,
author of Grant Writing in Higher Education: A Step-by-Step
Guide, published by Allyn & Bacon in 2005, and Distinguished
Professor of Education at The Citadel's School of Education.
The one-day,
six-hour workshop provides practical suggestions and tips to help
grant writers increase their acceptance rate. The hands-on workshop
also teaches grant writers how to design a budget that evaluators
will perceive as honest and fair; avoid rejections; identify their
own unique circumstances and use them to strengthen their proposals;
and turn limitations into strengths.
Participants
are encouraged to bring their ideas for proposals to the workshop
to receive suggestions for writing a new proposal or strengthening
an existing proposal. Each workshop participant will receive a
free copy of Henson's book, courtesy of TAA.
"In each
workshop, I use a PowerPoint and give about 70 tips," said Henson.
"I also use a handout and ask each participant to write each tip
so that by the end of the day I know everyone will be able to
prepare a highly competitive proposal. Although I work hard and
I expect the participants to do the same, I also make the workshops
fun."
Henson's
grant writing has brought in more than $100 million. His technology
proposal was the largest funded by AT&T in 1991. His series
of grants with school districts won a top state award in Alabama
and a national award in Indiana. Henson has been giving workshops
on grant writing for more than 20 years.
This new
workshop joins Tara Gray's "Publish & Flourish: Become A Prolific
Scholar" workshop: Robert Ginsberg's "Academic Publishing Workshop";
and Elizabeth Boepple's "Creating Camera-Ready Copy: The Process
Demystified" workshop; in TAA's Academic Authoring Workshop Series.
As a sponsor of these workshops, TAA covers the speaker's travel
costs and the cost of providing workshop materials to participants.
Workshop participants are encouraged to join TAA.
Learn more
about TAA's Academic Authoring Workshop Series: click
here
To set up
a workshop contact TAA headquarters at TEXT@tampabay.rr.com
or (727) 563-0020.
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TAA welcomes
new members
Michele Acker,
Kyriacos Aristotelous, Heidi Ballard, Sarah Bouchard, Monty Bradley,
Mary Ann Burnam, Sharon L. Carlson, David Dennis, Doris S. Ebbert,
Mary Gahbauer, Melissa Gilbert, Marsha Huber, Amy Johnson, Eric
Jones, Patricia Keane, Regina Kengla, John Lammert, Leesa Kern,
Mary Lightbody, Amy Jessen-Marshall, Russel G. McCutcheon, Grace
McDaniel, Mary W. McKelvey, Eda Mikolaj, Maria Polak, James D.
Rickman, Jr., Marsha Robinson, Kerry Strayer, Lois Szudy, Leslie
Ortquist-Ahrens, John Volkmar, Pia Albinsson, Aysegul Briand,
Aysegul, Jose S. Charon, Sharon Lalla, Martina Myers, Sally Pias,
Nicole Read, Donna Saulsberry, Justin De Senso, Krista Simons,
Caitriana Steele, Mohamed Al-Sufyani, Alessandra Bianchini, Alessandra,
Melisa Brown, Amber Renese Butler, Susan Gardenas, Stephen DeGiulio,
Rafael Espinoza, Michelle Garza, Spencer R. Herrera, Yu-Feng Lee,
Patricia MacGregor-Mendoza, Brian Palmer, Marilyn Pase
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Gift memberships
TAA member
Jan Lyons gave a TAA gift membership to Palmyra Moore. Thanks
Jan! Welcome Palmyra!
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Looking
for contributors to "The Academic Author"
We are seeking
articles for upcoming issues of "The Academic Author," TAA's quarterly
member newsletter. Specific articles topics we are looking for
include:
- How reviewers
comments can help you develop a better textbook or instructional
material. How to use good and bad reviews to make your work
better.
- Answer
to this question "What effect does textbook customization have
on e-book royalties?" for Authors Asking section
- Tips for
filing federal income taxes for self-published authors
- How to
write effective book proposals (textbook or academic) without
much time
- Time management
tips for authors
- Templates
for text organization and layout/How to design pages and chapters
E-mail newsletter
editor Kim Pawlak at kmpawlak@centurytel.net
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Author's
Resource Center
Have an authoring
question? Get an answer from the authoring experts at TAA: TEXT@tampabay.rr.com
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Search
the TAA website
TAA recently
added a Google-powered internal search engine to its website.
Put in your search terms (e.g. textbooks, journals, grant writing,
etc.) and relevant pages on the TAA website that contain those
terms will be shown on Google. Go to the TAA
members only section to begin your search.
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Renew your
membership online!
TAA has just
launched a new online member form that will allow members to renew
online using a secure server. The form can also be used by new
members. Check it out in the TAA Member Center here.
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