Born Digital - and Accessible

Join Malcolm Brown, EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative director, and Veronica Diaz, ELI associate director, as they moderate this webinar with Larry Goldberg and Madeleine Rothberg of WGBH NCAM. The digitization of online learning and media, including electronic publishing and textbooks, has brought both great opportunities and unique challenges for colleges and universities with a mission to serve all of their students inclusively. Anywhere, anytime learning in malleable and flexible digital formats can provide students with disabilities timely and equal access as never before. However, old models of retrofitting materials no longer work and can be vastly expensive.

A new approach, building infrastructure and enhancements into content and delivery from conception, enables direct and on-demand access for all: learning materials and processes can be "born digital—and accessible." In the past few years, more than ever before, resources and tools have become available to support this goal. Progress is evident in a variety of sectors: federally funded research and development projects, commercial enterprises large and small, cloud-based services with distributed labor, hardware and software manufacturers, and advocacy and standards organizations.