Friday, October 25, 2002

California's Community Colleges Turn to Web Conferencing to Save Travel Money By FLORENCE OLSEN The California Community Colleges System will connect its 108 campuses with a Web-based teleconferencing service that meets accessibility guidelines for people with disabilities. The multimillion-dollar plan, announced Thursday, is expected to save money by cutting back on travel to meetings. An $11.5-million grant to Palomar College from the system chancellor's office, colleges will pay for the service for five years. The server-based software is designed to meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, according to Palomar officials, who are overseeing the project. "We spend a lot of time, as do our staff, traveling up and down the state," said Sherrill L. Amador, president of Palomar College. But the state's community colleges are experiencing severe budget cuts, more of which are anticipated next year. "We will not have the money to travel," Ms. Amador said, adding that the Web-conferencing service will handle accessibility in a way such that "everybody can participate." Thursday's announcement reflects a growing interest among community colleges in making online content and activities accessible to people with limited mobility or other disabilities. "That's where community colleges really need now to pay attention," said Stella A. Perez, director of Web-based activities for the League for Innovation in the Community College, an association of 700 community colleges. The Web-conferencing service that the California institutions will use, known as CCC Confer, was developed by HorizonLive, a New York company. It is designed to let people -- including those with sight or hearing disabilities -- participate in virtual meetings, provided they have access to a telephone, an Internet connection, and a Web browser. The service is compatible with most screen readers and other assistive devices in use today for sight and hearing impairments, said Sherilyn Hargraves, teleconferencing project director at Palomar. The California community colleges expect to use the teleconferencing service initially for virtual meetings. But the service's capabilities could be used in the future for teaching online classes, holding virtual office hours, or providing reference-desk support, Ms. Hargraves said. CCC Confer uses a variety of electronic-meeting technologies, including instant polling, instant messaging, and archiving. Training on the conferencing system is beginning this month. The service is set to become available to all 108 colleges starting early next year. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

Medical schools routinely ignore guidelines on company-sponsored research, study finds U.S. appeals court reverses decision for professor in suit against U. of Wisconsin at Whitewater Embattled chancellor of California community college resigns NSF awards $50-million to support 5 new centers for science and mathematics education Legal scholars and library groups seek clarification from court on software licenses California's community colleges turn to Web conferencing to save travel money