SC Assistive Technology Advisory Committee History

2000: The South Carolina Access to Information Technology Project was established through Budget Proviso 42.7 (PSC: Technology Access for the Functionally Impaired) as a result of a request to state legislators from the SC Federation for the Blind who needed assistance in getting the Employment Security Commission to provide accessible computers for people who are blind. It was approved in the 2000 Appropriations Bill.

2000: The South Carolina Access to Information Technology Coordinating Committee was established via the Proviso. Money was appropriated from the Dual Party Relay Service Operating Fund for the work of the Committee, due to expire on June 30, 2001.

8/25/2000: The first meeting of the Committee was held at OIR. Dr. Sheila Breitweiser, president of SCSDB, was elected Chairman. Jim Rion of OIR gave an overview of the Proviso. The Committee agreed to follow Federal 508 standards to achieve accessibility.

9/12/2000: A meeting of the subcommittee on computer accessibility was held with the purpose of developing a shopping list of software and hardware needed for the accessible workstations at the Pilot Program sites. The committee was chaired by Mary Alice Bechtler of SCATP and included representatives from SCATP, VR, and SCSDB.

11/2000: An ATEC Web Accessibility Committee was established to address IT and Web Accessibility in SC state government, chaired initially by Janet Jendron of SCATP, then by Jim Blanton of ETV, and later by Mark Hooper from the SC Department of Transportation.

4/9/2001: A Web Accessibility Teleconference was held at ETV, chaired by Cheryl Kirkpatrick from the SC State Library.

Fall, 2001: ATEC hired a computer accessibility consultant, Mark Sakata, to help the ATEC subcommittee determine the appropriate hardware and software for the Pilot Program sites.

Fall, 2001: Software and hardware were purchased for the Pilot Program sites. 11/2001: Mark Sakata visited SCSDB and SCATP and helped install the recently purchased hardware and

software. 6/20/2001: WebAIM presented a conference on web accessibility at USC for state agency administrators and

web designers. 1/2002: Computer accessibility workshops conducted by staff from SCATP and SCSDB were held at the ESC One-

Stop shops in Columbia, Bennettsville, Rock Hill, and Walterboro. 10/2002: Members of the Web Accessibility Committee presented to the WIA-Employment Security

Commission Conference at Myrtle Beach. 3/3/2003: Chuck Fallaw of the CIO and Dr. Breitweiser presented information about 508 and ATEC to the

Agency Directors Organization. 3/4/2003: Members of ATEC voted to rename the Committee the Assistive Technology Advisory Committee

(ATAC.) 6/2004: The State Architecture Oversight Committee adopted the Web Site Policy and Transition Plan. AOC

recommended agencies follow “best practices” and implement the Web content Accessibility Guidelines established by the World Wide Web Consortium.

10/14/2004: SCATP presented information about best practices for computer accessibility to ATAC. An updated copy of this document, entitled Computer Accessibility, is on the SCATP website.

6/2005: The State Architecture Oversight Committee sent a letter to state agency heads informing them that they needed to develop an accessibility plan and appoint an individual to oversee the plan in order to achieve compliance with minimal standards of website accessibility by July 21, 2006.

7/28/2005: ATAC sponsored a conference on “Web Accessibility: A Year to Go?” at the SC Archives and History Center. Mark Hooper (SCDOT) chaired the Conference Committee, comprised of Wendy Mullin (USC), Cheryl Kirkpatrick (Midlands Tech), Nancy Piester (State Archives), Don Cantrell (SCDOE), Sam Hahn, Janet Jendron, Mary Alice Bechtler from SCATP.

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o Why Web Accessibility Makes Sense - Jon Brundage, TecAccesso SC Web Accessibility Plan Tool developed for use by state agencies - Amanda Napolitano, IDEA Integrationo The Impact of Assistive Technology - Janet Jendron, SCATPo Tools for Accessible Design -(Cascading Style Sheets, Dreamweaver, Front Page, PDF and multimedia

accessibility) - Josh Cavalier, Lodestone Digital

3/30/2006: ATAC sponsored a conference “You can Do It – We Can Help!” at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in conjunction with the annual SC Assistive Technology Expo. The Conference Committee was chaired by Mark Hooper (SCDOT), with members Wendy Mullin (USC), Cheryl Kirkpatrick (Midlands Tech), Nancy Piester (State Archives), Janet Jendron Sam Hahn from SCATPo Review of SC Web Accessibility Policy – Mark Hooper, SC DOTo Update on State Agency Web Accessibility Transition plans - Mark Hooper, SC DOTo Interpreting Automated Accessibility Reports - Dana Louise Simberkoff – HiSoftwareo “Reality Check” by JAWS user John Knope (SCCB) and Janet Jendron - "Driving In The Dark"o Building The New State Portal - Jeff McCartney, SC.GOVo Creating Forms And Tables - James Williamson, Lodestone Digital

2/25/2006: First Web Testers Training, Midlands Tech. by Mark Hooper (SCDOT), Cheryl Kirkpatrick (Midlands Tech), Janet Jendron (SCATP), Sam Hahn (SCDNR)

3/29/2007: ATAC sponsored the “Extreme Makeover: Web Edition” Conference, Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center (in conjunction with the SC Assistive Technology Expo). The Conference Committee was chaired by Mark Hooper (SCDOT) with members Matt Braaten (Lander College), Cheryl Kirkpatrick (Midlands Tech), Nancy Piester (State Archives), Sam Hahn and Janet Jendron from SCATP.o Accessibility in South Carolina: Mark Hooper (SCDOT)o Accessible, Usable, and Beautiful: Divya Visentini - Idea IIo Creating Captions andAudio Descriptions Using MAGpie: Michael Zanfardino, Midlands Technical Collegeo We Did It and You Can Too: Pieter Cargill, Berry Crim, Micah Douglas, SC Department of Educationo New Accessibility Features: Josh Cavalier, Lodestone Digitalo “Reality Checks” by AT users Clay Jeffcoat (JAWS, SCSDB) and David Able with Janet Jendron

8/9/07: Larry Bryant, VR Commissioner, was elected to serve as Chairman of ATAC with Barbara Hollis as his designee.

10/11/07: A strategic plan for ATAC was developed and presented to the committee.

3/19/2008: The “2008 South Carolina IT and Web Accessibility Conference,” Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center (in conjunction with the SC Assistive Technology Expo). Conference Committee chaired by Janet Jendron (SCATP) consisted of Cheryl Kirkpatrick (Midlands Tech), Wendy Mullin(USC), Don Cantrell (SCDOE), Larry Mallett (CIO), Nancy Piester (State Archives), Matt Braaten (Lander College), Sam Hahn and Evelyn Evans from SCATP. Speaker: Deb Ruh, TecAccess. o Building an Accessible and Inclusive Society in South Carolinao Section 508 Compliance: An overview of Section 508 and other accessibility legislationo Moving into the Future: The impact of total technology immersion in our everyday lifeo Return On Investment (ROI) of Accessibilityo Buying Accessible IT Productso “Reality Checks” by AT Users with Janet Jendron: David Able, Lamondre Pough (Dragon), David Bundy (SCCB,

JAWS)

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9/19/2008: PDF Accessibility Workshop, SC State Archives. Speaker: Jon Brundage 9/20/2008: Web Testers Training, SCATP, Jon Brundage representing TecAccess, Janet Jendron (SCATP) 10/4/2008: Online Web Testers Training, Jon Brundage representing TecAccess, Janet Jendron (SCATP) 1/15/2009: Anne Iriel and Mark Gamble from SCVRD were named co-chairs of ATAC. 2/18/2009: Web Accessibility Training for Non-Profits, Janet Jendron (SCATP) and Wendy Mullin (USC) at Fast

Forward, Columbia

3/19/2009: SC AT Expo Presentationso The Real World: Demonstrations of how assistive technology is used to access web pages, and common

barriers experienced by users. Janet Jendron (SCATP), Clay Jeffcoat (SCSDB, JAWS), Sam Creech (Walton Options, Headmouse and Augmentative Communication), Grace Strother (Blackbaud, ZoomText). Jonathan Cruce, SCVRD (Technical Support and Challenges)

o Ideas to Layout: Beginning web layout, accessibility and usability using Cascading Style Sheets. CB Averitt, Florence-Darlington Technical College

o Basics of Web Accessibility and Usability. Wendy Mullin, USC, Cheryl Kirkpatrick, Midlands Technical College.

7/16/2009: Web Testers Pilot Program Final Report

o Stage 1 SC Department of Motor Vehicles Department of Disabilities and Special Needs Lt. Governor’s Office on Aging

o Stage 2 SC Department of Transportation (DOT) SC Ethics Commission (SCEC) University of South Carolina (USC) SC Department of Revenue (DOR)

o Stage 3

South Carolina State Election Commission (SCSEC) - Voter Registration SC State Government, Division of State Information Technology (DSIT) SC Governor's Office, Office of Executive Policy and Programs (OEPP)

SC Commission for the Blind (SCCB)

9/22/2009: ATAC sponsored Web Accessibility Conference, “The Real World of Web Accessibility,” SC Archives. Conference Committee: Mary Alice Bechtler, Kevin Pondy, Will McCain, Janet Jendron, Cheryl Kirkpatrick, Tina Winter, Nathan Hogue

Speakers: o CB Averitt, Florence Darlington Techo Wendy Mullin, USCo Allison Yeager, Blackbaudo Clay Jeffcoat (JAWS), SCSDBo Grace Strother (ZoomText, Blackbaudo Jim Debus (Kurzweil), Clemson Student

Captioned videos made of speaker interviews at this workshop were posted on SCATP’s web site.

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10/6/2009: Workshop on Using CSS for Web Accessibility, CB Averitt, Florence Darlington Tech, Janet Jendron, SCATP

12/1/2009: Workshop on Using CSS for Web Accessibility, CB Averitt, Midlands Tech, Janet Jendron, SCATP 2/3/ 2010: Presentation to DHEC about accessibility of their website (Janet Jendron, Wendy Mullin, Cindy

Popenhagen, David Bundy) 2/4/2010: Workshop on Using CSS for Web Accessibility, CB Averitt, Greenville Tech, Janet Jendron, SCATP

3/18/2010: SC AT Expo Presentationso Promoting Braille. The accessible web site that emphasizes the importance of Braille literacy. Strategies for

making web sites accessible. Dr. Tina Herzberg and Cory Bohon, USC Upstateo CSS Tips and Tricks for Designing Accessible Web sites.Grace Strother, Web Designer o The Real World: Demonstrations of how assistive technology is used to access web pages. Clay Jeffcoat

(JAWS), Sam Creech (Headmouse and Augmentative Communication), Grace Strother (ZoomText), Jonathan Cruce, Rehab Engineer, SCVR (Technical Support and Challenges)

3/19/2010: Workshop on Using CSS for Web Accessibility, CB Averitt, USC Upstate, Janet Jendron, SCATP 7/28/2010: Presentation to Information Technology Solutions Committee: Kevin Pondy, Lt. Governor’s Office on

Aging, Janet Jendron, SCATP 6/12/2010: Web Testers Training at SCCB (open to ATAC members and Web Accessibility Listserv members).

Janet Jendron, SCATP, Steve Cook and David Bundy, SCCB 6/19/2010: Web Testers Training Webinar, SCCB, Janet Jendron, SCATP, Steve Cook, SCCB 9/14/2010: SCITDA Presentation (Grace Strother, Blackbaud, Kevin Pondy, Lt. Gov Office on Aging, Janet

Jendron, SCATP, Clay Jeffcoat, SCSDB)

3/15/2011: SC AT Expo Presentationso Tools for Web Site Accessibility and Usability Wendy Mullin, USC, Grace Strother, Blackbaud, Web Tester,

Will McCain and Janet Jendron, SCATPo The Real World of Accessibility. Janet Jendron, SCATP. Grace Strother (Blackbaud, ZoomText), Clay Jeffcoat

(SCSDB, JAWS), and Drew Bateso Creating Accessible PDF and Word Documents: Steve Cook, David Bundy, AT Specialists, SCCB, Will McCain,

SCATP

5/3/2011: Web site evaluation follow-up presentation to DEW Web Team. Janet Jendron, Will McCain, Cindy Popenhagen, SC Governor’s Office, CAP, Clay Jeffcoat, SCCB

7/31/2011: Web Testers Program Final Reports Stage 1

o Center for Disability Resources Library – TECS o SC Department of Employment and Workforce

Stage 2o SC State Library – Talking Book Services o South Carolina State Government

Stage 3

o DHEC – Bureau of Air Quality o South Carolina Assistive Technology Program

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10/25/2011: New ATAC Website Redesign launched by Rob Lindsey (SC State Library), Kevin Pondy (Lt Gov, Office on Aging), Will McCain, Mary Alice Bechtler, Janet Jendron from SCATP

11/5/2011: Web Testers Program Presentation to Assistive Technology Industry Association Conference, Chicago, Janet Jendron (SCATP)

11/16/2011: Presentation to the SC Information Technology Solutions Committee (ITSC) on the legal aspects of web and IT accessibility, Janet Jendron (SCATP)

1/27/2012: Web Testers Program Presentation to Assistive Technology Industry Association Conference, Orlando, Janet Jendron (SCATP)

3/13/2012: SC AT Expo Presentations o Hand-held devices help everyone, including people with disabilities! Jed Elmaleh, PT MPT, CAPS, MSCS

and Clay Jeffcoat, SCSDBo Video Captioning for Accessibility and Usability. Mark Gamble, SCVRDo Speech Recognition, Val Gioia, Mark Daniels, SCDOE AT Specialistso Creating Accessible Word, PowerPoint and PDF Documents. Matthew Polkowsky, DHEC , Steve Cook,

SCCB

6/20/12: Web Testers evaluation of Greenville Tech Blackboard template (color scheme), Sharon Bellwood (GTC)

6/21/2012: ATIA Webinar: Evaluating Web Accessibility: Developing a Program with Real AT Users: Janet Jendron (SCATP)

6/30/2012 – 11/30/2012: Technical Assistance on Accessibility to SC Legal Services Grant – Self-Represented Litigants Online Divorce Packet

9/24/2012: SCTCS Plugged In Conference: Why Care About Web Accessibility? Clay Jeffcoat (SCSDB), Cindy Popenhagen (SC Governor’s Office, Client Assistance Program), Janet Jendron (SCATP)

1/6/2013: ATAC Webinar: Accessible Documents. Matt Polkowsky, DHEC. 1/10/13: Technical assistance to SC Technical College System, regarding the US DOE OCR agreement on web site

accessibility. Russ Bumba (SCTCS), Janet Jendron (SCATP), Cheryl Wissick and Susan Quinn (USC School of Education)

2/1/2013: ATIA, Orlando, How AT Users Can Impact State Accessibility Policies and Practices, Janet Jendron (SCATP)

2/2/2013: ATIA, Orlando, Evaluating Web Accessibility: Developing a Program with Real AT Users , Janet Jendron (SCATP)

3/27/13: SC AT Expo Presentationso PDF Accessibility: Matthew Polkowsky, DHEC, Steve Cook, SCCBo Google Tools Rose Jenkins, Midlands Techo Gathering in the Cloud: Free and low cost online solutions to work and communicate together. Rose

Jenkins (Midlands Tech), Janet Jendron (SCATP) 7/1813: Web Testers evaluation of SC P&A’s web site 7/24/13: Basic Web Accessibility Training, Fast Forward, Columbia. Clay Jeffcoat (SCSDB), Matt Polkowsky, Janet

Jendron (SCATP) 7/25/13: Technical assistance, Limited English Proficiency project, SC Access to Justice Commission. 9/26/13: Demonstration of web accessibility on USC Columbia’s new web site. David Dawson (USC), Justin

Williams (USC Student) 10/11/13: Presentation to SC SUCCEEDS (higher education disability coordinators and others). Basic web,

electronic information, online course accessibility. David Bundy, SCCB, Janet Jendron (SCATP) 10/19/13: Winthrop graduate school class, Basic web, electronic information, online course accessibility. Clay

Jeffcoat (SCSCB), Janet Jendron (SCATP), Brianna Murray, Winthrop student. 11/15/13: Presentation to SCLA Conference on Web, IT and online course accessibility. Steve Cook (SCCB), Janet

Jendron (SCATP), Robin Wheeler (SC Access to Justice) 12/3/13: Accessible Documents Webinar. Dan Clark, Freedom Scientific, in collaboration with ATAC

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12/5/13: Legal Considerations of EIT accessibility. Robin Wheeler (SC Access to Justice), Janet Jendron (SCATP) 1/15/14: Presentation to SC Parks, Recreation and Tourism on Web and IT Accessibility

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