ATHEN Access Technology Higher Education Network

Accessing Higher Ground 2009 - the Official Conference of ATHEN!

Join ATHEN members November 9-14 in Westminster Colorado for this year’s Accessing Higher Ground: Accessible Media, Web & Technology Conference. AHG not only offers the opportunity to attend over 60 sessions on the implementation and benefits of Assistive Technology and Accessible Media in the university and college setting, but also the chance to meet and network with ATHEN members and attend and participate in the national ATHEN meeting.

Visit the Accessing Higher Ground 2009 website for more information

Conference Highlights

November 9-14

• Distinguished speaker Dr. T.V. Raman, Google Research Scientist will be this year's keynote speaker.
• New Location! This year's conference has moved to the beautiful 4-star Westin Hotel in Westminster, Colorado. The Westin has excellent conference facilities, is fully accessible and is located within view of the Rocky Mountains, about half-way between Denver and Boulder.

The following are presentations from ATHEN members at the 2009 CSUN Conference. For more information and session summaries, please visit the CSUN Conference General Sessions website.

Wednesday, March 18

Captioning Podcasts and Digital Media

9:20 AM - 10:20 AM, Marriott - Miami
Jayme Johnson, High Tech Center Training Unit for the California Community Colleges

Thursday, March 19

DO-IT Video Search: A Case Study in Accessible Web and Multimedia

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM, Marriott - Denver
Terrill Thompson and Sheryl Burgstahler, DO-IT, University of Washington

AccessComputing: Increasing the participation of people with disabilities in computing fields

9:20 - 10:20 AM, Marriott - New York
Wendy Chisholm, DO-IT, University of Washington

DAISY Software Players, An Overview

3:10-4:10 PM, Marriott – Meridian
Ron Stewart, AHEAD

ATHEN E-Journal Issue #4 (2009)

Who are we as a Profession?
A Publication of: ATHEN - Access Technologists Higher Education Network

At the close of nominations, here are the candidates for ATHEN Executive Council.
ATHEN Executive Council Nominations 2009

• President:
1. Ron Stewart
• Vice President:
1. Terrill (Terry) Thompson
• Secretary:
1. Dann Berkowitz
• Treasurer:
1. Heidi Scher

The elections committee is working on an online voting format and plan to have this in place after the holidays. We will announce when elections are open, where to go to vote, and related information when we have that ready for you. Look for the announcement in early January.

This is a good time to remind everyone that in order to vote, now is the time to become current with your membership if necessary. You must be a professional member, an executive council member, or if you are part of an institutional membership, the designated voting member for your institution.

Meeting at conferences throughout the year, ATHEN strives to educate the higher educational community as to the appropriate uses of access technology. Members of ATHEN are also involved in various areas including Web accessibility and Alternate Media.

ATHEN Meetings

ATHEN Meeting at CSUN 2009

The ATHEN Meeting for the 2009 CSUN Conference will be held on Thursday, March 19th from 6:30PM - 8:00PM in the Marriott - LaJolla room. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

The Web Development Committee will be meeting on Wednesday, March 18th at 12:00PM in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel. This will be a short meeting to discuss the future of the ATHEN Web presence. Anyone who is interested in participating is welcome to attend.

Upcoming Conferences:

• CSUN Conference 2009, March 16-21 at the LAX Airport Marriott and Renaissance Montura Hotels in Los Angeles, California.
• AHEAD Conference 2009, July 20-25 at The Galt House Hotel and Suites in Louisville, KY.
• CAPED 2009 Conference, October 18-21, 2009 at the Doubletree Hotel in San Diego, CA.