As technology continues to advance, mandates for increased accessibility and appropriate instructional design for people with disabilities are being brought to our attention (the 1990 ADA Act, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 in the Telecommunications Act and the Workforce Reinvestment Act.) Accessibility and appropriate instructional design involve not only learners, but instructors as well. One project that is addressing needs in this area is a collaborative project to involve deaf instructors in distance teaching and learning.

The project, "Involving the Deaf Community in Distance Teaching and Learning," is being coordinated by Simone Conceição-Runlee of UW-Milwaukee with the assistance of Instructional Communications Systems (ICS), University of Wisconsin-Extension (UWEX). This three-phase project will: 1) train deaf instructors in the spring of 2001 to adapt the traditional American Sign Language (ASL) classroom course for teaching via the component technologies of videoconferencing and Blackboard, 2) implement, monitor, and assess the course when it is taught between UW-Milwaukee and UW-Madison during the summer, and 3) analyze findings and offer implications for practice. Simone Conceição-Runlee of UW-Milwaukee and discuss the project in this month's FOCUS article below. (Rosemary Lehman, DESIEN)