Knowbility
Encyclopedia
Knowbility is an American
non-governmental organization
based in Austin
, Texas
, working to support the independence and empowerment of people with disabilities by promoting the use and improving the availability of accessible information technology
. One of Knowbility's best known programs is its Accessibility Internet Rally, a web-building competition that brings together volunteer web designers and nonprofits.
, hearing impairments, or other disabilities. That same year, the US Congress enacted Section 508, an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, requiring federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities.
The group in Austin created the Accessibility Internet Rally, a program produced by the Metropolitan Austin Interactive Network (MAIN), the Central Texas chapter of the National Easter Seals Society
, and Goodwill Industries
of Austin, with assistance from the Virtual Volunteering
Project. It was held in September 1998 at the Infotec Training Center in Austin, Texas. The first AIR program was created in the style of MAIN's "web-raisings", where volunteers came together in one facility with multiple computers with Internet access and built web sites for nonprofit organizations in one day. The AIR program was different in that it was a competition, with web sites judged based on both their visual appeal, usefulness and accessibility
. Each competing team was composed of one or two representatives of an Austin area nonprofit and four to six volunteer web developers. More than 120 people were part of competing teams altogether, representing 40 different not-for-profit, public sector and technology companies.
The program proved so successful that organizers decided to create a nonprofit that would not only make AIR an annual event in Austin, but would also create other programs and trainings for a national audience to promote accessibility in information technology.
in 2000 dealing with technology issues. On September 21, 2000, the White House
issued a press release to highlight programs across the country that are helping to bridge the digital divide for people with disabilities; the Rocky Mountain AIR program was mentioned by President Bill Clinton
as a noteworthy initiative. AIR was one of three programs selected for recognition by the Drucker Foundation in October 2000. That same year, Knowbility received an awarded for Notable Achievement in the public service category of the Texas Interactive Media Award. Also in 2000, Knowbility Board Chair Steve Guengerich and intern Josh Blakeley were featured guests of a panel discussion in Washington DC. at a National Labor Summit, where AIR activities were highlighted as a "best practice
" in contributing to the employment of people with disabilities.
Knowbility was invited to ensure accessibility of the “ATSTAR” initiative. ATSTAR is an acronym that stands for “Assistive Technology
– Strategies, Tools, Accommodations, and Resources.” It is a series of computer based teacher training modules to help teachers, administrators and parents understand the legal requirements and the best practices for assessing student need for assistive technology and implementing it in the classroom. The Texas Education Agency, through their Technology Integration in Education (TIE) grant, awarded a grant to the Austin Independent School District (AISD) to fund the development of ATSTAR. Also collaborating on the initiative was Austin Community College, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin Harvard School, Sylvan Learning Center, Far South Community Schools, and Region XIII Education Service Center. Knowbility managed the accessibility of the multi-media interface. The project produced a replicable CD and web-based assistive technology training model designed to prepare instructional staff at the campus level to conduct assessments, collect data, and integrate assistive technology into the instructional setting. As the project was completed, Knowbility assumed management of the program and ATSTAR is now being used by the Georgia Project for Assistive Technology and many other educators and teachers in training. ATSTAR won recognition for outstanding community collaboration from the Texas State Legislature in May 2002.
In April 2001, the San Francisico Women on the Web
(SF WoW) recognized Knowbility Executive Director Sharron Rush as one of their Top 25 Women of the Web for her work to raise awareness of the need and the societal benefits of greater Internet accessibility. The next year, Rush received the Dewey Winburne Community Service Award at the SXSW Interactive Media Conference, largely because of her work with Knowbility.
In 2002, Knowbility founder and executive director Sharron Rush, along with long-time Knowbility volunteer and trainer John M. Slatin, finished the book Maximum Accessibility: Making Your Web Site More Usable for Everyone, published by Addison-Wesley
. In 2003, Knowbility received the TEC Champion Award for Outstanding Technology Leadership from the Washington DC based Education Technology Think Tank and CTCNet.
Sharron Rush has served since 2007 as an invited expert to the Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) of the Web Accessibility Initiative
(WAI) of the W3C. Since May 2009, she also serves as liaison from WAI to the e-Government Interest Group as it develops standards and best practices for using the Web to improve government accountability and transparency.
, and AIR events have been conducted in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Houston, San Antonio and San Francisco. Volunteer teams have included employees of various corporations and businesses, including IBM
, IntelliQuest and Dell
, and government agencies, such as Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Texas State Library & Archives
and the City of Austin, as well as individual volunteers forming teams independently.
The ATSTAR program continues to train schools and community technology projects in techniques to include students with disabilities in learning activities related to computer technology.
Knowbility provides a variety of programs featuring basic and advanced training in accessible web design techniques, and is often consulted by companies and government agencies seeking to comply with state, federal, and global mandates for accessibility. Knowbility also produces three-day accessibility training institutes in Texas and California. Since 2003, Knowbility has produced The John Slatin Access U, in partnership with St. Edward's University in Austin each May. In 2005, the Pacific DBTAC, the regional Disability Business Technical Assistance Center, invited Knowbility to replicate this training on the West Coast. The first California Web Accessibility Conference (CalWAC) was produced that year and, the following year, the Chancellor's Office of the California State University
System offered to host CalWAC; the training institute was held at CSU Long Beach in 2006 through 2009.
Knowbility was an original and ardent promoter of Bobby
, a free online tool provided by the Centre for Applied Special Technology (CAST) used to validate websites for WAI
and Section 508 compliance.
, with most of its members based in Austin, Texas.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
based in Austin
Austin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, working to support the independence and empowerment of people with disabilities by promoting the use and improving the availability of accessible information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
. One of Knowbility's best known programs is its Accessibility Internet Rally, a web-building competition that brings together volunteer web designers and nonprofits.
History
The seeds of Knowbility began in 1998 with a group of individuals in Austin, Texas representing various businesses and nonprofits, who felt that there was a broad lack of knowledge and skills among website designers and information technology developers about how to create a web sites that are accessible to people with sight impairmentsBlindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
, hearing impairments, or other disabilities. That same year, the US Congress enacted Section 508, an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, requiring federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities.
The group in Austin created the Accessibility Internet Rally, a program produced by the Metropolitan Austin Interactive Network (MAIN), the Central Texas chapter of the National Easter Seals Society
Easter Seals (US)
Easter Seals is a nonprofit charitable organization that assists more than one million children and adults with autism and other disabilities and special needs annually through a network of more than 550 service sites in the United States, Canada, Australia and Puerto Rico...
, and Goodwill Industries
Goodwill Industries
Goodwill Industries International is a not-for-profit organization that provides job training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have a disability, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges...
of Austin, with assistance from the Virtual Volunteering
Virtual volunteering
Virtual volunteering is a term describing a volunteer who completes tasks, in whole or in part, off-site from the organization being assisted, using the Internet and a home, school, telecenter or work computer or other Internet-connected device. Virtual volunteering is also known as online...
Project. It was held in September 1998 at the Infotec Training Center in Austin, Texas. The first AIR program was created in the style of MAIN's "web-raisings", where volunteers came together in one facility with multiple computers with Internet access and built web sites for nonprofit organizations in one day. The AIR program was different in that it was a competition, with web sites judged based on both their visual appeal, usefulness and accessibility
Accessibility
Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...
. Each competing team was composed of one or two representatives of an Austin area nonprofit and four to six volunteer web developers. More than 120 people were part of competing teams altogether, representing 40 different not-for-profit, public sector and technology companies.
The program proved so successful that organizers decided to create a nonprofit that would not only make AIR an annual event in Austin, but would also create other programs and trainings for a national audience to promote accessibility in information technology.
National profile
In 1999, in addition to hosting another AIR-Austin, Knowbility staff and volunteers developed an Accessible Web Page Design Curriculum that was freely distributed on its web site. By 2000, Knowbility had achieved a national profile: Knowbility was mentioned on an episode of The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
in 2000 dealing with technology issues. On September 21, 2000, the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
issued a press release to highlight programs across the country that are helping to bridge the digital divide for people with disabilities; the Rocky Mountain AIR program was mentioned by President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
as a noteworthy initiative. AIR was one of three programs selected for recognition by the Drucker Foundation in October 2000. That same year, Knowbility received an awarded for Notable Achievement in the public service category of the Texas Interactive Media Award. Also in 2000, Knowbility Board Chair Steve Guengerich and intern Josh Blakeley were featured guests of a panel discussion in Washington DC. at a National Labor Summit, where AIR activities were highlighted as a "best practice
Best practice
A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark...
" in contributing to the employment of people with disabilities.
Knowbility was invited to ensure accessibility of the “ATSTAR” initiative. ATSTAR is an acronym that stands for “Assistive Technology
Assistive technology
Assistive technology or adaptive technology is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them...
– Strategies, Tools, Accommodations, and Resources.” It is a series of computer based teacher training modules to help teachers, administrators and parents understand the legal requirements and the best practices for assessing student need for assistive technology and implementing it in the classroom. The Texas Education Agency, through their Technology Integration in Education (TIE) grant, awarded a grant to the Austin Independent School District (AISD) to fund the development of ATSTAR. Also collaborating on the initiative was Austin Community College, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin Harvard School, Sylvan Learning Center, Far South Community Schools, and Region XIII Education Service Center. Knowbility managed the accessibility of the multi-media interface. The project produced a replicable CD and web-based assistive technology training model designed to prepare instructional staff at the campus level to conduct assessments, collect data, and integrate assistive technology into the instructional setting. As the project was completed, Knowbility assumed management of the program and ATSTAR is now being used by the Georgia Project for Assistive Technology and many other educators and teachers in training. ATSTAR won recognition for outstanding community collaboration from the Texas State Legislature in May 2002.
In April 2001, the San Francisico Women on the Web
San Francisco Women on the Web
San Francisco Women on the Web is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. It works to serve, educate and empower women in technology through professional development, support, and networking opportunities...
(SF WoW) recognized Knowbility Executive Director Sharron Rush as one of their Top 25 Women of the Web for her work to raise awareness of the need and the societal benefits of greater Internet accessibility. The next year, Rush received the Dewey Winburne Community Service Award at the SXSW Interactive Media Conference, largely because of her work with Knowbility.
In 2002, Knowbility founder and executive director Sharron Rush, along with long-time Knowbility volunteer and trainer John M. Slatin, finished the book Maximum Accessibility: Making Your Web Site More Usable for Everyone, published by Addison-Wesley
Addison-Wesley
Addison-Wesley was a book publisher in Boston, Massachusetts, best known for its textbooks and computer literature. As well as publishing books, Addison-Wesley also distributed its technical titles through the Safari Books Online e-reference service...
. In 2003, Knowbility received the TEC Champion Award for Outstanding Technology Leadership from the Washington DC based Education Technology Think Tank and CTCNet.
Sharron Rush has served since 2007 as an invited expert to the Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) of the Web Accessibility Initiative
Web Accessibility Initiative
The World Wide Web Consortium 's Web Accessibility Initiative is an effort to improve the accessibility of the World Wide Web for people with disabilities...
(WAI) of the W3C. Since May 2009, she also serves as liaison from WAI to the e-Government Interest Group as it develops standards and best practices for using the Web to improve government accountability and transparency.
Programs
AIR continues annually in Austin, since 2002 in conjunction with SXSW. An AIR event is also hosted at St. Edward's UniversitySt. Edward's University
St. Edward's University is a private Roman Catholic institution of higher learning located south of Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. The university offers a liberal arts education and its campus is located on a hill overlooking the city of Austin. The campus's most notable landmark is Main...
, and AIR events have been conducted in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Houston, San Antonio and San Francisco. Volunteer teams have included employees of various corporations and businesses, including IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, IntelliQuest and Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
, and government agencies, such as Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Texas State Library & Archives
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission refers to the agency in the state of Texas that is charged with overseeing and assisting with state-wide library programs, meeting the reading-related needs of Texans with disabilities, and finally preserving and providing access to significant Texas...
and the City of Austin, as well as individual volunteers forming teams independently.
The ATSTAR program continues to train schools and community technology projects in techniques to include students with disabilities in learning activities related to computer technology.
Knowbility provides a variety of programs featuring basic and advanced training in accessible web design techniques, and is often consulted by companies and government agencies seeking to comply with state, federal, and global mandates for accessibility. Knowbility also produces three-day accessibility training institutes in Texas and California. Since 2003, Knowbility has produced The John Slatin Access U, in partnership with St. Edward's University in Austin each May. In 2005, the Pacific DBTAC, the regional Disability Business Technical Assistance Center, invited Knowbility to replicate this training on the West Coast. The first California Web Accessibility Conference (CalWAC) was produced that year and, the following year, the Chancellor's Office of the California State University
California State University
The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
System offered to host CalWAC; the training institute was held at CSU Long Beach in 2006 through 2009.
Knowbility was an original and ardent promoter of Bobby
Bobby (software)
The original Bobby was a free online tool, written by Josh Krieger and provided by the Centre for Applied Special Technology used to validate websites for WAI and Section 508 compliance...
, a free online tool provided by the Centre for Applied Special Technology (CAST) used to validate websites for WAI
Web Accessibility Initiative
The World Wide Web Consortium 's Web Accessibility Initiative is an effort to improve the accessibility of the World Wide Web for people with disabilities...
and Section 508 compliance.
Structure
Knowbility has one main office in Austin, Texas. As of August 2009, there are 17 full-time paid staff members. The number of part-time paid staff members, consultants and volunteers varies from month-to-month, depending on what activities Knowbility is undertaking at that time. Knowbility is governed by a board of directorsBoard of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, with most of its members based in Austin, Texas.
In the news
- "Knowbility, Inc.: Making the Web accessible to everyone", by Mark Collins Sunday, 7 October 2007, Impact Newsletter
- "Sharron Rush of Knowbility", Episode: 097, original broadcast 14 April 2007, Business Makers Radio Show
- "Knowbility Invites Web Pros to Compete in AIR-Houston 2006; Web Designers and Developers Will Create Accessible Web Sites in One Day", 5 September 2006, redOrbit
See also
- Assistive technologyAssistive technologyAssistive technology or adaptive technology is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them...
- BobbyBobby (software)The original Bobby was a free online tool, written by Josh Krieger and provided by the Centre for Applied Special Technology used to validate websites for WAI and Section 508 compliance...
- Computer accessibilityComputer accessibilityIn human-computer interaction, computer accessibility refers to the accessibility of a computer system to all people, regardless of disability or severity of impairment...
- Design for All
- Design for All (in ICT)Design for All (in ICT)Design for All in the context of information technology is the conscious and systematic effort to proactively apply principles, methods and tools to promote universal design in computer-related technologies, including internet-based technologies, thus avoiding the need for a posteriori adaptations,...
- European Internet Accessibility ObservatoryEuropean Internet Accessibility ObservatoryThe European Internet Accessibility Observatory was founded in September 2004. Their main purpose is assessing the accessibility of European web sites and participating in a cluster developing a European Accessibility Methodology....
- Human–computer interactionHuman–computer interactionHuman–computer Interaction is the study, planning, and design of the interaction between people and computers. It is often regarded as the intersection of computer science, behavioral sciences, design and several other fields of study...
- Job Accommodation NetworkJob Accommodation NetworkThe Job Accommodation Network is a service provided by the US Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy . JAN is one of several ODEP technical assistance centers...
- Inclusion (value and practice)Inclusion (value and practice)Miller and Katz presents a common definition of an inclusive value system where they say, “Inclusion is a sense of belonging: feeling respected, valued for who you are; feeling a level of supportive energy and commitment from others so than you can do your best work.” Inclusion is a shift in...
- Section 508 Amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973Section 508 Amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973In 1998 the US Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities...
- Universal designUniversal designUniversal design refers to broad-spectrum ideas meant to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities....
- Universal Design for LearningUniversal Design for LearningUniversal Design for Learning is an educational framework based on research in the learning sciences, including cognitive neuroscience, that guides the development of flexible learning environments that can accommodate individual learning differences....
- Universal usabilityUniversal usabilityUniversal usability refers to the design of information and communications products and services that are usable for every citizen. The concept has been advocated by Professor Ben Shneiderman, a computer scientist at the University of Maryland, College Park...
- VisitabilityVisitabilityVisitability is an international movement to change home construction practices so that virtually all new homes, whether or not designated for residents who currently have mobility impairments, offer three specific accessibility features...
- Web accessibilityWeb accessibilityWeb accessibility refers to the inclusive practice of making websites usable by people of all abilities and disabilities. When sites are correctly designed, developed and edited, all users can have equal access to information and functionality...
- Web Accessibility InitiativeWeb Accessibility InitiativeThe World Wide Web Consortium 's Web Accessibility Initiative is an effort to improve the accessibility of the World Wide Web for people with disabilities...
- World Wide Web Consortium
Further reading
- John M. Slatin and Sharron Rush, Maximum Accessibility: Making Your Web Site More Usable for Everyone (Addison-Wesley Professional, 2002). ISBN 0201774224
External links
- Knowbility (official web site)
- ATSTAR
- Knowbility videos (on You Tube