Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
So they're not talking about requiring Kindles (or any other device) to be ADA compliant--unless the device is mandatory for the students. And it doesn't even say "can't use Kindles," nor "Kindles must be made compliant before use," just "must find alternatives for blind students." Which might mean blind students can use the workarounds they normally use--braille books, or audiobooks, or whatever.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kali Yuga
• All the ruling is saying is that until menus offer TTS capability, an ebook reader is not ADA compliant. So if a class uses an ebook as course materials, they just need to make those same materials available in a compliant means as well (e.g. braille).
• There is no requirement or legal obligation for a manufacturer to add that capability if they choose not to.
As to the ebook pilot programs, I don't see any reason why they can't continue to run the study by merely offering the disabled students alternate materials, as long as they can be provided in the same time frame.
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The article also says that the government started the investigation of ereaders "
after a blind Arizona State University student sued...." (emphasis added). I would conclude that since the link between the investigation and the lawsuit is specifically mentioned, the lawsuit figured prominently in the investigation and in the "deal" that the other four universities mentioned struck with the Justice Dept. to "shelve the e-readers until they are fully functional for blind students."
Unfortunately, the ASU student and the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind (who backed him in his suit) don't feel that traditional alternate materials are adequate. The student said in his blog, “Asking us to continue on as we’re going is like saying to sighted students you are climbing on to jet age with your e-books, but blind students still need to use the horse and buggy.” He also says, “
Not having access to the advanced reading features of the Kindle DX—including the ability to download books and course materials, add my own bookmarks and notes, and look up supplemental information instantly on the Internet when I encounter it in my reading—will lock me out of this new technology and
put me and other blind students at a competitive disadvantage relative to our sighted peers." (emphasis added)
The ASU student specifically rejects having to use braille and to not have access to "advanced reading features," while classmates get to use the fancy new tech. Apparently the government agrees with him, to whit the letter and the "deals" struck with universities exploring ereaders.
No manufacturer
has to add anything to their device or make them ADA compliant but considering the interest in ebooks for students and the fact that there are at least 3-4 devices already on the market or soon to reach market that are targeted specifically at students, they better be aware of this determination if they hope to capture
any of the U.S. student market share. That's why I won't be surprised to see things like braille show up on devices soon or why I won't be surprised to find a device talking to me at startup as the default configuration.