CAIT News

CAIT’s Instructional Designer, Darlene Deas-Pynes, Presents at Conference

Darlene Deas presented a paper at the 2009 Technology, Knowledge and Society Conference in Huntsville Alabama.

Abstract

Is Technology a Democratizing Force? Leaving the Notion of Accessibility Behind

Very often, we see technology as a democratizing force. As a society we pride ourselves on all people having equal access to justice, education, and opportunities—we don’t, in theory, discriminate against race, gender, sexual orientation or age.

We have a real responsibility—sometimes legal, but always moral, to design online information and websites in such a way that the maximum number of people can access them.

Why then, do we consistently overlook this same need for web accessibility? Consider that for a great many disabled persons (according to the 2006 census there are over 40 million disabled persons in the U.S.) the web is their primary means of accessing information.

It’s not just about accessing information, though; whether we like it or not, it is increasingly difficult to be culturally literate and go about our daily activities without access to the web. If we’re not careful we will marginalize whole segments of society—not just the disabled.

For a complete version of the paper, please contact Darlene Deas-Pynes: 309.298.1804 or ddeas@cait.org