IDEAS 2009 Conference Agenda

Subject to Change

Day 1 confernece agenda
Monday Oct 5	Track 1: 508	Track 2: Web Accessibility	Track 3: 504	Vendor Track
7:30-8:30 am	REGISTRATION
8:00 am-2:30 pm	EXHIBIT HALL OPEN
8:30-9:30 am	KEYNOTE: Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy
9:30-10:30 am	Section 508 Basics David Baquis, U.S. Access Board This session includes the basics of Section 508 and the inclusion of accessibility in everyday work practices. Making procurements for electronic and information technology compliant with the law will be discussed, also the nature and significance of the Section 508 Standards.	Web 2.0 and 508 Kol Peterson, EPA Bruce Bailey, US Access Board Laura Keen, LOC An interactive discussion on the accessibility of various Web 2.0 technologies. The list of technologies covered are: blogs, wikis, RSS, web conferencing, virtual worlds, mashups, widgets, social networking and bookmarking sites.	Creating an Information Center for Accessibility Needs TJ Cannady, IRS In a large and geographically dispersed organization, it can be challenging for employees with disabilities to find the information and resources they need to have an equal opportunity to succeed. The Internal Revenue Service is addressing this need by creating a web site called iCAN (Information Center for Accessibility Needs) that will provide the gateway to the help an employee find what they need. Join us for a discussion of what we are doing at the IRS and share what you are doing at your agency.	Adobe Systems Accessibility: Flash and PDF Formats and Accessibility This session will provide an overview of the Flash and PDF formats from Adobe and how to prepare content in these formats so that it is accessible to persons with disabilities. With Flash as the standard for Rich Internet Applications and PDF the standard for online documents, it is extremely important that content produced in these formats be accessible. In addition to a discussion, this session will also feature a demonstration of some of the techniques authors can employ using the Flash authoring tool and Adobe Acrobat for PDF in order to create accessible content in these formats
10:30-11:00 am	NETWORKING BREAK WITH EXHIBITORS
11:00-12:00 pm	Incorporating Section 508 in the System Development Lifecycle Yolanda Humphrey, IRS Kyle Zdanowski, IRS Matthew Feldman, IRS Kevin Spruil, IRS Incorporating Section 508 into Enterprise Architecture and Enterprise Life Cycle: A Case Study	Section 508 Innovations at the VA - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Pat Sheehan, VA Fred Royer, VA, Contractor Hear about new 508 solutions being tested at the VA and how technology innovations such as these can have a positive impact on the work lives of persons with disabilities. Technology solutions from Tenacity, Apple iPhone, and Blackberry will be discussed.	Working Together On Common Ground: Sections 501 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Jennifer Croft, Commerce/NOAA TJ Cannady, IRS Kevin Curtin, USDA Target Center Section 501 regulations require that the federal government be a "model employer" with respect to the employment of people with disabilities: specifically in terms of the hiring, placement, and advancement of individuals with disabilities." Section 508 regulations require Federal agencies make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. This workshop will bring together the Section 508 community, the EEO Community, and the HR community to discuss how we can work together more effectively to accomplish shared goals under the Rehabilitation Act.	Accessibility Deployed: Minding the total ecosystem Accessible solutions can only be created if all the sub-components of the "accessibility puzzle" fit well together. While open standards are often the key, things can still go wrong in the field. This session will showcase a few of those accessibility bloopers and successes, providing real lessons that could inform deployment, configuration, interoperability, and other decisions made by architects and consumers of accessible applications.
12:00-1:30 pm	LUNCH BREAK/EXHIBITS
1:30-2:30 pm	Free Tool for Generating Section 508 Compliant Solicitations Helen Chamberlain, GSA Bill Hetzner, GSA Contractor Jim Kindrick, GSA Contractor Panelists will discuss the GSA established Buy Accessible Wizard and how it is used as a market research tool to find 508 compliant and accessible products and services for purchase. Learn how to use the Wizard and discover how the tool will provide the appropriate 508 language to include in your acquisition documentation.	Introduction to Accessible Multimedia Nicshan Floyd, DHS This presentation discusses different multimedia delivery methods and usability concerns. Challenges for accessibility are discussed including the differences between online and fixed media. Plugins, captions, and audio description are also covered.	Stronger America Through Federal Relay Naila Javed, GSA Contractor Isabella Redding, GSA Contractor Pat Stevens, GSA Did you know that GSA provides an intermediary telecommunications service for federal employees who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, and/or have speech disabilities? Come Learn all about The Federal Relay Service that GSA provides. The FedRelay was established by Congress under Public Law 100-542, the Telecommunications Accessibility Act of 1988 and is a service of GSA.

Day 2 confernece agenda
Tuesday Oct 6	Track 1: 508	Track 2: Web Accessibility	Track 3: 504	Vendor Track
7:30-8:30 am	REGISTRATION
8:00 am-2:30 pm	EXHIBIT HALL OPEN
8:30-9:30 am	PLENARY SESSION Section 508 Policy Update Tim Creagan, U.S. Access Board Karen Pica, OMB Terry Weaver, GSA Section 508 Policy leaders from GSA, OMB and the Access Board will lead this keynote session that provides a policy update on Section 508. Topics to be discussed include the upcoming DOJ survey, the Section 508 Standards refresh, and a look ahead to next year's activities.
9:30-10:30 am	Section 508 Basics David Baquis, U.S. Access Board This session includes the basics of Section 508 and the inclusion of accessibility in everyday work practices. Making procurements for electronic and information technology compliant with the law will be discussed, also the nature and significance of the Section 508 Standards.	508 and Web Accessibility Tips and Remediation Techniques Dan Perkins, GSA Mark Buchko, GSA Learn how your website is read and navigated using the Jaws screen reader, and how to apply 508 technical standards in your development of 508 compliant websites. In this session, Dan Perkins, a blind user of assistive technology will demonstrate the use of his screen reader to navigate sites on the web.	Relationship Between Section 501, 504, and 508 Mark Rew, DOD CAP Kevin Curtin, USDA Target Center Harris Rosensweig, TCS Associates True reasonable accommodations are achieved when the information technology is accessible by the appropriate assistive technology. This panel discussion will focus on the need to coordinate assistive technology and the IT environment. The panel will also present best practices and examples from their organizations.	Captioning Beyond Compliance - Adding Meaning to Your Media Making video and audio accessible benefits a much broader audience than just those with disabilities. Automatic Sync Technologies will discuss the process and benefits of captioning and transcribing various forms of media: YouTube videos, Podcasts and streamed videos in many formats, and benefits of using captions for search optimization.
10:30-11:00 am	NETWORKING BREAK WITH EXHIBITORS
11:00-12:00 pm	Free Tool for Generating Section 508 Compliant Solicitations Helen Chamberlain, GSA Bill Hetzner, GSA Contractor Jim Kindrick, GSA Contractor Panelists will discuss the GSA established Buy Accessible Wizard and how it is used as a market research tool to find 508 compliant and accessible products and services for purchase. Learn how to use the Wizard and discover how the tool will provide the appropriate 508 language to include in your acquisition documentation.	Word 2003 Remediation And Other Accessibility Tips Bruce Bailey, U.S. Access Board A discussion about applying the Section 508 Standards to documents that are posted to the web which are not formatted in HTML. Two strategies will be discussed: one is trying to adopt 1194.22, the other is following best practices advocated by proponents of non-HTML formats. Commonly encountered document formats touched upon will include PDF and MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).	Stronger America Through Federal Relay Naila Javed, GSA Contractor Isabella Redding, GSA Contractor Pat Stevens, GSA Did you know that GSA provides an intermediary telecommunications service for federal employees who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, and/or have speech disabilities? Come Learn all about The Federal Relay Service that GSA provides. The FedRelay was established by Congress under Public Law 100-542, the Telecommunications Accessibility Act of 1988 and is a service of GSA.	A Sneak Peek: Microsoft Office 2010 Accessibility Checker Currently under-development, the next version of Microsoft Office embraces the challenge of helping authors publish documents that are fully accessible. The built-in Accessibility Checker provides a seamless way to check your document for accessibility errors and provides recommended actions to fix highlighted errors. This session will provide an overview of the Accessibility Checker and Office 2010.
12:00-1:30 pm	LUNCH BREAK/EXHIBITS
1:30-2:30 pm	VPAT Update Ken Nakata, HiSoftware Ken Salaets, Information Technology Industry Council Terry Weaver, GSA Experts discuss VPATs (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) improvements and a new format conversion tool.	Step-By-Step Remediation of a Word Document Quentis Scott, GSA Dan Perkins, GSA Still struggling to ensure your Word documents are accessible to people with disabilities? In this session, you will learn how to make your Word documents 508 accessible, using basic accessibility techniques and practices. We will also present a demonstration on use of the Jaws screen reader, so users can hear and understand accessible vs non-accessible content.	Accessible Technology for Blind Persons on the Go Don Barrett, ED Rajiv Shah, DHS Greg Fields, RIM One of the most difficult problems faced by individuals with visual impairments deals with the number of devices many individuals with visual impairments must carry in order to effectively communicate and gather information quickly and effectively. In order to maximize the utility of the devices which are used and ensure that the right device is picked for the person's specific needs, this session will review the latest in accessible portable information technology solutions for persons who are blind or have low vision.