This article describes how students with disabilities in regular classes are using the WebQuest lesson format to access the Internet. It explains essential WebQuest principles, creating a draft Web page, and WebQuest components. It offers an example of a WebQuest about salvaging the sunken ships, Titanic and Lusitania. A WebQuest planning form is…

A study found that disabled students' (n=47) needs for physical and social accommodation in four upper secondary schools in Sweden specially adapted for students with severe physical disabilities were generally met. Student-environment fit in occupations requiring reading, remembering, and speaking was unsatisfactory. Occupational therapists…

Eighty-nine special education Web sites were evaluated for accessibility errors. Most (73 percent) special education home pages had accessibility problems, and the majority of these errors severely limited access for individuals with disabilities. The majority of the errors can be easily corrected. Recommendations and methods for improving…

Discusses how modern library systems can protect collections while not impeding disabled persons' access to facilities. Describes the problem with swinging gates and offers some security alternatives, such as high-tech gateless security, video detection, and voice alarms, that do not impede disabled persons' movements. (RJM)

In a study of the career maintenance needs of 35 employees with visual impairments in Vermont and Massachusetts, barriers to job retention were assessed in four areas: accessibility of work sites, performance of essential functions, job mastery, and job satisfaction. Recommendations for reasonable accommodations and rehabilitation services are…

Coaches and players were assisted in modifying select rules of a girls' fast-pitch softball league so as to accommodate the skill limitations of a player with moderate to severe disabilities. The girl's batting average and on-base average indicated that modifications were effective. The player was well received by her teammates and other teams.…

Vanderbilt University opted to revamp its historic residences, built in the 1920s and 1930s, rather than build new ones. Structural and life-safety deficiencies were corrected. Every one of the halls is accessible to disabled visitors and accommodates disabled residents. (MLF)

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), colleges and universities are required to provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees. Understanding the law and applying it to student affairs personnel can be a complicated process. This article presents an overview of the ADA and emphasizes its application to recruiting and…

Kim Charlson believes everyone should live life to the fullest no matter what their handicaps. Blind since early childhood, she chose librarianship because, as a braille reader and avid user of talking books, she wanted to be "in a decision-making capacity in the library field and influence the direction of library services for people with…

The Ministry of Education (MOE) funds a range of specialist education services for children and young people with special education needs. To ensure consistent quality service provision, generic Specialist Service Standards have been developed through a collaborative process involving representatives from the broad range of special education…

Despite the efforts of many transition teachers and developers of model programs, some students' vision of their careers seems to lack clarity, direction, or realism. Some young adults with disabilities have difficulty identifying preferred employment that can lead to achievable careers, or they may identify occupations for which they lack the…

In 2002, the National Center for Educational Statistics reported that 99% of public schools had Internet access and 86% of those schools had a web site or web page (Kleiner & Lewis, 2003). This study examined accessibility issues on elementary school homepages. Using a random sample of elementary school web sites, the researchers documented…

This paper describes the interoperability underpinning a new strategy for delivering accessible computer-based resources to individual learners based on their specified needs and preferences in the circumstances in which they are operating. The new accessibility strategy, known as "AccessForAll," augments the model of universal…

Traditionally, employment research related to people with disabilities has largely targeted the "supply-side"--employee-focused studies of personal and environmental factors that influence employment. These include age and gender, degree of impairment and work history, and access to housing, transportation, and health insurance. Although…

The authors present a checklist designed to help preschool and kindergarten administrators and teachers build confidence in their ability to be inclusive and to increase their awareness of the needs of children with disabilities. Teachers can use the checklist to prepare for the inclusion of a child with a disability. "Identifying potential…