22 spring 2005 Advertising Supplement

Technology Empowers Disabled Students

s the gateway for education

in California, community
colleges constantly search
for new ways to provide instructional opportunities to all students. TTie Pasadena City College
Disabled Student Programs &
Services provides services that
incorporate cutting-edge technology to help visually impaired students and students with learning
disabilities reach their academic
goals.
With the help of specialized
laser printers that accommodate
large print, Braille translation software and TextAloud software that
provides one-step production of
MP3 audio files, students that are
btind. visually impaired or have a

reading disability have additional

resources at their disposal.
"This printer allows students
who have problems reading lines
of text that are close together to
read the bigger print," said Donna
Pomerantz, alternate media specialist at Pasadena City College.
"The TextAioud software will allow
me to create MP3 audio files so
students can listen to their books."
A specialized section of
Pasadena City College's Stafford
Library has been reserved to
house workstations, the specialized programs and a high-speed
scanner that converts text into
electronic form.
For Pasadena City College student Nick Guttienger, the technol-

JUAN GUTIERREZ
DIRECTOR OF PUBUC RELATIONS,
PASADENA CnY CoiifGE

ogy has allowed him to return to

school. "I have a short-term memory problem which makes it really
hard to retain information,"
Guttienger said. "Sometimes I will
read a paragraph a few times and
not know it."
The 49-year-old Guttienger
worked for Lockheed-Martin
before enrolling in Pasadena City
College in 2000 as an anthropology and political science major. He
suffers from dyslexia and has trouble distinguishing certain letters.

The software helps him concentrate on what he is reading.

"Listening to the computer
read for me while following along
with the larger text really helps me
retain the information," Guttienger
said. "Without this technology, I
wouldn't be able to get an education. I would be done."
The Duxbury software translates text to Grade 2 Braille and
exports it to a Braille embosser.
Once a file is opened in Duxbury, it
is possible to view it as text or as
Braille, and it also is possible to
create a text file in Duxbury and
then convert it to Braille.
The TextAloud MP3 program
allows visually impaired students
to listen to books as a computer-

generated voice reads text. PCC

students can also increase the
size of the text and follow the verbal rendition by following a large
yellow cursor on the computer
monitor to help them focus and
concentrate. TextAloud can also
be used to reduce eyestrain from
too much reading, to listen to a
book during a commute or study
English as a second language.
Pasadena City College assists
over 900 people through its disability program. Support includes
assessment, liaison with instructors, note takers and readers, sign
language interpreters, real time
captioning, adapted physical education and adapted computer
technology.

Simulation Gaming: Not Just Fun Anymore

he information technology division at

Central Piedmont Community College
in Charlotte, N.C, has a strong tradition
of innovation and has aggressively pursued
new, high-demand technologies and cre-

ative applications. With the increasing pace

of change evident in most information technology sectors, it is necessary for community colleges to be responsive to industry
needs and to quickly adopt new programs.

The goal is getting these new programs to market and into classroom curriculum more quickly than the competition, while minimizing the
inherent risks is a critical step along the way.
The most recent example of a new, inno-

16tH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COLLEGE TEACHING AND LEARNING

vative program being developed at Central

Piedmont Community College is'Simulation
and Gaming," a new Associate of Applied
Science degree program. A national advisory committee of professionals currently in
the field are assisting the design and development of the curriculum.
DR.RODTOWNlY
DEAN, rr, ENGINEERING AND "IHE FOtURES
tNSTTiuTE, CENTRAL PIEDMONT COMMUNITY

March 29 - April 2, 2005

CoiiGE, CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Adam's Mark Hotel - Jacksonville, Florida

interactivity, Creativity and Online Learning Support:

Transforming the Learning Environment
KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS BY

Registration Fee
includes ticket
to Albee play
performance and
reception hosted
by the playwright!

The premier international conference on higher education learning

encourages 25 or 45 minute paper proposals and poster session
proposals on
1. Applications of learning and motivation theory
2. Applications ot technology--especially uses ol the Web
3. Online Jeaming support services

SPECIAL EVENTS FOR 2005

'300+ Faculty Presentations & Poster Sessions
" Featured Speakers
* Pre-Conterence Workshops
* Corporate Exhibits
' Best Paper Award
* Presentation ol Awards for Excellence in Teaching, Learning
and Technology
* Presentation ol Ernest L. Boyer tntemafional Award for
Excellence in TeachingI Leaming and Technology
--$5,000 cash award
* Graduate Student Track and Graduate Poster Presentation Award

Edward Albee
Pulitzer Prize-Winning
Playwright

Robert Zubrin
Astronautical Engineer
and Author, Mars on Earth
and The Case for Mars

Presenter's Conference Registration Fee:

$425 before February 28, 2005
Student Conference Registration Fee: $150
Conference Publication: Selected, juried papers will be
published and distributed to all participants

For conference announcement, general information and exhibitor information,

consult www.teachlearn.org or contact
Jack Chambers: E-maii: ichamber@fcci.edu or Phone: 904-632-3231/Fax: 904-632-3289 or
Jeana Davis: E-mail: imdavis@fcci.edu or Phone: 904--632-30B8/Fax: 904-632-3289

EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS. POSTER

SESSIONS & AWARD NOMINATIONS: FEBRUARY 14. 2005
in cooperation with

Presented by
. nSVTPB R W 1

lyANTAGELEARNING
Sladtwall
Publishing

.SMARTHINKING

Since the early 197O's when the first

video game, 'Pong,' was invented, followed
by 'Pac-Man,' the gaming industry has
taken advantage of enormous technological innovations and phenomenal increases
in processing powerto produce increasingly
sophisticated gaming environments. !n
today's games, heroes and villains navigate
through complex levels of fabricated electronic environments, all presented in dramatic, graphic realism. The new Simulation
and Gaming initiative at Central Piedmont
Community College is being led by instructor Farhad Javidi, and the A.A.S. degree program that is now awaiting state approval.
Demand For Training
The decision to invest resources into any
new instructional initiative must be based
on hard data that establishes realistic
demand projections for the training, tt
requires an analysis of the job market that
will justify delivering well-trained job seekers into this particular niche.
The simulation and gaming industry
already has a wortd market value of $26 billion and it is expected to grow to $37 billion by
2007. Electronic games are increasingly
being played on Personal Digital Assistants,
phones and personal computers. "The gross
income of the games and interactive media
last year exceeded the movie industry for the
first time in history," Javidi said. The interactive game business wilt 'swallow' the movie
business and they will become one and the
same - the fusion of art and science."
See Qammg, pg. 23, col. 3