Communications Task Force

From TEITAC

Updates are now live on the Access Board site. Please reference New 508 Standards Advisory Committee Holds Its First Meeting and Documents and Presentations from first meeting.

Contents 1 Contact Us 2 Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication 3 Available Forms of Communication 4 Task Force Members 4.1 Mailing List Archives 4.2 Reports

Contact Us

To send suggestions and comments to the Communications Task Force, mailto:teitac-tools@list.teitac.org (this address is moderated, so message delivery may be delayed).

Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication

This is Jim Tobias's opinion. Please feel free to discuss it on the Discussion page.

Although there are times that live conversation is important, there are some reasons why we should use asynchronous communication:

• It allows for fuller participation. People who want to participate on every subcommittee may not be able to attend every meeting.
• It does not require scheduling! Instead of having to fit meetings into our schedules, we can add content or comment at any time.
• It is more accessible. Instead of dealing with speech or typing impairments, relay and captioning requirements and errors, and web tools that are marginally compatible with screen readers, all members can participate more equitably.
• Asynchronous meetings usually produce text, which can be adapted and adopted for our recommendations and report.

Available Forms of Communication

• Mailing Lists
  • Great for announcements and open discussions with many people, because the content arrives in email.
    • Familiar medium to everyone. Since it uses "push" technology, people get information automatically, with no particular effort.
  • Not so great for managing a discussion towards a decision or goal, because the content arrives out of synch, and it can be hard to know who's answering whom, etc.
    • Many people are not practiced with listserv ettiquette.
• Wiki
  • This wiki is good for saving and organizing content, but it's a new medium to many members.
• Audioconferencing.
  • Either as part of a synchronous session, or on its own, audioconferencing seems to be the first tool people are turning to.
    • For now, subcommittees are making their own arrangements. We hope to converge on a few good solutions soon.
  • There are a lot of free, good audio tools:
    • HighSpeedConferencing
    • FreeAudioConferencing
    • GoConference
    • LiveOfficeFreeConferencing
    • FreeConferenceService
    • FreeConference
  • Some specific features may be important to us:
    • Good audio quality, often using a PC instead of a phone. If we use such a tool, it should also be possible to call in by phone as well. It may be that only HighSpeedConferencing has this ability.
    • Web-based controls: speaker queue, mute all, etc. Accessibility of the web interfaces is mixed.
    • Real-time transcription. This service is available through Federal Relay at no cost. Reservations must be made at least 48 hours in advance, and via a .gov email address. If you don't have a .gov email address, ask Tim or Bruce or David Baquis for assistance.
    • Toll-free service for all users.
      • Desireable, but may not be necessary.

Task Force Members

• Bailey Bruce
• Jessica Brodey
• Debbie Cook
• Mike Paciello
• Jared Smith
• Jim Tobias
• Gregg Vanderheiden

The chairs of this task force are the TEITAC co-chairs (Jim and Mike) because the communications activities are a central to the operation of TEITAC.

Mailing List Archives

The Communications Task Force Mailing list archives are available at http://teitac.org/mailarchives/mail_archive.php?sort_by=1&listid=10

Reports

Scratch space for tools concall.

Report to November Plenary Meeting