CENTER FOR APPLIED SPECIAL TECHNOLOGY (CAST) AT A GLANCE

The following has been provided by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) and is used with permission.

Founded in 1984, the mission of the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) is to expand educational opportunities for all individuals, including those with disabilities, through the development and innovative use of computer technology. The educational focus of CAST is increasing access to and achievement within the general education curriculum for ALL students through Universal Design for Learning®. Co-Executive Directors of CAST are David Rose, Ed.D., and Anne Meyer, Ed.D.

Selected National Programs

• The National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum: A five-year initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to provide a vision of how new curricula, teaching practices, and policies can be woven together to create practical approaches for improved access to the general curriculum by students with disabilities.
• The National Consortium on Universal Design for Learning: An online community of educators and other professionals dedicated to developing systemic practice models that better serve the educational needs of all students.
• The Universal Learning Center: An Internet-based service, to be launched in September 2001, which will provide students, teachers, administrators and parents with immediate access to digital core curriculum materials that support a diverse range of K-12 students, including those with disabilities.
• Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning: The definitive book on Universal Design for Learning in classroom practice, authored by Drs. David Rose and Anne Meyer, to be published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) in Spring 2002.

Products and Services

• Bobby SM: A Public Service for Web Accessibility - A free web-based public service, offered through CAST's web site at www.cast.org/bobby, Bobby helps professional and non-expert web designers analyze their web sites for accessibility to all users, including people with disabilities.
• CAST eReader® - A text-to-speech software tool for all types of electronic text, including the World Wide Web, commercially released in 1997.
• WiggleWorks- The first universally designed mainstream literacy series, co-developed with Scholastic Inc. and released in 1993, that uses electronic media to make curricula accessible to a wide variety of learners.

Workshops and Institutes

• Summer Institute on Universal Design for Learning (August 6-9, 2001): Educators attended the hands-on workshop, "Teaching ALL Students: Universal Design for Learning," which highlighted a new approach to teaching diverse learners through flexible applications of technology tools, networks, and digital content.
• Summer Computer Camp (July 23 - August 3, 2001): Held annually, the summer computer camp brings together students aged 10-14, with and without special needs, to hone their Internet researching skills by exploring a common theme working individually and in collaboration.

Impact and Reach (Year 2000 statistics)

5,700 - the number of general and special education teachers, technology specialists, curriculum specialists, administrators, and others who have participated in CAST's research programs in schools or attended CAST presentations throughout the country.

20,500 - the number of copies sold of Learning to Read in the Computer Age, a seminal print and online book by CAST Co-Executive Directors Drs. David Rose and Anne Meyer.

75,000 - the number of downloads annually of the Bobby program to test large corporate web sites.

200,000 and 4,500 - the number of school-aged children and adults, respectively, who are using the CAST eReader® in schools, homes, and adult literacy programs.

215,000 - the number of people who read CAST's publications and visit the CAST web site annually.

1 million - the number of hits annually to the Bobby web site.

5 million - the number of web pages Bobby evaluates annually, by conservative estimates.

Awards and Recognition

• 2000 Winner, Ron Mace Designing for the 21st Century Award
• 2000 Winner, Association of Access Engineering Specialists Excellence in Access Award
• 1999 Finalist, Computerworld Smithsonian Awards
• 1998 Finalist, SAP/Stevie Wonder Vision Awards
• 1993 Winner, Computerworld Smithsonian Awards

Current Partnerships

Colleges and universities:

Harvard University, Boston College, Boston University, Lesley University

Publishers and software developers:

Scholastic Inc., Houghton Mifflin, Holt Rinehart & Winston, EBSCO Publishing, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)

Corporations:

Microsoft, IBM, Sun Microsystems

Media:

WGBH Public Television

Government Agencies:

The U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)

National organizations:

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the Educational Development Corporation (EDC); the Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights (PACER), the Trace Center at the University of Wisconsin

International organizations:

The World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), the World Institute on Disability