ADA Game Update

[CurtisEdmonds]

This was, in part, a Team EA effort; thanks.

New "ADA Game" Helps Build Accessible Online Communities


ATLANTA - Ever since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, people with disabilities have been outspoken in their advocacy to make their communities better places to live. Starting in August, people with disabilities, their friends and family members, and interested others will have the chance to make online communities more accessible as well.



On July 26, 2004, the 14th anniversary of the passage of the ADA, the new online "ADA Game" had its public unveiling. The "ADA Game" is available online at http://www.adagame.org. The "ADA Game" is a new training, leadership, and community-building resource for anyone interested in the ADA and the rights of people with disabilities.



The "ADA Game" challenges players with multiple-choice questions about the law and how it is applied to real-life situations. Players who answer questions correctly can earn points. These points can be applied to individual or group advocacy efforts. Players can use their points to make one of eight virtual "cities" in the Southeast Region more accessible for people with disabilities. Players can also discuss advocacy strategies or other ADA issues on the discussion boards.



The "ADA Game" is fully accessible and easy to play. It is a powerful training and advocacy tool for anyone interested in disability policy, personal advocacy, or community enrichment. Players work together to improve accessibility in their virtual "cities" in the areas of program access, public accommodations, transportation, employment and communication. Players can also build their individual leadership scores in the areas of collaboration, ADA knowledge, problem solving, persistence and charisma. Players can only "win" the "ADA Game" by working together to build partnerships for accessibility in their virtual communities.



The "ADA Game" was designed to be fully accessible for all players, including people with disabilities. The "ADA Game" website meets the federal Section 508 standards and is AAA-compliant with the industry-based World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) guidelines. Because the "ADA Game" is available online, players can access the game 24 hours a day, seven days a week.



The lead sponsor of the "ADA Game" is the Southeast Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC). The Southeast DBTAC (Grant #H133D010207)--a resource center on the Americans with Disabilities Act and accessible information technology (IT) in educational settings--is one of 10 centers funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) at the U.S. Department of Education. The Southeast DBTAC is hosted at the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access at the College of Architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The Southeast DBTAC is part of a network of ten regional centers, and serves the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.



For more information about the "ADA Game", please visit the website at http://www.adagame.org or send an email to the Southeast DBTAC at sedbtacproject@catea.org.

[theeye]