Universities reject Kindle, cite inaccessibility
November 13th, 2009From CNET and the Associated Press:
The National Federation of the Blind said Wednesday that Syracuse University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have declined to use Amazon.com’s Kindle DX for textbooks. The reason: the device is not accessible to students who are blind.
Pamela McLaughlin, director of communications and external relations at Syracuse University, said in a statement that her school bought two Kindle DX units to see if it could replace hardcover textbooks and course materials.
Although students are still evaluating the devices, she said, the university has “no plans to purchase any more of these units in light of the fact that they are inaccessible to blind students. If Syracuse University decides to use e-book technology on campus, we will require technology that can be used by all of our students, including those who are blind.”
This entry was posted
on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 11:50 am and is filed under blindness/visual impairments, college, post-secondary education.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Email This Post
Our RSS Feed
November 13th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Would it be possible to treat the Kindle in the same way as non-wheelchair accessible parking spots, and provide a percentage of eBook Readers that have strong accessibility features for people with low vision, until the Kindle catches up?