Thomson NETg to Announce Accessibility Expansion Plans at IDEAS 2005
Knowledge Now e-learning solutions will evolve to meet W3C Web Accessibility
Initiative
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As the market demand for e-learning products and services that conform to the latest accessibility standards continues to grow, Thomson NETg, the leading provider of knowledge on demand to global enterprises and part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC), will announce an accessibility expansion plan to include the emerging W3C Web Accessibility Initiative guidelines at the Interagency Disability Educational Awareness Showcase (IDEAS) 2005, September 28-29 in Washington, D.C.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international, vendor-neutral consortium that promotes the evolution and interoperability of the Web. W3C supports the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), which develops strategies, guidelines, and resources to help make the Web accessible to people with disabilities. WAI guidelines are widely regarded as the international standard for Web accessibility.
At the IDEAS 2005 conference, Thomson NETg will unveil a new initiative to develop its e-learning products to the broader accessibility standards of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (Conformance Level Double-A) that many leading global companies are beginning to adopt for their employee training and development initiatives.
Thomson NETg will also co-present with the Office of Personnel Management/GoLearn on "Accessible, Interactive eLearning," in one of the conference breakout sessions at the conference.
"Accessibility has long been a core requirement for Thomson NETg products and services," said Joe Dougherty, President of Thomson NETg. "Our goal is to provide the most accessible learning products to the broadest audience possible, including employees with a wide range of physical abilities and those with age-related impairments."
Thomson NETg is taking its commitment to accessibility one step further by developing internal best practices and guidelines through close collaboration with the user community by establishing a new worldwide client advisory council on e-learning accessibility. In addition, as part of its ongoing accessibility initiatives, Thomson NETg has teamed with TecAccess, an accessibility consulting firm, whose team of expert professionals are also people with disabilities, to provide iterative product testing and guidance.
Thomson NETg has long recognized that every learner has a different individual and unique need that must be met to enable a successful learning experience, and offers a broad array of instructional content, delivery options, enabling technologies and expert consulting services, all of which are fully integrated, to provide a maximally flexible learning environment. Thomson NETg was among the first major e-learning providers to offer courseware conformant with federal Section 508, the regulation that requires technology-enabled learning to be accessible for people with a variety of physical abilities.
"Thomson NETg and TecAccess have an unprecedented five-year history of working together to make NETg products and services accessible and conformant to Section 508 requirements," said Debra Ruh, President and Founder of TecAccess. "As a company, TecAccess is uniquely positioned to undertake the challenge of developing creative accessibility solutions for companies like Thomson NETg because TecAccess is composed of the very individuals for whom Section 508 and W3C was designed."
For more information on e-learning accessibility or IDEAS 2005 conference, go to http://www.netg.com.
About The Thomson Corporation and Thomson NETg
The Thomson Corporation (http://www.thomson.com), with 2004 revenues of $8.10 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson has approximately 40,000 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).
Thomson NETg (http://www.netg.com) delivers powerful knowledge on demand to the global enterprise, helping to align people, processes and priorities better than ever before. Our breadth and flexibility of knowledge resources, together with more than 35 years of enterprise empowerment experience, help organizations of all sizes to manage change, transform operations and exceed bottom-line expectations. Thomson NETg: Knowledge Now.
SOURCE The Thomson Corporation
-0- 09/27/2005
/CONTACT: Derek Gordon, Marketing Communications Director, Thomson NETg,
+1-630-579-3829, Derek.Gordon@Thomson.com; Adam Gaber, Senior Director, Public
Relations, Thomson Learning, +1-203-539-8663, Adam.Gaber@Thomson.com/
/Web site: http://thomsonlearning.com
http://www.netg.com /
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CO: The Thomson Corporation
ST: Arizona
IN: MLM ITE STW CPR
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