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NIMAS TA Activities

• Coordinate with NIMAS Development Center
• Coordinate with the National Instructional Materials Access Center
• Technical Assistance to States, Educators and Publishers
• Voluntary State Survey on Accessible Materials
• View all.

Center Overview

In support of students with sensory and other print disabilities, the U.S. Department of Education funded the development of the National File Format (NFF) Technical Panel to write the voluntary National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS). The Department endorsed NIMAS version 1.0 in July 2004. The standard guides the production and electronic distribution of flexible digital instructional materials such as textbooks so they can be more easily converted to Braille, text-to-speech, and other accessible formats. The NIMAS Technical Assistance Center provides technical assistance to states, publishers, content conversion services and other entities involved in providing such accessible educational materials to students with disabilities. The project supports large-scale implementation of NIMAS to improve the availability, quality, timeliness, and cost effectiveness of accessible materials for students with disabilities.

Methods

The NIMAS TA Center works in cooperation with the NIMAS Development Center, which has been simultaneously created by the Department of Education, to support: (a) the efficient production of baseline NIMAS files and the conversion of these files into alternate formats; (b) the flexibility of distribution systems to ensure improved availability and timeliness of accessible materials; and (c) efforts to raise awareness of, and disseminate relevant information resources to, key stakeholders as to the benefits and availability of accessible digital materials. The project identifies the high priority needs of stakeholders through a strategic planning and evaluation process that facilitates an evaluation of the impact of its change process on states and other entities. In collaboration with the Regional Resource Centers (RRCs) and the National Center on Technology Innovation, the project provides technical assistance services to states and other entities who have adopted NIMAS and agreed to coordinate with the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) at the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) by Opting In to the NIMAC. Effective implementation of NIMAS and coordination of information and dissemination activities are supported through collaboration with Department of Education-funded stakeholders, including the technical assistance and dissemination (TA&D) network of projects and research and demonstration centers.