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<h2><font size=4><b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</b></font></h2> <br><br>
<b>CONTACT: <br><br>
</b>Chris
Danielsen
Cory Reid, Vice President<br><br>
Director of Public
Relations
Instructure
<br><br>
National Federation of the
Blind
(801) 436-8095<br><br>
(410) 659-9314, extension
2330
cory@instructure.com<br><br>
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)<br>
<a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</a><br><br>
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<div align="center"><h2><font size=4><b>National Federation of the Blind
Nonvisual Accessibility Web Certification Granted to Instructure Learning
Management System<br><br>
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System Certified as Equally Accessible<br>
to Blind and Sighted Users</i></b></h2></div>
<b> <br><br>
Baltimore, Maryland (September 29, 2010):</b> The National Federation of
the Blind (NFB), the nation’s leading advocate for Internet access by
blind Americans, has awarded the Gold Level NFB-NVA Certification to
Instructure for its learning management system, “Canvas.” The NFB
applauds Instructure’s commitment to ensuring equal access to its
Web-based learning management system for blind students and commends the
company for its leadership in Web accessibility.<br><br>
<br><br>
Instructure’s Canvas is a new learning management system (LMS) that takes
usability to a whole new level, and saves instructors time, providing
more freedom for curriculum development and working with students.
Since communication is key to the learning process, Canvas incorporates
up-to-date multimedia and social media tools for reaching way beyond
classroom discussions and e-mail to creating a collaborative learning
environment. <br><br>
<br><br>
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
“The Internet has become integrated into every aspect of life, including
education. As more and more institutions of higher learning employ
online learning platforms, it is crucial to ensure that blind students
have equal access to these systems so that they are not placed at a
serious disadvantage relative to their sighted peers. We commend
Instructure for making its online learning management system fully
accessible and therefore giving blind students and teachers independent
access to Instructure’s services.”<br><br>
<br><br>
Anne Taylor, director of access technology for the National Federation of
the Blind, said: “It has been a pleasure working with Instructure to make
its Web site and learning management system accessible to all blind
users. We appreciate the Instructure team’s hard work and
congratulate them on achieving Gold Level NFB-NVA
Certification.”<br><br>
<br><br>
Cory Reid, vice president of Instructure, said: “Accessibility has been a
priority since our inception, and we are committed to providing all
students and teachers with the same innovative platform. We’re
honored to be working with the NFB, and are grateful for their pioneering
work in accessibility, and their foundational contributions to
education.”<br><br>
<br><br>
The NFB Nonvisual Accessibility Web Certification Program connects Web
site and application developers with leading experts on blindness and
accessibility to ensure that their Internet sites or applications are
fully accessible to and usable by blind people employing screen access
software. Applicants go through a rigorous evaluation and testing
procedure and, if they choose to, work with a web accessibility
consultant (WAC) to address any accessibility issues discovered during
the evaluation. Once the site or application has addressed all
accessibility issues, it is granted the right to display an NFB-NVA
certification seal on its site. Sites are continuously monitored to
ensure that they remain compliant with certification criteria. If a
site remains accessible, its certification is renewed on an annual or a
version basis. If accessibility issues arise, the National
Federation of the Blind and the WAC will work with the site developers to
remedy them.<br><br>
<br><br>
For more information on the NFB-NVA Certification, please visit
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/nfb/certification_intro.asp">
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/certification_intro.asp</a>. To learn more
about the National Federation of the Blind, please visit
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/">www.nfb.org</a>. <br><br>
<br><br>
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About the National Federation of the Blind<br><br>
</b>With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind
is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind
people in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />United
States. The NFB improves blind people’s lives through advocacy,
education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence
and self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field
today and the voice of the nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB
opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first
research and training center in the United States for the blind led by
the blind. <br><br>
<br><br>
<b>About Instructure<br><br>
<br><br>
</b>Instructure set out to build a whole new kind of learning management
system by carefully listening to educators, students, and
administrators. This user-driven approach to design produced
Canvas, a fully-hosted web-based LMS with a level of usability never seen
before in a collaborative learning environment. Canvas is used at
numerous colleges, universities, and schools across the US, with students
in 27 countries.
<a href="http://www.instructure.com/">http://www.instructure.com</a><br>
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