[SEC508] new "FREEDOM MACHINES" DVD Education Package

[Sally Rubin <sallyrubin@freedommachines.com>]

Hello all-  Jim Tobias of Inclusive Technologies, 
who kindly provided a bit of consulting on our 
new DVD project, recommended that I post on this 
list-serv. Please see below for quotes and 
information below about this new, 
fully-accessible DVD resource, hot off the press. 
In the two months since its release, the “Freedom 
Machines” DVD Education Package is becoming an 
important, multi-purpose resource for agencies 
and schools all over the country. -Sally Rubin, 
ph 415-821-3791, www.freedommachines.com

 NEW RELEASE: FREEDOM MACHINES DVD EDUCATION 
PACKAGE: STATE-OF-THE-ART, BILINGUAL (English/Spanish), FULLY ACCESSIBLE
 (a Richard Cox Production)

 "FREEDOM MACHINES tells an important story - 
about the contradictory power of technology to 
both overcome AND create barriers for people with 
disabilities. This documentary should be seen by 
anyone creating technology intended to be used by humans - any humans."
 - Larry Goldberg, Director, WGBH National Center for Accessible Media

  “FREEDOM MACHINES is required viewing for 
teachers, service providers, policy makers, and 
anyone who works with disabled children, adults, or seniors."
 - Andy Imparato, President & CEO, American 
Association of People with Disabilities

 “FREEDOM MACHINES is a remarkable film that 
will change forever the way you look at 
disability.  It shows the transformative power of 
technology when placed in the hands of people 
with disabilities and challenges your ideas about what is achievable today.”
 -Ginny and Dick Thornburgh. (Ginny Thornburgh 
founded and directs the Religion and Disability 
Program for the National Organization on 
Disability. Dick Thornburgh was Attorney General of the U.S. from 1988 -1991.)

 FREEDOM MACHINES premiered as a PBS Fall 
Special on the award-winning POV series. The film 
has been praised as "an essential primer on 
disability in the age of technology" for its 
exploration of the ways people are recasting 
their lives with the help of new technologies. 
Through the stories of adults and children ages 
8-93, the film reveals the human and social 
benefits of providing access to life-enhancing 
tools to people with disabilities.

 The FREEDOM MACHINES DVD Education Package 
provides an easy to navigate, interactive 
experience. Among a handful of DVDs worldwide 
with full accessibility features--including 
Talking Menus and Video Description for viewers 
with visual impairments--this innovative product 
is one of the first in a bilingual format 
available to users of all physical abilities. It includes:

 -Director/producer Jamie Stobie's cut of the 
PBS program, FREEDOM MACHINES, re-designed for 
instructional use with chapter cues and segment running times.

 -Four new segments with practical information 
on the types of assistive technology available 
today, legal rights and advocacy for people with 
disabilities, how to obtain necessary technology, and Universal Design.

 -Downloadable, interactive resources and web 
support for educators and facilitators.

 Executive Producer Janet Cole whose credits 
include the Oscar®-nominated "Regret to Inform" 
and "Promises" said, "Fifteen years after the 
ADA, FREEDOM MACHINES reflects on our nation's 
commitment to our largest minority group, people 
with disabilities. Today, physical or mental 
impairments need not be impediments if people 
have access to necessary technologies, services, 
and accommodations. Human ingenuity and 
technology have evolved exponentially. Now the 
real challenge is mobilizing the social will to 
dismantle outmoded stereotypes and nurture the 
talents of 20% of our citizens."

 "REMARKABLE. FREEDOM MACHINES manages a 
near-perfect balance of compassion, humor, 
political insight, and deep admiration for the 
people it profiles--individuals whose lives have 
been significantly improved by new technologies 
that bring hope where none existed before. 3.5 STARS."
 --Video Librarian

 “FREEDOM MACHINES is the gigantic wake-up call 
needed by future teachers. I can think of no 
better way to challenge our attitudes and thinking than by viewing this film."
 --Mary Male, Professor, San Jose State University

 TO ORDER the FREEDOM MACHINES Education Package 
please visit www.freedommachines.com.