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NCAC: National File Format: The Process for Defining a National File Format

The Process for Defining a National File Format

At the direction of and in consultation with the Department of Education, the National Center has assembled a NFF Technical Panel consisting of 40 members, representing: 1) consumers, including advocacy groups and state and local educational representatives; 2) technical experts such as assistive technology professionals, textbook administrators, software developers, standards organizations, and data conversion technicals; and 3) feasibility experts encompassing national standards agencies, curriculum publishers, technology researchers, and ex-officio members from the Department of Education. The charge of the Technical Panel is to present the Secretary of Education with "a set of technical specifications to facilitate the efficient delivery of accessible instructional materials, a timeline for the implementation of the proposed standards, and process for assessing the success of standards implementation."

In order to accomplish this work, the National Center for Accessing the General Curriculum (NCAC) intends to convene a series of at least three Technical Panel meetings over the next seven months to address the interests of each of the three key constituencies represented by the panel members: the Consumer Group, the Technical Group, and the Feasibility Group. The Department of Education has established a compressed timeline for this work, which underscores the urgent need to assure a highly efficient design for each meeting.

For the first convening, scheduled on January 7, 2003, the Technical Panel will address the needs of the Consumer constituency, and begin the process of developing a list of the features and functionality that the NFF must address. CAST is requesting that each participating organization representing the Consumer constituency submit a "wish list" of the features and functionality that would benefit their constituent students. The Consumer Group should provide this information to Skip Stahl at CAST, sstahl@cast.org no later than January 2, 2003, before the first Technical Panel meeting. During this same period, CAST will be seeking comments from other interested consumers who are not members of the Technical Panel.

These public comments and Consumer Group "wish lists" will inform the initial discussion at the January 7, 2003 convening. Based on the discussion and input from this Technical Panel meeting, CAST will consolidate and prioritize these "wish lists" into a proposed NFF features and functionality working list. Prior to January 31, 2003, CAST will circulate this proposed working list among the Technical Panel members for comment and feedback. Technical Panel members will have the opportunity to discuss and revise the proposed working list through online discussions at the Online NFF Community CAST has established for the Technical Panel. (Details about the Online NFF Community.) Additionally, CAST will schedule a brief follow-up meeting/telephone conference in early February to approve the recommended features and functionality. (Accommodations can be arranged for those participants residing outside the Washington metropolitan area who are unable to utilize the telephone conference service).

At the second convening on March 11, 2003, the Technical Panel will address the interests of the Technical Group, and begin the process of developing the technical specifications for a NFF for accessible instructional materials. Prior to the meeting, representatives from the Technical Group will be asked to review existing file formats, accessibility guidelines and emerging technologies in the context of the "wish list" and submit their recommendations and concerns relevant to the technical specifications no later than March 4, 2003. The goal of this Technical Panel meeting will be to initiate the process for defining standards to implement the features and functionality list. As with the first convening, CAST will coordinate the comments and feedback provided by the Technical Panel members, and will circulate proposed technical standards by the middle of March 2003. Technical Panel members will have the opportunity to discuss and revise these proposed technical standards at the NFF Technical Panel web site, and a follow-up meeting/telephone conference at the end of March 2003.

At the third and final convening, currently scheduled for June 10, 2003, the Technical Panel will assess the market influences, the intellectual property constraints, and the protocols and procedures necessary to ensure the widespread adoption of voluntary standards. As with the previous convenings, the Feasibility Group representatives will be asked to submit their comments to CAST no later than June 2, 2003. Once again, CAST will circulate a proposed set of recommendations to the Technical Panel members following the convening, and provide the Technical Panel with an opportunity to discuss and revise the recommendations through the NFF web site and a follow-up meeting/telephone conference.