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SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Education's (CDE) Web-based system for helping students with disabilities access curriculum used in the state's public schools has won national recognition, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced today.

The CDE's Clearinghouse for Specialized Media and Technology (CSMT) was selected as a winner of a 2007 Digital Education Achievement Award.

"This technology promises to revolutionize how visually impaired and learning disabled students can access quality state-adopted instructional materials in alternative formats," said O'Connell. "The distinction of gaining national recognition in the digital technology arena is a huge honor for our Clearinghouse and the California Department of Education."

CSMT uses a Web-based Instructional Materials Ordering and Distribution (IMODS) system to help students with disabilities access the general curriculum. California teachers use an online shopping cart located at http://csmt.cde.ca.gov to order state-adopted textbooks, workbooks, literature books, and other instructional materials in accessible formats. These accessible formats include Braille, large print, recordings, and American Sign Language video books. In addition, CSMT is now offering electronic files of many titles that can be downloaded as MP3 audio recordings, computer Braille files, and eTEXT files.

CSMT, which is part of the CDE's Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division, was cited in the "Teacher-Focused" category. The Digital Education Achievement Award is a national program that recognizes outstanding Web sites and cutting-edge ed-tech applications.

"I want to congratulate the staff of the Clearinghouse for Specialized Media and Technology, under the leadership of Rod Brawley, for their innovative ideas in digital technology to create this new Web site," O'Connell said.

As a distribution arm of the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) Federal Quota program for more than 6,000 students who are legally blind in California, CSMT also receives orders on IMODS for APH products from eligible agencies.

"Once again, this year's entries showed remarkable innovation," said Marina Leight, vice president of education for the Center for Digital Education. "The K-12 Web sites continue to improve communication and expand access to learning resources for the students, parents, and teachers that they serve."

A Digital Government & Education Achievement Awards dinner and ceremony is scheduled for Friday in Las Vegas.

For more information, please go to: The Center for Digital Education (http://www.centerdigitaled.com [Outside Source]), which is a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in K-12 and Higher Education. The Center is a division of e.Republic, Inc. (http://www.erepublic.com [Outside Source]), a national publishing, event, and research company focused on information technology in the public sector.