Get Your Students Hired
Availability of ALT & Magpie .
Didn't realize that there are so many resources available to disabled students "to level the playing field" ....."learning field". Guidelines especially helpful
We need to realize that new situations will occur and we must be prepared to make changes as need be. Feedback from students is paramount to assuring everyone has access to the learning material.
I enjoyed going through this module and learning detail information that I was not aware of.
When it comes to course design it should be left to a specific individual who is tasked with updating content and compliance with all regulatory bodies. Instructors should have meaningful input and can assist the curriculum developer/chair with meaningful changes and updates. Too many hands in the curriculum can lead to miscommunication leading to errors. A submission or review of content should be more formal so all ideas are heard and there are recorded reasons why items were not updated. This person should also work closely with the compliance/legal team to ensure all policies and procedures are followed and adhered to.
I learned that captioning videos, recorded lectures and PowerPoints is essential. I also learned about specific closed captioning software that is free and readily available. Beyond this, I do believe it is imperative that the institution take the lead in course design for accessibility so that there is consistency across courses and programs.
Closed caption is a graet option for the hearing impared. I didn't know that there was free software that could do this.
All audio or video files used must have captioning and written transcript. Be aware of these points:
I have learned that all LMSs are not accessible. This is concerning, and I will be looking at the degree of accessibility of our institution's checklist. I am also going to make a checklist from what we reviewed so that I can keep in mind what I need to be aware of long-term to be sure what I am presenting is accessible.
Color is a big part of wiring electrical circuits and doing telephone and resistors. Some items have no work arounds. What is not an issue for some disabilities is an issue for another.
I can start by recording my lectures. I would need to get familiar with the tools available to me. I should also provide transcripts of my lectures. I should make sure my instructions are clear and concise.
Given that my course is moving to be fully online I may ask if CNT instructors can get Dragon to produce transcripts of our lectures.
Whether teaching or designing websites or other pursuits, I always keep in mind those with disabilities. I try to account for as many as I can especially in the art/design department and consideration for colorblind or partially visually impaired people. Making things accessible to EVERYONE is just about impossible, but making it as accessible as you can should be a goal in design.
Providing captioning on videos and alt text on photos are two ways to make course content more accessible.
Keep it simple, clean and consistent is the impression I got from all of this. There are many tools available, with more to come. Try to put yourself in the shoes of a student who has a disability.
It is important to include accessibility in your course when you are creating it rather than trying to retrofit your course.
I appreciated the lists of items to help accessibility in the last section. Lots of great tips!
It is truly amazing to find so much help and different new avenues to use during our course preparation. I did get a lot of new ideas in preparing the syllabus and class course.
Making power points, microsoft word, and pdf accessible and using fonts and bold. Having Universal Design in mind is important.
Respectfuly,
Kendrick Kim
kkim1@fullcoll.edu