Accessible Course Content
What is one of the first places that an online instructor should go for help in making their course materials accessible?
There are several places than an online instructor should go for help in making their course materials accessible. First, there is the manufacturer of either the hardware or the software. These individuals would probably have the greatest knowledge about their own product. The second place that I would go is the institution's Office of Disability Services. This department would probably have in its possession literature about how to make course materials accessible. The third place I would go is to the internet. On the internet, there is information on anything that I can imagine. These are the places that I would investigate.
Donald L. Buresh
Sabrina,
So good that you will work withe the campus disability office, etc. Thanks for being in the class!
Renee Shaffer
It is important to know what disability compliance is and make sure as an instructor what your obligations are to the disabled students. My first contact would be with our campus disability committee to ensure I was on the right track.
Brian,
Oh yes, it is so handy to have the materials already to be used another time!
Renee Shaffer
The Disabilities Services Office is the place to contact. Most courses are already designed by the institution, so it might be expected that all pre-loaded course materials are accessible. In this case, it is just the materials created and added by the instructed that need to be checked. This is also a one-time check, one you have materials that you know are accessible, then you can re-use them!
Best,
Brian Stout
Matthew,
Let us hope so but this doesn't always happen. There are many students with disabilities who don't really realize that they have a disability.
Renee Shaffer
Yes, your ADA Department Head should be emailing you to let you know what student(s) may have a learning disability.
Matthew Schwartz
Eleanor,
Yes and you might be able to find assistance from your department when it comes to making your materials accessible.
Renee Shaffer
The disability coordinator for the school. I would also contact the supervisor of my department to find out what some of the other instructors might be doing to make the class accessible to everyone. That way, we would all be on the same page with how we are presenting material. Having uniformity in the access might create a more seamless experience for the student to navigate through mulitple classes.
Though the Disabilities Services Office is a terrific resource, as discussed in a previous form, I have found other instructors of tremendous help in overcoming some of the hurdles that students might face in a course. I think that Career Services would also be a resource but I am getting ahead of myself. Library Services and IT would also be good sources to tap for resources available for various disabilities and how to effectively employ them. I also think that instruction such as this module gets instructors thinking about alternative ways to instruct/facilitate, a good thing for all students. There are a host of resources mentioned throughout the modules which I have duly noted.
Thomas,
Yes, good point. But remember it is also up to the instructor to make the course content available for everyone.
Renee Shaffer
The office of disability should be able to assist them as well a online instructional assistant trained in making courses accessible.
With a large student body, moving material campus wide is best through course development. Taking the resources to create multimedia to meet the course objectives and resources is well worth the support for students with disabilities.
I work for several online colleges. So instead of just putting the Office of Disability Services, I located the office for each of my colleges.
• For Boise State, it's the Disability Resource Center - http://drc.boisestate.edu/
• For Walden University, it's Disability Services - http://www.waldenu.edu/experience/support-services/disability-services
* For American InterContinenta; . . . I didn't locate a page for these resources.
Kara,
so very true. They are there to help instructors as well as their students.
Renee Shaffer
The online instructor should make contact with the area that is responsible for disability students. Individuals in this area can assist the instructor with meeting the needs of the student.
The online instructor should go to the disability services office for help with this. Many people don't utilize this office enough. They can be very helpful and that is what they are there for.
Michael,
Additionally, sometimes the office of disability services may be able to assist you with retrofitting your course content to meet the needs of the students. It never hurts to ask!
Renee Shaffer
The first place an instructor should go for help is the disability services office… And this is because that office knows the range of assistive technology devices available for you to use as a course instructor… And it is also aware of the specific accommodations required for each student. Thank you. Mike Crowley
