It was helpful to larn that accommodations are only necessary to provide access, and not success. Often, prospective students adn their parents expect to recieve the same guarantee of success that they becase accustomed to in K-12 education. This distinciton is critical in determining what is a reasonable accommodation.
Student accommodation needs can be met more readily with a proactive mindset versus a reactive one. It's important to have the processes and policies in place to ensure we are meeting all student's learning needs.
Equal access or ease of access does not just apply to students but also to guests and parents on campus.
There are several ways to help students with disabilities, however, the student should know what accommodations are needed to help them succeed.
Closed captioning of videoes is giving access to a whole host of people, not only those who have a disability, and so it should be incorporated as much as possible.
As an instructor is important when providing accomondations that is an access not a success.
It was interesting to learn about architect Ron Mace who coined the term Universal Design (UD) and a barrier-free design to describe the concept of designing all products and the built environment to be aesthetic and usable to the greatest extent possible by everyone, regardless of their age, ability, or status in life.
as a general rule if you're thinking it costs too much or doesn't make sense, you're going down a slippery slope. It's a great way to self-check and re-evaluate the request being made. I also enjoyed the part about UD. It's not something I had thought much about before this session.
I learned about the UD (universal design) and I thought the closed caption (cc) was a good example. My daughter who has Asperger's prefers the CC on movies, whereas, my granddaughter (ADHD) finds it very distracting. Having had a special ed credential for awhile, it is amazing the "new" things I am listening by watching these videos.
Comment on Sheila Heinert's post: I agree with you, Sheila, to learn what is needed prior is helpful rather than too late.
Accommodations and unfair advantages.... makes sense.
Reasonable accommodations are fair for all.
Providing accommodation to students with disabilities is very helpful not only for providing access but also for promoting student success.
Awareness is everything. The institution cannot provide the best services without knowing about the disability.
This module was helpful in my understanding of accommodations for students and what is equal access vs setting up for success.
According to the ADA for higher education, policies, practices, and processes must be reasonably modified to ensure that they are not, in and of themselves, discriminatory. A focus on UD can reduce the requirement for individual accommodations or mandate the creation of useable substitutes if needed.
Though there is no "one size fits all" approach to providing equal access that includes necessary accomodation in order to facilitate participation, there are strategies that can be incorporated that embrace the concept of universal design. These strategies are simple behaviors that can be deployed by any instuctor in any situation.
In my previous experience as an educator, I found it helpful to alternate teaching modalities so that a variety of tools could be used. During a typical 3 hour class, it wasn't feasible, nor was it comfortable (for the students or for me!) to stand and lecture for 3 hours with a brief bathroom break!
It was more beneficial to quickly go over the objectives for the day (as outlined in my syllabus), and the timeline/modalities for each part of the lecture. It was good to combine alternative educational opportunities such as group activities, video, hands-on skills (remember, I teach in a clinical environment), and then give opportunities for feedback.
This helps to capture the needs of a variety of students with various LD/ADHD and other processing concerns.
In order to represent the core mission of this institution in supporting the committed student in achieving the technical and professional skills essential for their chosen career, we are driven to be student-centered in our educational practice. This is a ripe environment for universal design in terms of learning access.
To make sure all the students have equall access to the school, the classrooms and labs as well as all the learning materials.
This module clarified the differences in accomodations necessary for equal access versus helping to foster success. It provided guidance on documentation of a disability and request for accomodations given that there are no specific laws related to it. The institution sets documentation requirements, but must follow the guiding principle that the documentation should establish that the person has a disability and identify accomodations required to assure equal access.
Accomodations aren't one size fits all and you can't assume what a student may need without discussing with them. Accomodations should be implemented early and are designed to equal the playing field but not make a disabled student's work easier or give them an advantage over others.
