See the closed captioning on TV's as a universal design component was new information to me that makes complete sense as a service for anyone with a disability that would benefit from its availability.
Provide equal access to students with disabilities. Be ready to help people with disabilities if they do ask for help. Not all the help will be there all the time, using common sense to help students with disability is the way to go.
It is important to look at each case individually to find the best way to provide access to a student with disabilities. It is also very important to review the documentation that the student provides to show that the student does indeed need accommodations for access, to ensure that they are not receiving an unfair advantage over other students.
It must be made clear that we are accomodating them by providing the oportunity to suceed but not guaranteed they will succeed. There is a difference.
accommodation should be made on the basis of access not success. the accommodation must fit the need or it its probable not required.
I learned about the UDL concept about 10 years ago. Many of our subject matter experts are trained on the UDL for course development on our LMS. We also use Quality Matters to ensure that learning materials are accessible for learners with disabilities.
Accomodations are very important to ensure that each student has the proper tools they need to go through school.
Accommodations need to bring everyone to the same level. They should not provide unfair advantages to the users. I did not know about Universal Design, it's a very interesting concept!
I have learned more about providing equal access to students. Universal design is new to me so I liked learning more about that along with the examples provided. I plan on applying this by looking at the design of buildings and environments to see if it is appropriately designed for access for all people.
It seems that the issue of accomidation does not go hand in hand with guarantee of success and is often confused with just that. Sometimes it could be looked at as an unfair advantage and nothing could be farther from the truth. So simple explanations may help further understanding.
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.
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.
To make sure all the students have equall access to the school, the classrooms and labs as well as all the learning materials.
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.
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.
This module was helpful in my understanding of accommodations for students and what is equal access vs setting up for success.
Awareness is everything. The institution cannot provide the best services without knowing about the disability.
Providing accommodation to students with disabilities is very helpful not only for providing access but also for promoting student success.
Reasonable accommodations are fair for all.
Accommodations and unfair advantages.... makes sense.
