Moving Toward Inclusion in Online and Onground Courses http://bit.ly/CourseInclusion Marisha Marks: Instructional Designer, Online Education, UMass Amherst Valerie Haven: Academic Technology Coordinator, Ross Center for Disability Services, UMass Boston

Accessibility Vs. Inclusion How do you define accessibility? How do you define inclusion?

With inclusion, everyone benefits Image source

Who are the students? Students with disabilities. These students can be assisted by Disability Services. Image source

Who are the students without disabilities? Students without documented disabilities: First generation. English language learners. Non-traditional / post-traditional / older learners. Students for whom inclusion can make all the difference.

Multiple Intelligences Theory What kind of learner are you? Image source

Educational Tools and Techniques

All Courses Person first language. Supportive course policies. Cultural / socio-economic awareness of course activities. Student choice: universal design for learning for course activities and assessments.

Onground courses Flexible classroom layout. Verbally describe all visual elements: Slide images. Written formulas. Classroom demonstrations. Open book / take home assessments.

Online courses Easy, consistent course navigation. Course netiquette: Full sentences and appropriate grammar. Avoid jargon. Treat others with respect. Provide opportunity to practice with technology. Untimed assessments.

Other ideas? All courses Onground courses Online courses

Ally as Inclusion Tool

What does Ally do? Checks document accessibility. Added files. Files built in LMS.

What else can Ally do? Creates alternative file formats. OCRed PDF HTML ePub Electronic Braille Audio

How can Ally help? Provides steps to retrofit. Lists all needed corrections.

Ally Limitations Does not assess audio / video / multimedia files (on their roadmap). Automated algorithm can produce both: False positive False negative

Inclusion for students with disabilities Preclude need to retroactive modifications. Students have immediate access to accessible documents. Screen reader and braille access to documents. Alternate file formats will only work if the original file is built correctly. An OCRed PDF with no further corrections will read headers and footers in the middle of a sentence broken across pages.

Audio files for all learners Students with visual impairments. English language learners. Students with long commutes (listen in the car). Students with dyslexia and other reading comprehension difficulties.

Study aid for all learners An accessible document is: Searchable. Indexed. Has tagged table of contents and bookmarks.