Assistive Technology in Higher Education: “ Preparing students with low vision and blindness for postsecondary education” Korey Singleton, ATI Manager George Mason University March 21, 2012

 Why this topic?  Transition Planning Considerations  Increasing Opportunities for success in Higher Education  Disability Support in Higher Education  Things to consider for students with low vision and blindness  Examples  Q&A Objectives

Why this topic?  Emphasis on supports and preparation, not technology…  Encourage early start…

Transition Planning Considerations

Transition Transition planning considerations  IEP Team…You know your students better than anyone  How early can you start planning for transition?  Are they headed for higher education or employment?  Are community service providers and parents actively participating in the IEP process?  In addition to addressing classroom needs, there should be an emphasis on independent living skills training (i.e., travel, community activities)  Should happen inside and outside of classroom/school environment

Transition Cont.…  Adaptive technology training  A good number of students with disabilities are only as comfortable as their teachers.  Expose them to the technology…latest trends  Who’s paying?? Where will the student get their adaptive technology (School? Parents? State? Community?)  What are the student’s interests?  Is the student an active participant in the process?

Increasing opportunities for success in higher education

Increasing Opportunities Best opportunity for success in HE  Does the student know how to advocate for his/herself?  Are they comfortable with their vision loss?  In the classroom  Are they aware of their own needs in the classroom? for taking tests? (e.g., LP, audio, reader/scribe)  Is the student proficient with technology? Internet? PPT?  Do they have their own technology?  Does the student stay abreast of latest changes in adaptive technology?  Can the student take notes independently?  How does the student learn best? Braille? LP? Audio?  What are they interested in studying?

Increasing Opportunities Best opportunity for success in HE…  Does the student know how to access books?  Bookshare.org? RFBD? NLS? Amazon?  Can they access books from the library?  Can the student scan their own materials?  Learning Management Systems (i.e., Blackboard, Moodle)  Encourage communication or accessing class materials via LMS and/or

Increasing Opportunities Best opportunity for success in HE…  Does the student have a relationship with community service providers?  Career planning, internships, etc...  Mobility training/travel  Visit college campuses!  Talk to DSS counselors!  Talk with college students with low vision and blindness!

Disability in Higher Education

Philosophy differences… K-12 emphasizes SUCCESS in the classroom Higher Ed emphasizes ACCESS to the curriculum

‘Access’ takes on different meanings depending on where you go…

Disability in Higher Education Type of support provided is not universal  Different campuses offer different things. Lets look at the numbers (overall enrollment, ~10% swd):  NVCC (~100k) 6 to 8 DSS counselors across 5 campuses (~1 per campus), a deaf services coordinator, part-time AT lab technician (Annandale campus)  Montgomery College (~60k) 10 counselors, 2 student support specialists, a learning center coordinator, an AT coordinator, a reading specialist, a learning specialist, an Interpreter scheduler, and an ADA Coordinator

Disability in Higher Education Cont..  American (~11k) 3 counselors, an AT specialist, ADA Coordinator (Primary role is Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution Services)  GMU (~32k) 3 ODS counselors, 1 disability specialist, 3 admin staff members, a deaf services coordinator, an ATI Office (4 staff), and an ADA Coordinator

Disability in Higher Education What do these numbers mean?  More counselors could mean:  More specialized support (i.e., vision, learning, etc.)  Shorter waiting times for accommodations  Greater access to faculty  Totally different considerations for 2yr and 4yr institutions  Varied student populations/enrollment

Disability in Higher Education Cont...  AT specialist could mean greater technology supports in the classroom, computer labs with access to AT  ADA Coordinator can indicate an emphasis on institutional access (i.e., physical access, web accessibility, etc)

A closer look at the details: Overview of Assistive Technology and other accommodations available to support individuals with vision loss in higher education

Common Accomodations for individuals with low vision or blindness  Alternative print formats, which may require text conversion  Magnification devices  Bright, incandescent lighting  Raised lettering or other tactile cues  Adaptive technology  Readers for exams  Priority registration  Recorded lectures  Lab or library assistants

Technology for individuals with low vision or blindness  Screen Enlarging Software  ZoomText Xtra/Magic  Screen Reading Software  JAWS for Windows  Optical Character Recognition  Openbook/Kurzweil 1000  WYNN/Kurzweil 3000  CCTV (Desktop & portable)

Technology for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing  Assistive Listening Devices  Personal FM/Infrared  Large Area FM/Loop Systems Large Area FM  UbiDuo (2-way communication) 

Technology for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing  Captioning  DocSoft AV  MagPie, MovieCaptioner, etc.  iCommunicator – Voice recognition software with signing capabilities (Video)  om/ om/

Technology for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing  Large Area FM System Back to slide

 Document Reading/Writing/Scanning  WYNN Wizard/Reader  Kurzweil 3000  Read & Write GOLD (Mac/PC)  Livescribe Pulse Pen  Voice Recognition  Dragon Naturally Speaking Pro  Windows Vista or 7 Technology for individuals with learning disabilities

Technology for individuals with physical disabilities  Adapted/Alternative Keyboards & Mice  Microsoft Natural Keyboard  Type Matrix keyboard  Trackball Mice  Large Print keyboards  Voice Recognition  Dragon Naturally Speaking Pro  Windows 7

Assistive Technology Labs in Higher Ed  Typical setup:  A workstation or set of workstations in library or computer labs across campus  Some institutions deliver the software via the network  Questions to ask:  Where can I access AT on campus?  What if I need AT for a classroom? In the library?  Is this information listed on a website somewhere?  Who do I ask?

Alternative Text Much easier than it used to be!  Partnerships with electronic text providers  Bookshare.org  Learning Ally  AccessText  Other questions to ask:  Is this task handled in-house?  What’s the turnaround time?  What if I need Braille or Large print?  Tactile Graphics??  Math??

Accessible Media  What if I need a movie audio-described?  Outsourcing costs run in the thousands of $$!

Summary

Summary Other questions that come up…  How are issues addressed as it relates to LMS? Distance Ed courses?  Is there AT training available?  Are your web resources accessible?  Is there any support for mobility training?  What if I need something in Braille…how long will it take?  What if it is music or math?

Summary  Bottom line!! *Students (w/ support from IEP Team, Parents, etc.) should come up with their own list of questions specific to their needs/goals in and out of the classroom.

Questions & Answers

Contact Information Assistive Technology Initiative (ATI) George Mason University Aquia Building, Room 238 Hours: M-F, 8:30am-5:00pm Office Phone: Web: