March 15, 2006 - American Technical Education Association (ATEA) 43rd National Conference on Technical Education - Assistive Technologies in the Vocational and Advanced Technology Classroom
When: March 15-17, 2006
Where: Louisville Marriott Downtown 280 W. Jefferson Street Louisville, KY 40202
Local contact: James Sissom - JSissom@siu.edu
Local contact: Michael Whitney - DSSsiu@siu.edu
Registration: http://www.jefferson.kctcs.edu/atea/registration.htm
More Info: http://www.jefferson.kctcs.edu/atea/
Agenda
An introduction to the general issues persons with disabilities face on a day to day basis as well as the types of technology we employ to provide equal access to information in various non-traditional classroom environments that are common in vocational and advanced technology settings.
Goals for this presentation are as follows:
- Make the general audience aware of various disabilities and the issues (i.e., personal, societal, environmental) that are commonly attached to the disabilities.
- Expose participants to the practices we here at SIUC employ to help enable students with disabilities in their daily lives.
- Present common adaptive technologies utilized by persons with disabilities.
- Inform the audience of Federal and state legislative issues related to accessibility of information and technology resources
- Demonstrate how to use some specific adaptive technology software and hardware.
- Share specific strategies students with disabilities use to overcome barriers.
- Discuss website accessibility guidelines.
- Expose vocational and technology educators to technologies and practices that can enable persons with disabilities.
Select Technologies Overviewed and Demonstrated (given presentation time limits):
- Dragon Naturally Speaking dictation system
- Read Please reading system
- Arkenstone Open Book scanning system
- Jaws screen reader
- Microsoft Screen Magnification
- Microsoft On-Screen Keyboard
- Cyberlink Brainfingers Brain Actuated Technology
Presenters:
James Sissom serves as a co-principal investigator on an Illinois Board of Higher Education long-term grant of statewide significance entitled, Adaptive Computer Technology & Website Design. Specifically, Mr. Sissom conducts training and professional development workshops and provides subject-area expertise. Mr. Sissom holds a Master of Public Administration and is an Assistant Professor in the School of Information Systems and Applied Technologies. Mr. Sissom has co-taught an undergraduate course in assistive technology and accessible website design and has an extensive experience in the development and delivery of distance learning courses. Mr. Sissom will contribute his teaching and assistive technology expertise to support teachers in implementing new classroom practices.
Michael Whitney heads adaptive technology and accessible web creation for Disability Support Services at SIUC and is also a co-principle investigator and the project coordinator of the Illinois Board of Higher Education long-term grant of statewide significance, Adaptive Computer Technology & Website Design. In addition to his MA in Rehabilitation, Mr. Whitney has completed training on designing universally acceptable web resources and an assistive technology applications certificate program offered by the State University of California Northridge. Mr. Whitney has co-taught an undergraduate course in assistive technology and accessible website design. He will discuss and demonstrate some of the common adaptive technologies utilized by students with disabilities.
Handout 1 - Assistive Technologies in the Vocational and Advanced Technology Classroom
Individual with a disability - Person with a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities which can include caring for one's self, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, working, performing manual tasks, and learning.
Otherwise Qualified - Someone is considered to be otherwise qualified if, with or without reasonable accommodation, they meet the same standards -- academic, professional, technical, and behavioral standards -- as do others. Successful pursuit of a field of study is dependent on whether the individual with a disability meets all the same standards required for others.
Reasonable Accommodation - The question of whether provision of an accommodation is necessary for an institution of higher education may not hinge on whether or not the person has a disability, but rather on whether or not the accommodation needed is reasonable. Example - It is not a reasonable accommodation if making the accommodation means making a substantial change in an essential element of the curriculum (educational viewpoint) or a substantial fundamental alteration in the manner in which you provide your services. A student must meet the attendance, conduct and course requirements of the institution and should be graded utilizing the same criteria used for all students.
Program Eligibility - A person with a disability is not automatically eligible for participation in an academic program. A program must first consider pedagogical intent, create requirements supporting intent and apply those requirements to all students. For example, a pilot program can require 20/20 vision, a nursing program can require ability to independently read over a certain level, or a mechanic program can require ability to independently utilize tools.
Credentialing - When creating and applying program eligibility requirements, the end result should weigh in heavily. It can be considered academic malpractice if a student is provided with accommodations that are not allowed during credentialing exams. At a minimum, students should understand what accommodations they can and can not have during credentialing.
Look Past Obvious - Like all students, students with disabilities have their strengths and weaknesses. Yes they must perform on the same level as other students but is there a different way for the student to interact with the content. Can a quadriplegic use a computer to create architecture projects rather than a drafting board? Does an auto mechanic need to write the answers to an examination when they can dictate their answers into a computer?
DHS-DRS - Department of Human Services - Division of Rehabilitation Services are targeting the high rate of employment among persons with disabilities and are focusing their efforts on degrees that provide a high probability of employment. Considering this and the military movement overseas, we can expect to see the numbers of students with disabilities increase over the next few years.
Handout 2 - Common Assistive Technologies
Screen enlargers (or screen magnifiers) - Utilized by persons with low vision, they work like a magnifying glass by enlarging a portion of the screen, increasing the legibility for some users. Some screen enlargers also offer limited screen reading ability.
Screen readers - Software programs that present graphics and text as speech. For a computer user who is blind, and does not need a monitor, a screen reader is used to verbalize, or "speak," everything on the screen including names and descriptions of control buttons, menus, text, and punctuation. In essence, a screen reader transforms a graphic user interface (GUI) into an audio interface.
Refreshable Braille - A braille display is a tactile device consisting of a series of dots in a pattern called a cell. A cell has 6 or 8 pins made of metal or nylon; pins are controlled electronically to move up and down to display characters as they appear on the display of the source system - usually a computer or braille note taker. The user reads the Braille letters with his or her fingers, and then, after a line is read, can refresh the display to read the next line. This hardware is commonly used in conjunction with a screenreader.
Braille embossers - Transfer computer generated text into embossed Braille output. Braille translation programs convert text scanned in or generated via standard word processing programs into Braille, which can be printed on the embosser.
Printed text conversion programs - Converts a printed page into electronic text to be read aloud, enlarged, or brailled. A scanner is needed with the software.
Speech recognition systems - Also called voice recognition programs, allow people to give commands and enter data using their voices rather than a mouse or keyboard. Voice recognition systems use a microphone attached to the computer, which can be used to create text documents such as letters or e-mail messages, browse the Internet, and navigate among applications and menus by voice. Speech recognition systems are also used by people with language and learning disabilities who have difficulty typing or reading text.
On-screen keyboard - Programs provide an image of a standard or modified keyboard on the computer screen. The user selects the keys with a mouse, touch screen, trackball, joystick, switch, or electronic pointing device. On-screen keyboards often have a scanning option. With the scanning capability turned on, the individual keys on the on-screen keyboard are highlighted. When a desired key is high-lighted, an individual with a mobility impairment is able to select it by using a switch positioned near a body part that is under his or her voluntary control. On-screen keyboards are often packed with keyboard filter technology as well.
Pointing devices - Are used to control the cursor on the screen using ultrasound, an infrared beam, eye movements, nerve signals, or brain waves. They come in the form of sip-and-puff systems, wands and sticks, joysticks, trackballs, and high-tech line of sight sensors.
Word prediction - Technology used to assist with text entry. These software packages predict the word you are typing and the next word based on word frequency and context. They may also include features such as spell checking as you type, speech synthesis, and hotkey's for frequently used words. Word prediction is particularly useful for slow typists, probe or pen users, and people with minor visual impairments or dyslexia.
More can be found at http://www.siu.edu/~dss/Grant/Technologies.htm
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