2004 Summer Institute : Final Report

The Electronic University

On Line

• Course information and service information
• Application process
• Registration process
• Timetable
• Course modification functions (Add drop and withdrawal)
• Address modifications
• Fee statements
• Grades and transcripts
• Requests to graduate
• Video feed of graduation ceremonies
  
  
• Library catalogue searches
• Library electronic journals
• E-Mail communications
  
  
• Course Web pages (Web CT )
• Course notes
• Course chat rooms
• Assignments delivered and submitted on line
• On line lectures
• Distance education on line
  
  
• Services described on line
• Forms to download on line
• Psychological advice posted on line
• Career search, CV and job vacancies on line
• Academic advising information on line

Is this a good development for students who have a disability??

In principle, yes it is.

• It provides flexibility in terms of availability of information.
• It gives information in a form which can be reviewed a number of times, and can be assimilated at a student’s own pace.
• It provides the possibility for independent action and information gathering without having to physically go to a location or meet with a person, or be dependent on others to act on your behalf.

Technology and the University Student who has a Disability

All this advantage depends on the interaction between the type of disability, the level of individual functionality, the individual level of computer literacy and the availability of adaptive technology. Students who have a disability have found the e-learning era to be a vast improvement on previous times.

Examples:

Students who have a learning disability:

• Use of a computer to write exams and papers
• Spell and grammar checkers.
• Audio text, and visually enhanced text
• Specialised software (WYNN, TextHelp, Inspiration) designed to aid in reading and writing
• Ability to read at own pace
• Ability to get notes before class
• Voice recognition software

Students who have a hearing impairment or who are Deaf use the computer as a major communication device

• Assistance with written language development
• Communicating with professor
• Chatting with friends
• Making appointments
• Seeking information
• Registering on line, not by phone

Students who have physical disabilities benefit as follows:

• Special input devices and keyboards
• Speech synthesisers
• Voice recognition
• Independence of action
• Communicating with professors
• Chatting with friends
• Making appointments
• Seeking information
• Surfing the web
• Studying at a distance when not well enough to attend in person

Students who have vision impairments have the:

• Ability to scan in reading material for use with a screen reader
• Ability to convert scanned text to MP3 format
• Ability to have reading material on CD, (one CD instead of 10 tapes) and to be able to random access required information from text
• Ability to proof own written work
• Ability to navigate web pages (JAWS, Kurzweil etc)
• Ability to use university resources, search for information, and act independently just like all other students.

Low vision students are able to enlarge material on the screen, change contrast, and have the screen read

• CCTV magnifiers can be interfaced with computers for efficient use
• Material can be scanned with hand held scanners and read on an enlarged screen
• Large computer screens (21 inch etc) can enhance use

BUT

This equality only exists if:

1. students are computer literate
2. if students have access to the technology in terms of ability to purchase required hardware and software
3. if students have timely access to training on the hardware and software
4. if students have a means of keeping their technology up to date and functional
5. if universities have the technology available for on campus use, and keep their technology collection up to date
6. if universities construct official web pages in accessible format
7. if universities insist that course instructors construct WEB CT pages using accessible format
8. if distance education and on-line course materials are constructed in accessible format

Conclusion

• Provincial governments through their agencies (Education Ministries, Health Ministries etc) must have programs of financial support which assist when students require financial resources to purchase required software and hardware.
• Universities must invest in facilities and staff to support on campus adaptive technology use.
• Universities must have policies that ensure that material delivered in e- format conforms to accessibility guidelines.
• Universities must ensure that students are trained to use adaptive software and hardware to navigate through institutional web pages and to perform required tasks independently on line.
• The federal government must ensure that printed text is available in alternative (preferably digital) format for print impaired students in a timely manner. This implies copyright issues and demands on publishers to produce print material digitally for those who require it.
• Students must invest the time to become computer literate and learn about available software and hardware.