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Re: What do faculty members at your institution think of AT and ACT?

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From: Susan
Date: Oct 15, 2004 4:07PM

A couple of years ago someone I was on a course with had an unexpected
problem with her eyes that reduced her vision considerably. I was amazed
at the struggle she had getting support.

I got the distinct impression that there were boundaries that were kept
in place. Apparently the school of computing and its staff was only
responsible for showing 'normal' students how to do things. They saw any
extra help that she needed as the responsibility of the student support
team. It was the student support team who had the responsibility of
showing her how to adjust the computers so that she could use them more
easily and this was nothing to do with the course tutors.

Looking back she needed a lot of adjustment in her life in general not
just in terms of finding ways to help her complete the course.
Everything that I have heard in terms of support adjusting to sight loss
suggests that any kind of help is hard to come by.

Given the sudden change in her ability to see she also needed support in
terms of getting through the assessment system so that she could
complete the course. The change in her circumstances occurred just as
she was preparing work for assessment and she missed some deadlines.
This led to problems with the admin systems involved in assessment. I
was not even sure if the tutors were in favour of her continuing with
the course she had started because of her changed situation.

On another occasion when I was teaching a beginners computing course I
wanted to find some extra support for someone who started the course to
see if it was easier to use a computer than it was to write. Her hands
were deformed with arthritis and I was it in terms of helping her. I
ended up giving her a sort of handbook on the accessibility features of
windows produced in my own time as well as some guidance on how to use
keystrokes rather than menus to control what the computer did. I also
gave her a catalogue of useful devices that I ordered via the internet
and suggested that she might find a large tracker ball more use than a
mouse. The organisation I was working for did absolutely nothing to help
her in any way. The law has changed now and today if anyone was treated
that way by an organisation I worked for I would warn the organisation
that the student had every right to put in an official complaint on the
grounds of discrimination before reminding the student that they had the
right to do so.

Susan



I'd love to hear some comments/insights as to how your working
relationships are with the faculty and teachers at your institutions.
Do you find that many of them see adaptive computing as "a necessary
evil"? Do you find it difficult to persuade teachers that time and
energy spent on technology accommodations are worthwhile?

Or have you found a way to work with faculty members such that they
respect what you do and actively seek your assistance?

A colleague and I are doing a presentation on this topic and I'd love to
have feedback to help us formulate our approach. Thank you!

Diana Ratliff
Univ. of Missouri - Columbia
Adaptive Computing Technology (ACT) Center
<EMAIL REMOVED>

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