Learning Solutions for Post-Secondary Students: Access To Information for All

Alternative Media Access Center

University of Georgia
331 Milledge Hall
Athens, Georgia, 30602

(Phone) 706.542.1299

(Fax) 706.583.0001

(Email)

(Web)

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Accessible Symposium Handouts

• Available Formats

  • Text Only Version

  • Text Mostly Version

  • Graphic Version

  • Outline Version

  • Handout Version

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Agenda

• Overview of USG Disability Services

• RCLD Evaluation Process

  • Fast Track / Technical College Evaluation Process

  • Linking the RCLD Evaluation Process to Statewide Services

• Introducing The Alternative Media Access Center (AMAC) Statewide Services

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Historical Overview

• Civil Rights Act of 1963

• PL94-142

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

“No otherwise qualified disabled individual in the United States….shall, solely by reason of his disability be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance…..”

• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

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Historical Overview
Comparison of K – 12 and Postsecondary

K – 12 Department of Justice

IDEA & 504 & ADA

Department of Education

• Identification

• Evaluation

• Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

• Ensure Success

• Parent Involvement

Postsecondary

Department of Justice

504 & ADA

Office of Civil Rights

• Self Disclosure

• Referrals / BOR

• Accommodation Letters

• Ensure Access

• FERPA / HIPAA

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Historical Overview

• Ignored prior to 1970’s

• Emphasis on Physical Access in 1970’s & 1980’s

• Office of Disability Services seen as Resource

comparable to K–12 in 1970’s & 1980’s

• Increase of identified students with Learning Disorders

(LD, ADHD, TBI) in 1990’s

• Increase of identified students with Psychiatric Disorders

(Bipolar, Asperger’s, PTSD) in 2000’s

• Disability Service Specialists to Generalists

• Increase in use of Assistive Technology

• Evolving Student Independence and Universal Design in 2000’s

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Accommodations/Services

“It Depends”

Accommodations are provided to each student

with a documented disability based on:

• • the nature of the disability

  • how it impacts that student

  • the academic environment

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Accommodations / Services

Learning Disabilities, ADHD,

Traumatic Brain Injuries

• • Priority Registration

  • Early Syllabus

  • Extended time for tests

  • Separate room for testing

  • Use of tape recorders in class

  • Note takers

  • E-text

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Accommodations/Services

Blind and Visually Impaired

• • • • Priority Registration

      • Early Syllabus

      • E-text

      • Books on tape

      • Tape Recorder

      • Enlarged handouts

      • CCTV

      • Computer access (JAWS, Zoomtext)

      • Extended test time

      • Scribe

      • Reader

      • Lab Assistants

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Accommodations/Services

Deaf and Hard of Hearing

• • Interpreters

  • C-Print (Captionist)

  • Note takers

  • Extended time on tests

  • Assistive listening devices

  • REEN 0095

Mental Illness

Severe Medical Conditions

Asperger’s Syndrome

Mobility Impairments

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Policies and Procedures

• Consent to Release Information

• Faculty Accommodation Letter

• Test Proctoring

• Assistive Technology

  • • Alternative Media Access Center

• Auxiliary Aids

  • • Interpreter, Captionist, Notetaker, Scribe, Reader, Lab Assistant, Tutor, Coach

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Fast Track Evaluation Project

Regents Center for Learning Disorders

706-542-4589

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History of the Project

• Individuals served by Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation

  • High School Seniors – Summary of Performance

  • Students enrolled in postsecondary institutions

• Students at the Technical Colleges of Georgia

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UGA RCLD Currently Serves

Public Colleges (Regents)

Vocational Rehabilitation Clients attending colleges and universities

Private Colleges

Technical Institutions

Secondary schools/transitional plans/SOP

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• 10 day turn around

• Evaluation follow-up

• UGA RCLD technical assistance

• Immediate referral to AMAC

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Steps to Access Evaluation
UGA Regents’ Center for Learning Disorders

3. The student will complete the packet and

return the packet to the disability service provider or coordinator. This could vary across institutions and agencies.

4. The disability service provider or coordinator will send the packet to the UGA RCLD. This could vary across institutions and agencies.

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Steps to Access Evaluations
UGA Regents’ Center for Learning Disorders

5. Vocational Rehabilitation paid clients will require an A & I sent to the UGA RCLD prior to any scheduling.

6. The student will receive the first appointment at the UGA RCLD when all of the above is complete.

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Open Admissions + Technical Schools =
Community College Network?

• Series of focus groups

• Cross agency dialogue

• Development of suggestions to better

serve students with disabilities

applying or attending Technical

Colleges and/or Regents Two Year

Colleges

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Open Admissions + Technical Schools =
Community College Network?

Scheduled Focus Groups

November 10th – UGA RCLD Center

ngregg@uga.edu

December 15th – Savannah State University

ngregg@uga.edu

January – Atlanta (site not yet identified)

Professionals Encouraged to Attend

Technical Colleges

Rehabilitation Services

Two year Regents Colleges

High Schools

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AMAC Feasibility Study

• Equal and timely access to materials

• Duplication of materials

• Statewide alternative media production standards

• Expertise in accessible digital media, adaptive technology, and accessible information technology

• Services provided to rural and urban environments

• Cost of production

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The Cost

• The estimated cost of using e-text is approximately $15 per book as compared to a cost of $125 per book using audio taping.

• The cost for one hundred students a year is estimated to be $112,500 to $187,500 as compared to an estimated e-text cost of $13,500 to $22,500 per year.

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The AMAC Mission & Charge

• The Alternative Media Access Center, an initiative of the University System of Georgia, is committed to removing barriers and providing access to knowledge for individuals with print-related disabilities.

• AMAC will develop a statewide material text repository that will save institutions money by lowering expensive production costs.

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AMAC Goals

• To provide comprehensive support services to individuals with print related disabilities and their service providers.

• To provide academic media in multiple accessible formats to meet the varied needs of students who have print-related disabilities.

• To facilitate the implementation of Universal Design for Learning.

• To serve as a locus of research for the further understanding of print-related disabilities, alternative media, and assistive technology

• To maximize the efforts to serve students with print-related disabilities in a cost effective manner.

• To work with private institutions, government organizations, non-profit organizations, private industry, and other agencies serving individuals with disabilities.

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Advisory Committee

• Student Representation

• Georgia Board of Regents/ALT

• The Regents’ Center for Learning Disorders

• Research Universities

• Regional Universities

• State Universities

• State Colleges

• Two-Year Colleges

• Georgia Department of Education

• Department of Technical Adult Education

• Private Institutions

• Vocational Rehabilitation Services

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AMAC Divisions

• Documentation Verification

  • AMAC will provide documentation verification to access services

• Research

  • AMAC’s tracking system will be used to monitor production costs, adaptive technologies and media use, as well as, the demographics of participating students and institutions

  • AMAC will support ongoing quantitative and qualitative research focusing on the effectiveness of alternative media and assistive technologies for different learners

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Accessible Web Sites?

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Research:
Formats of Alternative Media

• AHEAD 2005 Survey

• * Analog audio (for example, audio cassettes)
  * Braille
  * Large print
  * Digital audio (for example, CDs and MP3s)
  * Electronic text
  * Plain text
  * Rich Text Format
  * HTML
  * DAISY
  * Electronic Braille
  * PDF

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What is NIMAS?

• Background:

  • The lack of accessible curriculum materials in general education classrooms

    • raises barriers to learning for students with disabilities and

    • limits access to the general curriculum.

  • While many students lacked digital curriculum materials, many blind students wait up to 9 months for Braille.

  • Without a common standard for source-file formats, the large-scale development of accurate, reliable curriculum materials in alternate formats is unlikely.

  • NIMAS lang. first included in AFB Solutions Forum IMAA.

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AMAC Services

• Access to Electronic Delivery of Course Materials

• Assistive Technology Evaluations

• Access to AMAC Assistive Technology Co-Op

• Assistive Technology Training Support

• Braille Services

• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Transcription Services

• Student/Client Training and Technical Assistance

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Student Profile: Mark

• I am a 19 year old male with learning disabilities attending community college in Georgia. I rarely read except for the times that I am really interested in the subject matter.

• When I need to read and study textbooks, I read out loud, tape myself and play back the tape repeatedly.

• I can get by with this method but I need a more efficient means to absorb what I read.

• What can I do to stop the insanity?

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Student Profile: Mark

• 2nd year History Major

• RCLD Evaluation

  • Dyslexic

• AT Evaluation

• AMAC Services

  • Vista Profile

  • Books-on-Tape

and/or e-text

• • AT Software & Training

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Mark’s Action Plan

• Goals

  • 4 year College degree

  • Communication

  • Increase Reading and Writing skills

  • Drivers Test

  • Part Time Job

  • Personal Budget Planning

• Action Steps

  • LD Screening and/or Evaluation

    • Dyslexic

  • Assistive Technology Evaluation, Software/Equipment & Training

  • AT for reading and writing

  • UDL Classroom Strategies

  • Test Accommodations and Modifications

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AMAC Services

• All publisher Electronic Files (E-files) will be requested

• All materials will be scanned and cataloged in repository

• Access to AMAC NEON Database

• Access monthly service reports

• Scan copy of book

• Formatted copy of materials

• Access to RFB&D services

• Access to a copy of RFB&D’s Victor Reader Software

• Access to Premier software downloads

• Braille Services

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Visual Perception & Discrimination:

• seeing likenesses and differences in shape and form, as in letters, words and numbers.

• Alternative Text

  • Electronic text (e-text)

    • Screen readers

  • Audio (tape, WAV, or MP3)

• Pictures & Symbols

  • Writing with symbols

  • Inspiration

• Vocabulary List of New or Visually Unfamiliar Words

  • Talking dictionaries

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Auditory Perception & Discrimination

• Difficulties affect the ability to hear likenesses and differences in sounds, as in sounds of letters, words, and numbers.

• Provide instruction in multiple formats

  • Drawings

  • Photographic essays

  • Diagrams

  • Slides and video

• Digital Tape Recorders for note taking

• In oral interaction situation, visually present and outline of key words

• Have student repeat information orally expressed

• Teach “asking question skills”

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What is ?

NEON stands for New Educational Online Nexis. 

• The AMAC NEON application allows Disability Service Providers to:

  • Manage accounts for students receiving AMAC services. 

  • Order alternative media.

  • Check the status of alternative media orders.

  • Search the library for existing alternative media.

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Accessing E-files

• The client logs onto the internet

• Accesses their email account to view their converted textbooks

• Selects a textbook & opens the assigned chapter

• Accesses assistive technology downloads

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Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic Partnership

• System-wide agreement

• Access to the State of Georgia RFB&D orders

• The capacity of move around hardware and software

  • Leverage costs

    • Victor Reader Software

    • Downloads

  • Hardware Loan Library

    • Vibes

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Premier Software Download Partnership

• • Complete Reading System

  • E-Text Reader

  • Text-To-Audio

  • PDF Magic Pro

  • Talking Word Processor

  • Ultimate Talking Dictionary

  • Universal Reader

  • E-Library

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Learning Solutions for Post-Secondary Students: Access To Information for All

Alternative Media Access Center

University of Georgia
331 Milledge Hall
Athens, Georgia, 30602

(Phone) 706.542.1299

(Fax) 706.583.0001

(Email)

(Web)