Transcript Slide 1

Implementing Universal Design
Gladys Loewen, Assistive Technology BC
Carolyn Wiebe Christie, University of Manitoba
Joan Wolforth, McGill University
Leo Bissonnette, Concordia University
History of Universal Design
Project
CADSPPE funded project to explore
resources for implementing universal
design in higher education, specifically in
Disability Services.
Tasks Accomplished
Hired a student with a disability to create a
list of resources on universal design and
the social model of disability.
Published an article in NEADS journal.
Submitted an article for publication in
Communiqué.
Collected information on UD and elearning at NEADS conference.
Tasks Accomplished Continued
Assisted the Board in contacting Melanie
as the pre-conference presenter
Each of us worked on implementing
universal design activities in our work
Organized this workshop plus a follow-up
concurrent session on Advancing our
Profession
Recommendation
That the CADSPPE Board establish a UD
committee to act as a clearinghouse on
strategies, documents, templates. etc
Committee to review submissions of job
descriptions, sample letters to instructors,
mission statements, success stories,
curricular ideas to post on web site.
The DS Office and Universal
Design
Carolyn Wiebe Christie
University of Manitoba
The Disability Services Office
The starting point
How do we view our work?
Re-framing our words
Changing websites
Changing documents
Changing our words
Our words are the hardest part to change.
How we started
DS Retreat
Refresher of the ideas –
Start to change your own thinking by using
theory
Universal Instructional Design
UID is not just about accessibility for
persons with a disability – it’s about truly
universal thinking – maximizing learning
for students of all backgrounds and learner
preferences while minimizing the need for
special accommodations.
(University of Guelph, Teaching Support Services)
Mission Statement
Disability Services is the office responsible
for assigning, verifying, and providing
accommodations to students with
disabilities at the University of Manitoba.
Disability Services works to ensure a
responsive and accessible post-secondary
environment through providing information
and services to: students with disabilities;
instructors; academic departments;
faculties; and administrative units on
campus.
Mission Statement continued
How we can change our words to reflect a
shift to a social model?
A Different Way
Old idea
The DS office should offer tutors just for
students with disabilities.
New idea
A campus wide tutor service where tutors
can opt into training for a variety of student
requests.
A Different Way cont.
Old idea
Use DS office for all tests/exams when
students need accommodations.
New idea
Use a general test/exam centre for all
students/instructors of the institution for
deferred exams, different requests etc.
The “Problem”
Access issues are whose to solve?
Where does “the problem” reside?
How will change occur?
The Solution
The problem is with the environment of the
institution.
It is not just the responsibility of DS to fix we needs to take into account all
stakeholders of the institution.
We are the agents of change.
Technology and the Medical
Model
Gladys Loewen
Assistive Technology BC
Dilemma
Medical documentation of a permanent
disability required to access assistive
technology.
Federal funding – Canada Study Grant
requires barrier to learning.
Provincial/federal funding – Employment
Program for Persons with Disabilities
requires barrier to employment.
Medical Model
Eligibility criteria
Starting point to qualify for assistive
technology
A requirement that cannot be changed
Challenge
How to reframe disability when medical
model opens the door to resources?
Formula:
Documentation plus barrier caused by
disability = access to assistive technology.
Implications of Terminology
Think about the term; what does it imply?
Technology Services
Implications of Terminology
Technology Services
Versus
Technology Supports
Implications of Terminology
Technology Services
Technology Supports
Versus
Technology Resources
New Approach
Documentation +
Design of environment + Design of
work/study station = assistive
technology
Documentation states MS with
handwriting difficulty
Old approach:
Describe barriers caused by MS.
Is there any other impact besides
handwriting caused by MS?
 Focus on what person cannot do; expert
Documentation states MS with
handwriting difficulty
Revised approach:
Describe the structure (design) of your
class and the impact of that design.
What changes might allow you to fully
participate in the class?
 Focus on environment; user equal
role.
In-Class Writing Activities
Old approach:
If you take longer to write in class, would a
laptop help you?
Revised approach:
What resources or changes would make
the class equitable for you?
MS – Study Habits
Old Approach:
No questions asked about study habits.
Do you have a desk for a computer?
New Approach:
Describe your study habits and approach
to studying.
ADD with organization problems
Old approach:
Since organization is a problem, would
Inspiration software help you?
Revised approach:
What changes to the course design or
resources would make a difference in
your ability to participate?
What we learned:
Embracing and practicing new thinking
with reframing disability is an on-going
process that takes time, thought, and
practice.
One does not get “born again” as changes
do not happen overnight or
instantaneously.
Learning Continued:
Reframing disability using the social
model of disability and the principles of
universal design is a work in progress.
Due to the learning curve, changes are
made as awareness and
understanding occur.
Implementing Universal Design:
Engaging the University
Community
Joan Wolforth Ed.D.
Office for Students with Disabilities
McGill University
Montreal Quebec
CACUSS 2007 conference
Engaging the Community
Universal design as an architectural
concept
Remains a persuasive route to introduce
the terminology
McGill example :McGill Standards for a
Barrier Free Campus and Universal
Design
Engaging the Community
Examples of stair free entrances, and
ramps useful to all sorts of people:
AV equipment, people delivering
equipment, parents with strollers etc
Automatic doors good when carrying a pile
of books or a computer
Large single room washrooms good for
people with bags and coats in winter
Lever door handles
Engaging the Community
Web Design Group: get them interested in
W3
"The power of the Web is in its
universality. Access by everyone
regardless of disability is an essential
aspect."
Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and
inventor of the World Wide Web
Engaging the Community
Talk to computer systems people who
develop on-line systems e.g. on line
registration system and institutional portal
pages
McGill web site and portal pages
a. Change larger/smaller at one click
b. Change colour contrast and font using
tools/color and tools/accessibility options
Engaging the Community
Create a set of standards for Universal
Instructional Design to be applied in Web
CT course development
UNBC have been developing this type of
document
Educate staff trainers who teach
professors to use Web CT
Engaging the Community
Make alliances with other campus groups:
Environmental Sustainability group
Equity Committees
Human Rights and Diversity departments
Faculty Professional Development groups
Engaging the Community
Faculty Professional Development
Educate the trainers to educate the faculty
Give a workshop to faculty through this
department
Encourage new recruitment of staff with
UD experience
Check out University of Guelph
www.tss.uguelph.ca/uid
Engaging the Community
Classroom Design
Crucial component of instructional
universal design
McGill committee: Teaching Services,
Architects, Media Resources, OSD,
Faculty members
Designing flexible classrooms…moveable
furniture, adjustable furniture, adaptable
media resources
UD lectern
Engaging the Community
Opportunity Offered by Learner Centredness
Movement
Institutions moving to focus on Learning
Teaching has been traditional focus. If student
fails it is their fault.
Analogous to medical versus social model of
disability
NESSE (National Survey of Student
Engagement) and the like
Instructors are facilitators in learning
Engaging the Community
Focus on “what the student is learning,
how the student is learning, the conditions
under which the student is learning,
whether the student is retaining and
applying the learning, and how current
learning positions the student for future
learning” ( Weimer, 2002). Weimer,M. (2002). Learnercentered teaching: five keys to changes in practice. San Francisco:
JosseyBass
Engaging the Community
Universal design does not mean one size
fits all. On the contrary:
It does mean flexibility
It does mean a focus on student learning
It does mean that learning is a
collaborative process for the whole
university community
Engaging the Community
A final simple example:
Teaching a student who is hard of hearing
Good pedagogy for one is often good
pedagogy for all
Implementing Universal Design:
Faculty Development through
Workshops
Leo Bissonnette, Ph.D.
Access Centre for Students with Disabilities
Concordia University
Montreal Quebec
CACUSS 2007 Conference
Faculty and instructional design support staff are
being encouraged and even pressured to put
increasing amounts of course content online.
 Sometimes this is for an online course.
 Sometimes it is for a "hybrid course“: conducted
partly in a campus classroom and partly on the
Web.
Designing Accessible Course
Content Using Familiar Software
Faculty asked for training/workshops on Microsoft
products. They asked for specific access related
information on the following:
 Word Accessibility
 Excel Accessibility
 PowerPoint accessibility (what are the
Accessibility Problems with PowerPoint?)
Bissonnette, Leo. Meeting the Evolving Education Needs of Faculty in Providing Access for University
Students with Disabilities.
http://profetic.org/Meeting-the-Evolving Education
Designing Accessible Course Content
Using Familiar Software
The ACSD collaborated with Concordia
University’s Centre for Learning and Teaching
Services to provide:
 Workshops for Teaching Assistants
 Workshops for Newly Hired Faculty
 Department Specific Workshops
Can I do this with my favorite software?
The goal: to work with some of the most common
computer applications that faculty use to create
content and limit the need for workshop
participants to develop skills on specialized
creation tools.
Powerpoint accessibility
What are the Accessibility Problems with
PowerPoint?
Workshop participants are taken through 3
scenarios.
 Problems in a lecture-type face-to-face
presentation.
 Problems that exist when a presenter hands a
PowerPoint file to a user with a disability.
 Problems that remain when the presenter
exports a PowerPoint to the Web.
What are some of the solutions for
solving some of the Accessibility
Problems with PowerPoint?
Workshop participants are given the following
“solutions”:
 Two Methods for Extracting PowerPoint content
into a Word document
 PowerPoint Color, contrast, font style and size
http://www.ahead.org/training/conference/2006_conf/presenterinfo.htm
Producing Accessible PowerPoint
for the Web
While there are ways to alter the PowerPoint to the
Web output, it is far too complex for most users
who want to publish to the Web. We provide
workshop participants with two solutions for this
accessibility problem.
Solution 1
Accessible Web Publishing Wizard for Microsoft ®
Office
 Takes PowerPoint Presentations and exports
them to three html versions.
 The wizard is quite easy to use and is available
at the following URL :
http://www.accessiblewizards.uiuc.edu
 It does not currently work with Office 2007.
Development is in progress.
Solution 2
LecShare Pro converts Microsoft PowerPoint to:
QuickTime Movies
Accessible HTML
Video Podcasts
Microsoft Word Handouts
LecShare Pro 1.26 is:
Microsoft Office 2007 compatible
Windows Vista compatible
http://www.lecshare.com