Transcript Learning with Disabilities: Information = Success! An Abilities United Service Project Overview Wright State University has a long and successful history of working.

Learning with Disabilities: Information = Success!
An Abilities United Service Project
Overview
Wright State University has a long and successful history of working to improve the
learning experience for students with disabilities. Campus organizations, courses that
focus on success despite a disability, and nationally recognized research programs are
all part of a university-wide vision to make education accessible.
Abilities United (AU) is a student organization for persons with disabilities. Working in
conjunction with the Office of Disabilities and the new IGERT Ph.D. Technology-based
Learning with Disabilities program, AU is currently developing a community-based
outreach program that will inform students, parents, and teachers about the availability
and use of adaptive technology. The common goal is to bridge the gap between
disability, assistive technologies, and the pedagogy of individualized learning.
Called Information = Success!, the aim of this service project is to provide area schools
with a packet that includes information about the availability of adaptive technology,
goal-setting strategies, and self-advocating.
“No one in my high school seemed to know there
was technology available to help me with my
learning disability. I felt I wasn’t really given a
chance to succeed in high school and was illprepared for college level coursework. When I
came to WSU, I was amazed there was so
much adaptive technology available. It was
a relief … but at the same time, I was very disappointed that no one was
able to help me in junior or senior high school. I want other students with
disabilities to know they can succeed in education and how technology
can help them before they go to college.”
… Amelia Greene, AU secretary
Abilities United
Abilities United is a relatively new organization on Wright State’s campus dedicated to
the representation and advocacy for students with disabilities. AU is open to all students,
and serves as a forum for building a sense of community that promotes diversity and
accessibility on campus.
AU has begun work on Information = Success!, an informational and comprehensive
packet to be disseminated to area schools. AU wants all students with disabilities to
have a basic understanding of adaptive technology, including where to find it and how
to fund it.
However, perhaps the most important message that AU hopes to get across is that
students need to learn to self-advocate. Students with disabilities may have a better
chance at success if they can define their educational and life goals, understand their
own individual technology needs, and effectively communicate their goals and needs
to others. AU hopes Information = Success! will be a valuable resource for addressing
these issues.
Lisa J. Douglas
Maurissa D’Angelo
Amelia J. Greene
Mark A. Burwinkel
Megan E. Greenlee
“In school, I often had the feeling that no one heard or
saw me because I was ‘different’. I was never able to
reach things as simple as the latch on my locker, food
in the lunch line, or even classroom countertops. I
thought it was just how life was. When I came to WSU, it
was interesting to see how things are adapted for me –
automatic doors openers and counters that adjust to
MY height rather than a normal person height. I really
want other students with physical disabilities to know that with even simple
adaptive technology, education, and life, before college can be a more
positive experience.”
… Megan Greenlee, AU president
Office of Disability Services
The inspiration for the Information = Success! service project came from an innovative
course offered at Wright State University – Adaptive Computer Technology. Katherine
Myers, MRC, ATP, the associate director of Disability Services (ODS), developed the
combination lecture and lab course to help students with disabilities learn to be both
independent and productive adults – to be successful!.
Her course incorporates not only the breadth of available adaptive technology, but she
spends time helping students learn how to define goals, which technologies they need to
help them achieve these goals, and how to be assertive with issues like technology fit and
alternative funding.
During this past year, AU members noticed that most of the students taking Adaptive
Computer Technology had no exposure to adaptive technology at the junior or high
school level. Class dialogue included the frustration of this lack of knowledge and the
repercussions for students who may never attend college. If students did receive help for
their disabilities before coming to Wright State, many said that the assistive technology
they were given did not address their individual needs. This is called poor technology fit.
AU members began to formulate the idea of an outreach service project. They felt the
information developed for the Adaptive Computer Technology course should be shared
with junior and high school students, as well as their parents and teachers.
With the help of the Office of Disability Services, and some of the IGERT fellows, AU is
incorporating Mrs. Myers resourceful ideas into Information = Success! Planned packet
sections include technology search strategies for the internet, and specific product
information, including company contacts for training and support. Other sections will
include information on how students can identify their own goals and needs, what
technologies can help facilitate those needs, and some ideas about where to look for
basic and alternative financial assistance.
“I think there is a need to inform high school teachers
of what kinds of reading and writing programs are
available for students with learning disabilities. But
more importantly, if the students know what is out there
in the way of adaptive technology, they really have a
shot at getting a great education.”
… Mark Burwinkel
IGERT
Several of the IGERT fellows have volunteered with AU to be a part of the
Information = Success! project. IGERT fellows will be assisting in the creation and
production of the packet and also will be involved in interacting with teachers,
parents, and especially the students once the project is up and running.
IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship) is a nationally
recognized research fellowship that has a unique focus at Wright State –
Technology-based Learning with Disabilities. This fellowship program, funded by
the National Science Foundation, seeks to train Ph.D. scientists and engineers with
the interdisciplinary background and the technical, professional, and personal
skills needed to address issues related both to learning and physical disabilities
(cf. IGERT.org). Fellows study in one of four doctoral concentrations: Human
Factors/Industrial & Organizational Psychology, Engineering & Computer Science,
Engineering, or Biomedical Sciences.
The IGERT program incorporates three interconnected research efforts:
understanding the basic biology, nature and development of human abilities,
exploring the opportunities afforded by advanced technologies, and addressing
the practical problems of the design of human-technology systems that broaden
and enhance learning experiences.
The main focus of IGERT is problem-centered research, but in order to fully
understand the barriers that persons with disabilities face every day, IGERT fellows
spend time outside the laboratory interacting with students on campus who are
facing the challenges of disability. This experience gives IGERT students an
opportunity to gain insight and understanding about the technological challenges
of living in a modern society. Their association with AU will no doubt be successful
for everyone involved.
More Information
If you would like to obtain further information about or lend support to the
Information = Success! project, please email Lisa Douglas at [email protected]
or Amelia Greene at [email protected]. For further information about the
Adaptive Computer Technology course, email Katherine Myers at
[email protected]. For detailed information about our IGERT program,
please go to www.wright.edu/lwd or visit the national recruitment program at
IGERT.org.
We would like to thank Megan Purtel, Katie Katulak, Jill Williams and all the AU members for
their continued efforts to make Information = Success! a valuable and worthwhile project.