Adaptive Technology on the UALR Campus

							Adaptive Technology on the
      UALR Campus
 What Is „Adaptive‟ Technology?
Any device that allows a person to complete a
task more efficiently or independently. It can be
high or low-tech.
What is its purpose?
  •To focus on service
  •To measure as well as manage
  •To identify and develop expected outcomes
  •To make a positive difference in a person‟s view of
  their quality of life
  •To contribute to independence

   True Story: Creation of high tech arms=didn‟t allow
                grasping independently.
      Disability Etiquette *
Things to remember when communicating
  with persons with visual impairments

• Never touch or distract a service dog while it is
  working
• Do not attempt to lead a person without asking;
  allow the person to hold your arm
• Give verbal information that is obvious to
  persons who can see; be very descriptive
• Offer assistance if the customer appears to be
  having difficulty locating an area
Disability Etiquette Continued
 Things to remember when communicating
 with persons with Mobility Impairments

   • Put yourself at the wheelchair user‟s
     eye level; sit next to them when
     speaking
   • Respect personal space-don‟t lean on
     a wheelchair or any other assistive
     device
   • Do not assume a person wants to be
     pushed; ask first
   • Make sure there is a clear path of
     travel; ADA requires 4-6‟
  Disability Etiquette Continued
Things to remember when communicating with
persons who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

  • Gain their attention before starting a
    conversation; identify who you are
  • Look directly at the person, speak clearly
  • If the person uses an interpreter, speak directly
    to the person, not the interpreter
  • Use the Telecommunications Relay Service to
    telephone a person who is deaf
  • Give people who are deaf and hard of hearing
    time to think. And keep in mind that intense
    concentration is very tiring. Allow time for breaks
    in extended conversations. (PEPNet)
Disability Etiquette Continued
Things to remember when communicating
with persons with Speech Impairments

• If you do not understand something, do not
  pretend that you do; ask them to repeat what they
  have said; be patient
• Try to ask questions that require short answers
• Concentrate on what the person is saying
• Do not speak for the person or try to finish their
  sentences
• If no solution to a communication problem can be
  worked out, ask the person if there is someone
  who might interpret on their behalf
 Disability Etiquette Continued
Things to remember when communicating with
persons with Cognitive Impairments

• Be prepared to provide an explanation more than
  once
• Provide extra time for completion of forms,
  assignments
• Be patient, flexible, and supportive; take time to
  understand the person and make sure they
  understand you
• Move to a quiet or private location if in a public place
  with distractions
Disability Etiquette Continued
 • Provide access to facilities and services
 • Relax and listen to the person
 • Maintain eye contact
 • Treat the person with dignity, respect
   and courtesy
 • Offer assistance, but do not insist
 • Deal with unfamiliar situations in a
   calm, professional manner

 *This information taken from Opening Doors to Ability,
     President’s (Clinton) Committee on Employment of People
     with Disabilities
  Disability Terminology
Put the person first, not the
 disability
People are not conditions, so
 don‟t label them with the name
 of their condition
Some people have hidden
 disabilities, i.e. heart disease,
 dyslexia and AIDS
              Awareness
Despite the existence of Technology-Related
Assistance Projects, Congress found there is
still a lack of information among individuals
with disabilities, educators, family members
and other appropriate individuals about the
availability and potential of technology for
persons with disabilities. Hence, the
establishment of the Tech Act amendments in
1994, which provide financial assistance for
the purchase of technology.
           Accessibility
“…Full accessibility is a goal we
are all working toward…in other
    words, making something
  immediately accessible is not
always possible, but it should be
possible to demonstrate that it is
       work in progress...”

Jeanne Kincade, Accessibility Seminars, UALR Campus,
             1997 and ASU, Beebe 2001
       What legislation is in place?
Federal: ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act)-1974
Section 508 (Rehabilitation Act Amendments)-1986, 1992, 1999
Social security amendments allowing tax sheltering of income to
  purchase technology-1986
Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf Act-1987
School-to-Work:aids states in establishing partnerships between
  school and workplace, presumes systems of support for
  students with disabilities, such as assistive technology
Assistive Technology Act of 2004--Press Release 10-24-04; Press
  Release 02-09-05
State: Arkansas Act 1227--specifies all technology purchases by
   state agencies must be adaptable to the persons with visual
   impairments
        Recent Decisions and Issues As Applied to
            Institutions of Higher Education
Preadmission Requirements                   Testing
Admission Requirements                      Documentation
Notice of Disability                        Faculty Responsibilities
Disability Defined (Major Life Activity)    Readers
Otherwise Qualified‟ Definitions            Personal Assistance
Academic Adjustments                        Course Substitution
Accommodations                              Auxiliary Aids
 (Processing Accommodation Requests)        Fee-based Services
Altering Test Administration                Interpreter Services
Test Location                               Note Taking Assistance
Make-up Exams                               Real-time Captioning
Other Evaluation                            Reader Services
Instructional Materials in                   Health and safety
Alternate Format                            Internships/clinical
Conduct generally                           rotations


From Highlights of Recent ADA/Section 504 Decisions, ADA Seminar, ASU, Beebe,
2001, Jeanne Kincaid
                      Precedents
Assistive Technology (Community College of Southern
Nevada-Case No. 10-99-2007 OCR Region X 2000): Faults college
for failing to provide appropriate training to college personnel to
ensure equal access to computers by students with visual
impairments and for failing to ensure that equipment is
maintained); from Highlights of Recent ADA/Section 504 Decisions, ADA
Seminar, ASU, Beebe, 2001, Jeanne Kincaid, p 21


Accessibility (California State University-Los Angeles-Case No.
09-97-2002, OCR Region IX 1997): University must provide equal
access to all its services, including Internet, accommodations
must be part of comprehensive plan; when purchasing new
equipment institution must consider impact on users with
disabilities); from Highlights of Recent ADA/Section 504 Decisions, ADA
Seminar, ASU, Beebe, 2001, Jeanne Kincaid, p 27
What Is the Current UALR Policy?
RULE: IF AN INSTITUTION RECEIVES ONE DOLLAR OF
 FEDERAL MONIES, IT IS BOUND BY LAW TO MAKE
             MATERIALS ACCESSIBLE.

The general policy followed at UALR: individual teachers are
responsible for making the class material accessible, and the
department or college is responsible for making labs accessible.

For the purpose of providing funds to that end, the CADA committee
was established in 1995 and annually reviews requests for both
architectural and technology improvements. The recommendations
of this committee are sent to the Chancellor, who either approves or
disapproves the requests.

Recent examples: Braille signage, electric access entrances,
software and site licenses purchase.
     UALR's Electronic Media Policies
In addition to the CADA committee, the Web Policy Committee, of the
same composition, meets as needed to discuss UALR‟s compliance/non-
compliance with Federal standards in regard to web content. The term
„web content‟ refers to all electronic materials, including but not limited to:
syllabi, class discussion lists, chat rooms, web pages, (Departmental or
College, but not student), courses, i.e. WebCT, Blackboard/Teletrain,
server architecture and administrative systems.

Biannually, the Webmaster conducts an accessibility evaluation of
departmental web pages and notifies respective colleges of the results.
Pages in non-compliance are allowed 30 days to edit the content or are
dropped from the UALR page.

Although the Clinton Administration‟s passage of the then new 508
standards was placed on hold by the Bush Administration, institutions of
higher education are still bound by the Rehabilitation Act 504 and its
guidelines. It is well to remember, the new 508 standards are not an issue
of „procurement‟ but of accessibility.
        What and Where?
Equipment and software available on
campus:

DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES: captioning
equipment for videos, Braille printer/embosser,
scanner, Braille 'n' Speak, Type 'n' Speak, Braille
Lite and non-electric Braille Writers to loan to
students; Tactile graphics production equipment,
portable CCTV, voice calculator, electronic speller,
laptops with TypeWell software for students who
are deaf or hard of hearing, room FM listening
devices that can be plugged into existing sound
systems, i.e. Stella Boyle Theatre
          What and Where?
Equipment and software available on campus:

AHSS SUA Labs: JAWS and MAGic
DIVISION OF SECOND LANGUAGES: JAWS and MAGic
DON REYNOLDS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: JAWS
EARTH SCIENCE: JAWS and MAGic
EAST LAB: JAWS and MAGic, Romeo embosser
INTERNET CAFÉ: MAGic, Kurzweil 3000 Read, ReadingBar
LIBRARY MULTI MEDIA SERVICES: MAGic, JAWS, Kurzweil 3000
    Read
RHETORIC AND WRITING: JAWS. MAGic, Co:Writer, Inspiration,
    Write: OutLoud
SPEECH COMMUNICATION: MAGic and JAWS
COMPUTING SERVICES OPEN STUDENT LABS: Color CCTV‟s, Juliet
    and Versa Point Embossers, FOCUS 40 refreshable Braille
    display, Dragon Naturally Speaking, Duxbury, JAWS, Kurzweil
    3000 Scan and Read, MAGic, OpenBook, Scientific Notebook,
    WYNN
  What Is That Thingamabob
   and How Does It Work?
Note Takers: Notetakers are personal devices to
input and output information in accessible formats--
refreshable Braille and/or synthesized speech.

Braille Embossers produce hard copy Braille.

Refreshable computer Braille Displays are used with
PC's for dynamic output of screen information in
Braille.
   What Is That Thingamabob
    and How Does It Work?
Scanning and Reading systems scan and
translate printed materials and then
output page information in synthesized
speech or on a display monitor.

Screen magnifiers: change resolution of
monitor display. New versions have
speech option. System requirements:
compatible video and sound cards
     What Is That Thingamabob and
          How Does It Work?
Screen Readers: software that identifies, usually by
OBDC, points on a computer screen, digitizing it into
audio output
      PC screen reader software requirements: Sufficient
      processor, compatible video card, usually Sound Blaster
      Live! sound card, speakers/and or headphones


Power Brailles: computer display units that translate
screen data into 6-dot or 8-dot refreshable Braille.
They are compatible with many screen readers, such
as JAWS®. The cursor can be routed or tethered to
the software or pc.
   Another Whatchmacallit
Voice Recognition: Currently several software are
  available but premier software is
  DragonNaturallySpeaking® or Dragon Dictate®.
  Dragon has a basic 64,000 word vocabulary, with
  additional modules such as Law, Medical.

  Dragon contains a digitized „ideal voice‟, which is
   compared to the user‟s created voice file, then digitized.
   The end result is fairly accurate voice file, which
   improves with use/correction. Naturally Speaking uses
   continuous speech, whereas Dictate uses discreet speech
  (slight pause after each word).
     Screen Readers-Powerful
     Tools of Communication
• JAWS can read within applications using standard navigation
  keystrokes, such as TAB, ARROW, CRTL+C, CRTL+V
    –Many reading keystrokes use the NUM PAD keys in combination
    with other keys


• Jumping from a DOS world into a Windows environment
• JAWS® and outSPOKEN®
    –The new JAWS motto: “Surf’s up…”
• Navigating in a screen reader software
    –Use combination of keystrokes
    –Script
     The Internet-WOW!!!
Remember, navigating with adaptive
 software is usually accomplished without
 a mouse. NAVIGATING MUST BE A
 SERIES OF CONSISTENT SEQUENCES.

A few basics to make material accessible:
• PROVIDE A TEXT ONLY VERSION
• PROVIDE A VIEW/VERSION WITHOUT
  FRAMES
• PROVIDE ALT TAGS.
       The Internet-WOW!!!
      Is your content accessible?
         Evaluate it with Bobby:
               http://webxact.watchfire.com

UALR is required to meet Priority One Guidelines
                 (Section 508)
    Further guidelines: http://www.w3.org
         Basis for Federal government‟s new 508 standards.

  Basic Programs: what‟s accessible, what‟s not? Prime
     example: MS Power Point. Power Point alone is
inaccessible. However, PPT files opened in a browser, are
                        accessible.
     The Internet-WOW!!!
Browsers, animation, streaming video
            and magic…
Campus Reference sites:
http://www.ualr.edu/dssdept
http://www.ualr.edu/pace
http://www.ualr.edu/dssdept/pec.html
http://www.ualr.edu/rehdept
http://www.
http://www.
http://www.
                   Funding
• Arkansas State Rehabilitation Counselors
• ICAN (Increasing Capabilities Access Network)
• Arkansas State Services for the Blind
• Veterans Administration
• Medicare and Medicaid
• The Plan for Achieving Self-Sufficiency (PASS)
• CSPD (Comprehensive System of Personnel
  Development)
• Community Rehabilitation Programs - Rehabilitation
  Continuing Education Programs
• RSA (Rehabilitation Services Administration, U.S.
  Department of Education)
 Summary
  Accessibility
Communication
 Independence
     Tools
Universal Design