Technology & Learning
Community
From the Field
May 1998
Redefining Access
in Technology
by Collen Fix
Perhaps you, as I,
have worked over the years with such esoteric issues as accreditation
documentation, mission statements, and master plans, all meant to
embody what we in community colleges are all about. However, when
we get to the heart of the matter, most of us are in the post-secondary
education business because we really feel that without our colleges,
millions of skilled, talented people would have a quality of life
far worse than now. It doesn't hurt our egos to remind ourselves
of the cost that would accrue to our society in terms of under-employment
or unemployment of these millions of Americans who would lack the
training we can provide.
In this same vein,
no population is more at risk and needs us more than do the millions
of Americans with disabilities. Although many are presently being
served by our community colleges, a large proportion of this population
remains underserved and many unserved. Yet there have been some
positive changes for people with disabilities over the past decade.
As I reflect on what has helped us to provide equal education to
them, the passage of civil rights laws mandating equal access, such
as the Americans with Disabilities Act, is surely worthy of applause.
However, some lesser-known laws make me really excited about the
potential of educating our students with disabilities. These laws
focus on technology. The most encompassing is the Telecommunications
Act of 1996, (P. L. 104-104), which requires telecommunications
manufacturers and service providers to ensure that telecommunications
equipment be designed, developed, and fabricated to be accessible
to and useable by individuals with disabilities, if readily achievable.
Also, the Tech Act of 1988 (P. L. 103-218) provides for states to
develop comprehensive consumer -driven assistive technology in each
of our states, a critical resource for community colleges. Also,
deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals benefit from the Telephone
Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990, which requires that televisions of
13 inches or greater have built-in circuitry decoders in order to
display closed-captioned television transmissions. This eliminates
communication barriers of televised classroom presentations and/or
assignments for students with hearing impairments.
The importance of
technology in today's educational delivery system is well understood.
However, the positive impact of technology for students with disabilities
can be magnified one hundred fold. The potential for such students
and
for us as educators is thrilling. For example, students with little
or no use of hands can speak into computers, virtually eliminating
their disability in many work places. As a legally-blind faculty
member, I am writing this article aided only by my speech-augmented
computer--a relatively new experience for me. Students with certain
learning disabilities can also read and write more effectively using
computer speech augmentation, spellcheckers, and grammar-checkers.
Special keyboards exist and regular keyboards can be modified so
access is created for a variety of disabling condition.
So--the laws and
the adaptive computers already exist! What has this to do with you?
Unhappily, my answer today is, "Probably nothing." I suggest this
dismal answer based on a wide breadth of experience. For example,
my college, Miami-Dade Community College, has done an outstanding
job of equipping its employees with disabilities with appropriate
technology. It even has a master technology plan to ensure access
for all students and employees, including those with disabilities.
Further, the Florida
Division of Community Colleges is on the brink of mailing out to
each community college service handbooks for students with disabilities.
The service handbook will include comprehensive technology access
recommendations.
What, then, is the problem? In truth, the problems are multiple:
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We in the field
are not insisting that we follow our own master plans and mission
statements when it comes to technology and students with disabilities.
For example, our textbook committees are not suggesting to publishers
that if the texts are placed on discs or cassettes, this will
give them a substantial market edge in our purchasing their
texts. Houghton and Mifflin recently provided to me at no expense
a computer-disc version of the text from which I teach.
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We do not mandate
that software be made accessible before we order it. What do
you do as a faculty member when you use software in your class
or lab that is not accessible to students with disabilities
in attendance?
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We have generally
not hired and trained technicians in the adaptive technology
field. What do students with disabilities do to learn to use
computers and software on campus?
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College web sites
have not typically been designed so that they can be accessed
fully by students or potential students with disabilities. As
a result, college personnel must spend many hours providing
information to students with disabilities that other people
can access independently. What about faculty who develop distance
education classes? Given accessible distance learning, students
who are temporarily or permanently homebound need no longer
be left behind academically.
If, as I allege,
you are not presently involved in adaptive technology and there
is little or no expertise in the field at your college, take heart.
I recommend beginning with the web site for the Yuri Rubinsky Insight
Foundation, a
multidisciplinary research and education foundation promoting universal
access to advanced information technology. Their award-winning site,
WebABLE, is a directory of disability-related internet resources,
such as the W3C guidelines for making your web site accessible.
Locally, begin with your state Office of Vocational Rehabilitation,
which can provide direct help to students with disabilities, as
determined by that agency.
As a person who developed
the first disabled student service program for colleges/universities
in Florida and having worked in the field of disability for the
past 30 yeas, I am becoming alarmed about the future of this population.
Only by complying with our own laws, recommendations, and master
plans will we be able to educate students with disabilities. We
in the field can, and must, hold ourselves accountable. No one said
that it would be easy, but imagine how much easier it will be for
you and your students with disabilities if you become involved in
finding technological solutions now. Adapting technology so all
students have
access to it is a necessary first step. Access for all is our business:
the heart of the matter.
Colleen Fix is the Chairperson
of Special Support Services at Miami-Dade Community College. She
can be reached at 305/237-1466.
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