Universal Design, the Library, and Assistive Adaptive Technologies

The effort to find ways to make everything from doorways to websites more accessible to people with physical and learning disabilities is synonymous with the term “Universal Design”. In this presentation we will explore how Universal Design principles, guidelines, and performance indicators can be applied to library instruction, information technology, physical spaces, and student services. Attendees will walk away with tips and tricks, resources and best practices that will help make instruction, educational products, and environments accessible to all students, including those with disabilities.To access the session handout, click on the Download button on the right

There is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch: Free Software for Ease of Access AND Improved Productivity

Technology provides a terrific way to remove obstacles to learning. Many of the available tools are free, but what are they? This session will highlight tools such as Evernote products, GoogleDocs, Natural Reader, Fire Vox, ssOverlay, MindMeister, Windows built in products, and more. While these products can be used by libraries as adaptive technologies to provide access, they also can be used to increase day-to-day productivity of library staff and patrons

Is Your Library Compliant? Online Access Reviews From the Office of Civil Rights

Is your online content truly accessible to individuals with sensory disabilities? Do you know who your institution\u27s Section 504 coordinator is? (What is a 504 coordinator?) Does your library strategic plan ensure the accessibility of all your online content? Recent compliance reviews by the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights have demonstrated the need for online content from college and university libraries to be fully accessible. All online materials--from an institution\u27s home page to online courses--must be proactively accessible. Accommodation is no longer an acceptable strategy. Presenters will provide information on recent compliance reviews, student complaints, and consent decrees related to online accessibility in higher education. Discussion will ensue on what libraries can do to institute changes

Preparing Your Campus for Veterans\u27 Success: An Integrated Approach to Facilitating the Transition and Persistence of Our Military Students

Description This book is intended for everyone in higher education – whether in the classroom, student affairs, administration, admissions, health services or faculty development – who is, or expects to be teaching, advising, or serving student veterans. This book is the outcome of a partnership between the Center for Teaching and Learning and the office of Disabilities Services at the University of South Dakota that led to the development of the Fides program whose goal was to establish high-quality, evidence-based development opportunities specifically designed to enable key university constituencies—the faculty, staff, and administration—to understand their role in providing extraordinary learning experiences for veterans. The program was funded through a congressionally directed FIPSE grant. Materials from Fides have been featured by prominent educational organizations, and are being used by the National Center for PTSD, colleges, universities, and boards of regents across the US.This book provides the background and guidelines you need to leverage the strengths that student veterans bring to your institution, to ease the challenges they face in transitioning into higher education, to facilitate their learning, and to ensure their successful graduation.Student veterans bring many strengths to your campus – maturity, significant life experiences, and cross-cultural awareness. They are highly motivated to serve others and value education. Student veterans may however face significant challenges. Student veterans have typically been out of high school for some time, where they may have earned average grades. Many are married with children and more than a few are single parents. They are approximately 20% less likely than non-veterans to attain a bachelor degree and slightly more likely to drop out of higher education without attaining a degree of any sort. Deployments extend their time to degree, and multiple deployments can significantly delay graduation.The challenges associated with transitioning from the military into higher education are heightened when a student has a disability – physical, psychological, or emotional. Common disabilities that are emerging from Iraq and Afghanistan include amputations, hearing loss, traumatic brain injury, and post-traumatic stress disorder.To enable student veterans to succeed, institutions need to develop holistic initiatives to mediate student veterans’ transition and persistence, and develop appropriate programs and services that recognize their skills, family responsibilities, and distinct needs. This book outlines best practices for student affairs; describes innovative approaches to administrative services and support; suggests streamlining policies and procedures to make the campus “veteran friendly”; proposes ideas for academic programs; looks at the implications for course structure and design; considers the classroom environment; and explores how classroom policies impact student veterans. One chapter examines the issue of student veteran success specifically from the point of view of two-year institutions. The authors stress the importance of collaborative approaches across divisions and functions providing all stakeholders on campus with a comprehensive view of how they can support each to ensure the success of their student veterans