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Great final thoughts! I agree that it is difficult to help students with disabilities in online courses. My college recently let all of the faculty know that any videos we post must include closed captions for these types of students. While the idea of making online education available to all types of students is a noble one, there are some negative ramifications. For example, the requirement of closed captioning with all instructional videos may add so much extra work that some instructors may decide not to upload any videos. This would clearly be detrimental to all students, including those with disabilities. I think there are still a lot of conversations that need to be had about the practicality of being forced to cater to every disability in every learning modality.
ReplyDeleteHi Tiffani. I agree with Paul; great thoughts! You're right in that making distance education accessible to everyone is difficult. Impaired vision is definitely an obstacle when it comes to online learning - I'm sure that even if a student has the proper software, it would still add to the amount of time required to get through the reading, videos, research, etc. I also agree with you regarding teachers and training. What good are tools if they remain unused? Great job with this post and with the course as a whole! I look forward to our next class together!
ReplyDeleteTony
As always Tiffani excellent thoughts Tiffani. While I can se Paul’s point Close captioning is the only method engaging students with visual disabilities. Our ESE program use reader software while translates for the visually impaired, and CC software for the auditory impaired. While the software is far from perfect, it has improved dramatically over the years, effective distance programs will go the extra mile to ensure that every student is being reached and engaged.
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