[Athen] RE: Grad students and alternate formats

[Shahida Khaliq]

Exactly Ron.  We are here to ensure they have  the same access as their peers would have to course materials , no more,  no less.  As you say when they go out into the real world we should have furnished them with the wherewithal to be independent.

Thank you
Shahida

From: athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Ron Stewart
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 4:41 PM
To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network'
Subject: RE: [Athen] RE: Grad students and alternate formats

It is often about managing the workload, not the workload itself. The access requirement does not change but we can surly do it smarter in many instances that we have been doing.  It is not about giving the student what they want, though that is a consideration, it is about what they need to level the playing field.  You can only do so much, and the rest is up to them, but too often we give them more that they need and are not willing to ask them to step up to the bar.  Some also have the tendency to make decisions for others on their needs and capabilities that are better left to them. That is why we have the issues with employment and employability, Academe is a step on the road, but it is not the road.

Cheers

From: athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu> [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Shahida Khaliq
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 3:20 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network
Subject: RE: [Athen] RE: Grad students and alternate formats

Thank you Ron, very helpful advice,  it is much appreciated.  I will definitely be putting it to use (getting in some fishing rods as I type).

Sincerely
Shahida

From: athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu> [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu]<mailto:[mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu]> On Behalf Of Ron Stewart
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 2:36 PM
To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network'
Subject: RE: [Athen] RE: Grad students and alternate formats

Just another comment on this topic.  Grad thesis and dissertation readings can become a major issue, and one that I regularly use as one of my teachable moments in my talks and trainings.  What I recommend is in determining the need to convert this is a relationship be established between the student, the major professor and the service office.  It is a similar quandary to the optional and required book dilemma, with the exact same effective solution.

Those materials that the student wants converted, and that the major prof concurs, should be at a minimum provided in an "auto-ocr'd" version.  Now this requires that the student be proficient in their AT, but that is a life skill as well as an academic skill and I seriously question the survivability of any grad student who does not have the skills to be an effective student.  The best example of this is a student and now longtime friend, who was a history of science major.  They were studying a time in which none of their source materials were available in a textual format.  Thank the gods for JSTOR who had almost everything in image based PDF.  We were able to get the materials through JSTOR and Inter-Library loan, run them through auto recognition mode in the OCR application and the student was able to use their AT (Openbook) to review the materials.  Those that were determined to be germane to a course at the time or later the dissertation research topic were further edited once the student had explicitly identified what it was they needed and the major prof concurred.  I normally use a similar approach to research deep studies.

Not sure if this helps but it has really proven to be a win-win over the last couple of decades with a lot of students.  Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime!

Ron Stewart

From: athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu> [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Shahida Khaliq
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 12:21 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network
Subject: RE: [Athen] RE: Grad students and alternate formats

Thank you Sean, and everybody who answered.  At the moment our library is not part of the Hathi Trust Digital Library, but is in the process of joining them so what you say is a valid option for the future.    We are not denying any books to the student, the waters just become cloudy in terms of the readings not being tied to a particular class or professor (as one of the publishers is asking for this information).   The readings are up to the student with guidance from their advisor.  As long as the student presents proof that they have purchased the book asked for, we will acquire or create an alternate format.  However a book on loan from a library, I can see us doing portions but for the full book a purchase has to be made, beyond what portion of the book being asked for, should we ask for a receipt for proof of purchase?  i.e.  More than 5 chapters out of 10?



From: athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu> [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu]<mailto:[mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu]> On Behalf Of Sean Keegan
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 12:59 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network
Subject: Re: [Athen] RE: Grad students and alternate formats

My comments would echo what Teresa and Kathy have said in terms of alternate formats for grad students. One thing I would add, as it relates to procedures, is that we also try to work with the faculty when dealing with reading lists. Reading lists for a grad program may include a list of titles, but sometimes faculty members have a very specific edition they want the student to read even though it is not explicit on the program's reading list.

Another consideration may be to engage with the library at your institution to find out their status and relationship with the Hathi Trust Digital Library. Depending on who or what entity controls access to the accessible versions of the files, grad students may find this resource useful in that they may be able to obtain digital versions from a library representative directly. Alternatively, it may be a disability services office that acts as the "proxy" for the Hathi Trust. In any case, for students doing library research, this may be another option to consider procedurally.

More about Hathi Trust and accessibility at:
http://www.hathitrust.org/accessibility

Take care,
Sean



On Nov 13, 2013, at 9:20 AM, Kathleen Cahill <kcahill at MIT.EDU<mailto:kcahill at MIT.EDU>> wrote:

Hi Shahida,

The only difference might be that graduate students have lots of research that might not necessarily be tied to a particular class or textbook.  We ask graduate students to produce a list of what's needed and prioritize items.  Then, we do our best to procure reading materials in alternative formats that the student needs.

Hope this helps,
Kathy


Kathleen Cahill
Assistive Technology Specialist
MIT ATIC (Assistive Tech. Info. Center)
77 Mass. Ave. 7-143
Cambridge MA 02139
(617) 253-5111
kcahill at mit.edu<mailto:kcahill at mit.edu>



From: athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu> [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu<mailto:list-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu>] On Behalf Of Shahida Khaliq
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 11:51 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network (athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>)
Subject: [Athen] Grad students and alternate formats

Good Morning All

Could those of you who deal with graduate students and their alternate format requests give me an idea of what your policies and procedures are concerning their readings.  Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Best Regards
Shahida Khaliq
Coordinator for Alternate Format Text & Adaptive Tech.

Office of Disability Services
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