[Athen] Budget cuts and Assistive Technology in campus computer labs, & Disability Service technology campus availability (Paul E. Paire)

[Martha Velasquez]

Hello Paul,

Thanks for the great information.

The "one station minimum" was in reference to what was mandated by our
settlement agreement. The campus has made a strong commitment to ensure
that we have more than one ADA station that contains AT. We have also gone
above the "basic AT package" and included Kurzweil, WYNN, OpenBook, JAWS,
MAGic, and Dragon.

The campus IT Help Desk staff are also trained in troubleshooting and
providing assistance to any student that requires AT assistance. We also
developed training manuals for students and staff that are located at each
station. We also provide one on one training and support for any student
requiring additional assistance.

Here is the link to our Educational Technology Services accessibility page:
http://ets.berkeley.edu/accessibility

Thanks,

Martha


On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 12:44 PM, Paul E. Paire <paire at temple.edu> wrote:


>  Martha,

>

>

>

> Regarding your requirement that it be “installed on at least 1

> workstation in each of our general access computer labs”, we took a

> different approach.  We base the number of required installs on the ADA

> Accessibility Guidelines  for designated wheelchair seats in areas with

> fixed seating, section 4.1.3(19)(a)

> <https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/buildings-and-sites/about-the-ada-standards/background/adaag#4.1.3%2819%29%28a%29>

> :

>

> (a) In places of assembly with fixed seating accessible wheelchair

> locations shall comply with 4.33.2

> <https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/buildings-and-sites/about-the-ada-standards/background/adaag#4.33.2>,

> 4.33.3

> <https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/buildings-and-sites/about-the-ada-standards/background/adaag#4.33.3>,

> and 4.33.4

> <https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/buildings-and-sites/about-the-ada-standards/background/adaag#4.33.4>

> and shall be provided consistent with the following table:

>

> *Capacity of Seating in Assembly Area         Number of Required

> Wheelchair Locations*

>

> 4 to 25                                                 1

>

> 26 to 50                                               2

>

> 51 to 300                                             4

>

> 301 to 500                                           6

>

> over 500                                              6 plus 1 additional

> space for each total seating capacity increase of 100

>

>

>

> But we tweaked it so that this would be for each type of workstation.  So

> if you have a lab of 25 computers, but half are Macs then you need one

> accessible PC and one accessible Mac.  Further if 5 of the 25 PC’s are

> specific for video editing, then one of the 5 video editing machines has to

> be accessible (insofar as you can make a video editing workstation

> accessible.)

>

>

>

> We also address not just AT but reach distances, clearances, route to and

> around the workstation as well.

>

>

>

> Lastly it doesn’t help to have the AT installed on the workstation if

> people don’t know it exists.  We have a designated ‘Accessibility Tools’

> folder on the desktop and a recommend setting up a hotkey for JAWS. We also

> have instructions on how to use Windows Narrator/Magnifier to login to the

> workstation, then kill Narrator/Magnifier and launch JAWS/ZoomText once

> they’re at the desktop.

>

>

>

> Our guidelines for computer lab managers:

> http://accessibility.temple.edu/policies-guidelines/standards-and-guidelines/computer-lab-accessibility-guidelines

>

> Our instructions for end users:

> https://computerservices.temple.edu/computer-lab-accessibility-tools

>

>

>

> -Paul

>

>

>

> *From:* athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] *On

> Behalf Of *Martha Velasquez

> *Sent:* Thursday, July 02, 2015 3:00 PM

> *To:* Access Technology Higher Education Network

> *Subject:* Re: [Athen] Budget cuts and Assistive Technology in campus

> computer labs, & Disability Service technology campus availability (Paul E.

> Paire)

>

>

>

> Hello Aura,

>

>

>

> I'm sorry to hear about the budget cuts on your campus.

>

>

>

> The UCB settlement agreement with DRA does require that we have AT

> software installed on computers. We did come up with a "Basic AT package"

> that needs to be installed on at least 1 workstation in each of our general

> access computer labs.

>

>

>

> The "Basic AT package" consists of free open source software but we also

> hold a campus license to Kurzweil which is now being installed on all

> computers as part of the campus computer image.

>

>

>

> Here is the link to our settlement agreement:

> http://dralegal.org/sites/dralegal.org/files/casefiles/settlement-ucb_0.pdf

>

>

>

> You can find the part about AT software on page 8.

>

>

>

> Let me know if I can answer any questions. I hope this helps! Good luck!

>

>

>

> Thanks,

>

>

>

> Martha

>

>

>

> On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 10:57 AM, Aura Mollick Hirschman <hirschma at uwm.edu>

> wrote:

>

>

>

> Hi All. In addition to Bryon's timely question, I would like to add:

>

>

>

> My campus (and our system) is facing severe cuts, as you may have already

> heard. We have General Access Computer Labs/Lounges around campus that have

> AT software, (e.g. JAWS, ZoomText, Kurzweil, R&WG). The question came up

> today in a meeting with IT  as to whether we need all of these in the labs.

> This question is being asked in light of the budget cuts, but also

> given all of the new accessibility features in Windows 8 and the

> accessibility features in the Mac. I do not equate the Windows updates or

> Mac updates with providing the AT (referred to in our meeting as

> accessibility software) that students need, but this seems to be the way

> that the IT folks are thinking. We discussed individualized accommodations,

> ADA, and accessibility. I explained how students use AT according to their

> disability, skills and abilities, environment, and tasks, and how their

> preferences are important in determining what is reasonable for the

> individual.

>

>

>

> At the meeting we agreed that we would look into student use statistics

> for our AT installed in the labs. This will include the last two years. We

> also agreed that I would gather info from other campuses on how, where and

> what AT is needed to insure we are meeting the needs of all of our

> students, considering retention, but also recruitment.

>

>

>

> Here are some questions. How do you make AT available in your campus

> computer labs? If a student transitions to college after using one type of

> AT, like Kurzweil, through K-12, is it reasonable to expect them to change

> to another type of AT, such as RWG, if that is all that is available

> through the school? Is there any guidance out there as to what a campus

> should minimally offer in AT? Has this been tested in the courts? How many

> students do you think look at AT offerings when making their decisions to

> come to a campus? (none, some, many?) Any data? Feel free to respond here

> or get in touch by phone.

>

>

>

> I'm also watching the responses to Bryon's recent inquiry. Thanks for

> reading through my wordy questions.

>

>

>

> Aura

>

>

>

> Aura M. Hirschman, M.S., C.R.C.

>

> Senior Counselor/Alternative Text Program Coordinator

> University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Accessibility Resource Center

> Mitchell Hall, Room 103

> 3203 North Downer Avenue

> Milwaukee, WI  53211-3153

>

>

> phone (414) 229-5660

> fax (414) 229-2237

>

>

>

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> --

>

> Alternative Media Supervisor

>

> Disabled Students' Program

>

> University of California, Berkeley

>

> http://dsp.berkeley.edu/alternativemedia.html

>

>

>

>

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-- 
Alternative Media Supervisor
Disabled Students' Program
University of California, Berkeley
http://dsp.berkeley.edu/alternativemedia.html
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