[Athen] [EXT]: Re: [EXT]: Re: Alt format process?

[Wink Harner]

Hi Russel et al

Even though the question wasn’t asked specifically in your original post,
I’m adding a resource to what could be made available for faculty support
and training in creating accessible STEM course material. Check out the
links at PORTLAND Community College’s faculty resource center for all their
resources:
https://www.pcc.edu/instructional-support/accessibility/

Wink Harner

On Fri, Feb 14, 2020 at 4:17 PM Kluesner, Bryon <Bryon-Kluesner at utc.edu>
wrote:


> Hi Russell,

>

> I am unsure if our campus utilizes OER's. I do know that our faculty are

> required, per directive from our Provost, to make their course material

> accessible. Six or 7 years ago, I was involved in the formation of an

> Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI) committee here at the University of

> Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). We modeled our initiative after the

> California State University system, who had been involved in an OCR review

> regarding inaccessible materials. Our ATI policies/procedures was well

> received by the University of Tennessee system, that it created a state

> wide UT system initiative.

>

> Last semester, the ATI was renamed, since it was no longer an "initiative"

> to the Accessible Information, Materials, and Technology Program (AIMT).

> Here is a link to the program:

>

>

> https://www.utc.edu/academic-affairs/accessible-information-materials-technology-program/

> UTC is also fortunate to have a Walker Center for Teaching and Learning

> where faculty can get assistance with making course materials accessible.

> Here is a link to their site:

>

> https://www.utc.edu/walker-center-teaching-learning/index.php

>

> Just wanted to follow up on some of UTC's progress to accessibility. Hope

> this information is helpful.

>

> Bryon

>

> Bryon Kluesner, RhD

> Adaptive Technology Coordinator

> Disability Resource Center

> University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

> 103 Frist Hall

> Chattanooga, TN 37403

> 423-425-5251

>

> ------------------------------

> *From:* athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> on

> behalf of Russell Solowoniuk <solowoniukr at macewan.ca>

> *Sent:* Friday, February 14, 2020 5:37 PM

> *To:* Access Technology Higher Education Network <

> athen-list at u.washington.edu>

> *Subject:* [EXT]: Re: [Athen] [EXT]: Re: Alt format process?

>

> *External Email*

>

> Thanks Brian, and thanks too to Robert and Maria. I appreciate your

> feedback. Do your institutions use any Open Educational Resources, (OER)?

> If so, who is responsible for the accessibility of these resources, and who

> bears the cost of making them accessible, if they are not accessible?

>

>

>

> Thanks, and have a great weekend,

>

>

>

> Russell

>

>

>

> *From:* athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> *On

> Behalf Of *Kluesner, Bryon

> *Sent:* Friday, February 14, 2020 1:30 PM

> *To:* Access Technology Higher Education Network <

> athen-list at u.washington.edu>

> *Subject:* Re: [Athen] [EXT]: Re: Alt format process?

>

>

>

> My approach is similar to Robert and Maria’s. Pearson is not going to

> dictate to me the software my students will use. We are a Kurzweil campus.

> I pushed back with Pearson so much I was asked to be in a pilot program

> with Kurzweil and Pearson. I have to make a statement in the comments

> section that the request is for a PDF title to be used in the Kurzweil

> Pilot Program. Pearson then places the title in a Pearson Education folder

> I created in the Kurzweil universal Library. I request PDF files and

> extract into chapters to provide to students either on a USB flash drive or

> I can send a link to their texts from my One Drive. I am currently working

> with our Athletic department on using Snap and Read, our departments wrote

> a grant and received funding to purchase the software - $5000 for a 5 year

> license. It is very similar to Kurzweil, but each has it’s own unique

> features.

>

>

>

> Some students do choose to purchase the online book for classes, so I

> demonstrate how to save the text chapters in a format that can be used in

> Kurzweil. We are a Canvas campus and Canvas has the capability for the

> students to convert the professor readings into a PDF or MP3 file, which

> many students find to be useful.

>

>

>

> If there is a delay attaining textbooks, I reach out to the students and

> offer to cut and scan their textbooks into a PDF. In most cases, I can

> rebind their books, if it doesn’t have the hard cover, and the bookstore

> will take the books back as used – even rented textbooks. I have

> occasionally purchased a book from the book store with the department

> account, cut the spine and rebind. I then return the textbook to the book

> store and they will refund the purchase price back to the department. I

> typically only do this with trade paperback books (Penguin, etc.) because

> they will not make PDF files available.

>

>

>

> I don’t prefer Bookshare, but if I do attain a book from Bookshare, I

> remove all the disclaimer (usually 1-2 pages) , save the word document as a

> PDF, which makes it easier to extract the chapters.

>

>

>

> Hope this helps some.

>

>

>

> Bryon

>

>

>

> Bryon Kluesner RhD, ATACP

>

> Adaptive Technology Coordinator

>

> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/615+McCallie+Ave.,+Dept.+2953+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Chattanooga,+TN+37403?entry=gmail&source=g>

>

>

> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/615+McCallie+Ave.,+Dept.+2953+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Chattanooga,+TN+37403?entry=gmail&source=g>Disability

> Resource Center

>

> University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

>

> 615 McCallie Ave., Dept. 2953

> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/615+McCallie+Ave.,+Dept.+2953+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Chattanooga,+TN+37403?entry=gmail&source=g>

>

> Chattanooga, TN 37403

> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/615+McCallie+Ave.,+Dept.+2953+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Chattanooga,+TN+37403?entry=gmail&source=g>

>

> 423-425-5251

>

>

>

> Member of Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs

> <https://www.utc.edu/enrollment-management-student-affairs/>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> *From:* athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> *On

> Behalf Of *Block, Maria

> *Sent:* Friday, February 14, 2020 12:29 PM

> *To:* Access Technology Higher Education Network <

> athen-list at u.washington.edu>

> *Subject:* [EXT]: Re: [Athen] Alt format process?

>

>

>

> *External Email*

>

> I do this as well and specify that the software the student uses is

> Kurzweil and it is not compatible with Vital Source – that seems to help

> because I have had them come back with Vital Source is accessible

>

>

>

> Maria Block

>

> Accessibility Specialist

>

> Accessibility Resource Center

>

>

> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/300+Pompton+Road+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Wayne,+NJ+07470?entry=gmail&source=g>William

> Paterson University

>

> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/300+Pompton+Road+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Wayne,+NJ+07470?entry=gmail&source=g>

>

> Speert Hall 134

>

> 300 Pompton Road

> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/300+Pompton+Road+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Wayne,+NJ+07470?entry=gmail&source=g>

>

> Wayne, NJ 07470

> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/300+Pompton+Road+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Wayne,+NJ+07470?entry=gmail&source=g>

>

> [image: cid:image004.png at 01D0737D.28122B50]

>

>

>

> *From:* athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> *On

> Behalf Of *Robert Spangler

> *Sent:* Friday, February 14, 2020 12:10 PM

> *To:* Access Technology Higher Education Network <

> athen-list at u.washington.edu>

> *Subject:* Re: [Athen] Alt format process?

>

>

>

> When a publisher tells me that they only provide a book through something

> like VitalSource (I think this is just Pearson?) I ask them for the PDF

> anyway, as they will usually provide it.  This takes a while, however, so I

> get in touch with the student in the meantime.  I let them know what the

> issue is and offer them the option of using the VitalSource version or

> waiting for the PDF.  I've had a couple students take the VitalSource

> version, in which case I email the publisher with the student's receipt (to

> prove that they already purchased the hardcopy) and the publisher sends me

> a code.  I send the code to the student and invite them to come in if they

> require any assistance using VitalSource.

>

>

>

> Ultimately, I want a PDF, but I can't expect students to wait the two plus

> weeks it takes for the publisher to gather up the files and send them to

> me, which is why I offer the other options.  Plus, our students will deal

> with a range of file types throughout their lives anyway, so asking them to

> use a different program or file type is not unreasonable.  The main goal is

> to get the text to them, in a format that is accessible, in a timely

> fashion.

>

>

>

> Thanks,

>

> Robert

>

>

>

>

>

> On Fri, Feb 14, 2020 at 11:27 AM Russell Solowoniuk <

> solowoniukr at macewan.ca> wrote:

>

> Hi everyone,

>

>

>

> Hope the winter term is going well. Happy Friday and happy Valentine’s Day!

>

> We would like to get some feedback from all of you regarding your

> alternate format process.

>

> We are noticing that some of our students with disabilities are looking at

> other options for their textbooks in alternate format, for example,

> VitalSource or the PDF supplied with their textbook. Also, some publishers

> are suggesting that certain textbooks we are requesting are available

> through VitalSource. In addition, many publishers are working with

> Bookshare to provide files, and will no longer provide PDFs.

>

> Our alternate format team consists of two people, me and a colleague.

> Currently our process is to contact publishers to request a PDF of their

> textbooks. Most of our students use Read and Write to read these PDF files.

> For blind students we usually convert the PDF files to Word files and they

> use a screen reader to read these files. If the publisher isn’t able to

> provide us with PDFs, we will have the student bring in their hard copy of

> the textbook. We will take the hard copy to Print Services to have the

> binding cut off, and will then scan the book with our high-speed scanner.

> We then take the book back to Print Services to have it coil bound.

>

> With the changing landscape of digital textbooks, we are examining our

> process to determine if it’s still the ideal process or if it needs to

> change. To that end, we would like to find out what process other

> institutions are using.

>

> Do you contact publishers for PDFs? What technology do your students use

> to read their textbooks? Read and Write, Kurzweil, VitalSource, or some

> other reader? If other, could you elaborate on which reader and how well it

> works? Is your process working well?

>

> Do faculty in your institutions use Open Educational Resources (OER)? If

> so, do you work with faculty to help them choose accessible resources? If a

> student comes to you with Open Educational Resources that are not

> accessible, do you remediate them to make them accessible? If so, do you

> bill this as a service?

>

>

>

> We would appreciate hearing what alt format processes others are using to

> help guide us in modifying our own process.

>

>

>

> Thanks for any and all ideas.

>

>

>

> Best regards,

>

>

>

> Russell

>

>

>

> Russell Solowoniuk

>

>

> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/10700-104+Ave.+%0D%0A+%0D%0AEdmonton,+AB+T5J+4S2?entry=gmail&source=g>AT

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>

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-- 
Wink Harner Assistive Technology Consulting and Training Alternative Text
Production Portland OR. foreigntype at gmail.com 480-984-0034
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