[Athen] [EXT] How providing course materials in multiple formats may impact the extraneous cognitive load of redundancy

[Ann Newland]

Hi All,

I'm a little suspicious of Blackboard Ally. They use an automated process
to make documents "accessible."  Robert, have you done a manual evaluation
of the "accessible" files created by Ally or had experienced users test
them? How accessible are they really?

Blackboard seems to be stretching the UDL principle "multiple means of
representation' to also include multiple file formats. Yes, multiple file
formats may be helpful to students, but the UDL principle goes further than
simply multiple formats. Robert, your mention of Ally's creation of an " audio
file using synthetic speech so they can listen to the content rather than
read it visually" is more closely aligned to the UDL principle "multiple
means of representation" and the UDL guideline 1 "Perception - Interact
with flexible content that doesn't depend on a single sense like sight,
hearing, movement, or touch."

Best regards,
Ann

Source:
CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2.
Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org/representation
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Ann Newland, EdS, CPACC
<https://www.accessibilityassociation.org/cpacccertification>
Accessibility Specialist - Center of Online Learning Accessibility
<https://cool.columbusstate.edu/accessibility.php>
Columbus State University
706-507-8530


On Fri, Dec 2, 2022 at 1:19 PM Robert Beach <rbeach at kckcc.edu> wrote:


> Interesting question. From my experience, students without disabilities

> have just assumed they are being given options they can choose to best fit

> their technology needs. It falls into the universal design for learning and

> universal design for instruction models.

>

>

>

> On our campus we are using Ally for Blackboard. This gives students the

> option to have a file that an instructor posts in one format converted to a

> different format. For example, if the instructor is posting PDF files, the

> student can instead have the file converted and downloaded as an HTML file

> which may work better for the technology they have available to them. They

> could also have the file downloaded as an audio file using synthetic speech

> so they can listen to the content rather than read it visually. There is

> really nothing to indicate that this is a disability thing in Blackboard.

>

>

>

> Last spring we had more than two thousand files converted and downloaded

> as either PDF or EPUB files by more than 1,400 students. We do not have

> nearly that many students registered for accommodations at our school.

>

>

>

> I’m not sure any of this helps, but that’s about the best I can tell you.

> Students seem to like the ability to convert and download the format they

> like.

>

>

>

>

>

> *Robert Lee Beach*

>

> *Assistive Technology Specialist* – Student Accessibility & Support

> Services

>

>

>

> *Kansas City Kansas Community College*

>

> 7250 State Ave. - Suite # 3384 - Kansas City, KS 66112

>

> O 913-288-7671 | F 913-288-7678

>

> rbeach at kckcc.edu

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

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

> Behalf Of *David McGeehan

> *Sent:* Friday, December 2, 2022 11:50 AM

> *To:* Access Technology Higher Education Network <

> athen-list at u.washington.edu>

> *Subject:* Re: [Athen] [EXT] How providing course materials in multiple

> formats may impact the extraneous cognitive load of redundancy

>

>

>

> You don't often get email from david.mcgeehan at bc3.edu. Learn why this is

> important <https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification>

>

> Thank you Robert for your response.

>

>

>

> To clarify my question, when addressing accessibility issues and learning

> modality preferences, one approach is to provide the same material in

> multiple formats. In so doing, are other issues/problems introduced, i.e.,

> redundancy cognitive overload, students unsure of what material type to

> choose, confusion about why multiple formats are presented, etc.

>

>

>

> I’m speculating that students not living with a disability may not be

> aware of the accommodations provided to students with disabilities, so

> redundant material formats may confuse them.

>

>

>

> (BTW, this question is not about extraneous cognitive load split

> attention, though insights into that would be welcome).

>

>

>

>

>

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

> Behalf Of *Robert Beach

> *Sent:* Friday, December 2, 2022 12:32 PM

> *To:* Access Technology Higher Education Network <

> athen-list at u.washington.edu>

> *Subject:* Re: [Athen] [EXT] How providing course materials in multiple

> formats may impact the extraneous cognitive load of redundancy

>

>

>

> *Caution: *

>

> *This email originated from outside of BC3. Do not click links, open

> attachments, or provide any information based on this email unless you know

> or can verify the sender and know the contents are safe.*

>

> I’m not sure I understand your question. When you say multiple formats,

> are you referring to providing a Word, PDF, HTML, audio, and EPUB format of

> the same material? Do you mean using multiple stimuli such as having the

> words highlighted while they are spoken so that there is the stimuli of

> motion, color, and sound to help with retention and comprehension?

>

>

>

> Thanks.

>

>

>

>

>

> *Robert Lee Beach*

>

> *Assistive Technology Specialist* – Student Accessibility & Support

> Services

>

>

>

> *Kansas City Kansas Community College*

>

> 7250 State Ave. - Suite # 3384 - Kansas City, KS 66112

>

> O 913-288-7671 | F 913-288-7678

>

> rbeach at kckcc.edu

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

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

> Behalf Of *David McGeehan

> *Sent:* Friday, December 2, 2022 11:24 AM

> *To:* athen-list at u.washington.edu

> *Subject:* [EXT][Athen] How providing course materials in multiple

> formats may impact the extraneous cognitive load of redundancy

>

>

>

> You don't often get email from david.mcgeehan at bc3.edu. Learn why this is

> important <https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification>

>

> *CAUTION:** This email originated outside KCKCC. Do not click links or

> open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Please forward all

> suspicious emails to support at kckcc.edu <support at kckcc.edu>.*

>

> Hello,

>

>

>

> Does anyone have information / insights regarding providing course

> materials in multiple formats and how that may impact the extraneous

> cognitive load of redundancy?

>

>

>

> Thank you,

>

>

>

> *David McGeehan*

>

> Dr. David Adam McGeehan

>

> Instructional Designer and Accessibility Specialist

>

> Division of Educational Technology

> Butler County Community College

>

> 107 College Drive

>

> Butler, PA 16002

>

> david.mcgeehan at bc3.edu

>

> 724-287-8711 ext. 8019

>

>

>

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