[Athen] Math for a low tech user

[Finan, Cristina]

Hi,

I'm mentoring my Assistive Technology replacement and I've been out of that world for almost two years and she is working with her first extremely low vision student and we have a conundrum.

This is a student taking a GED prep course through the college's continuing education department. He is very unskilled with technology and has difficulty learning it. He did take a training program but was dismissed for behavior before completing it. He has had the opportunity to use ZoomText but couldn't navigate it and is currently attempting to use NVDA. He has also been shown how to submit proctoring requests in AIM multiple times and can't seem to grasp the steps involved. From what I can see, he is relying on human assistance for most tasks.

My question is what is the college responsible for in terms of providing accessible math materials. Does the fact that he is in continuing education as opposed to college courses change anything? Should he be treated as a college student or are more k-12 services expected and required? If the material is converted using MathML, are we required to also provide training on the proper use of NVDA and the integration of math type? If he can't grasp the technology, is it appropriate to use human intervention? Is there any expectation of basic skills learned elsewhere or the ability to acquire those skills with technology?

My mentee has likened his tech skills to those of an 80 year old (not ageism, just a reference to someone that is incredibly far from being a digital native) even though he is only 20.

The college wants to do the right thing but we just aren't clear on what that is under these circumstances.

Thanks in advance,
Tina Finan

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