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<TITLE>Re: [adtech-ps] Access to E-Text Dilemma</TITLE>
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<DIV id=idOWAReplyText53741 dir=ltr>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> Prof Norm Coombs
[mailto:nrcgsh@rit.edu]<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wed 2/23/2005 6:40 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
Stewart, Ron<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [adtech-ps] Access to E-Text
Dilemma<BR></FONT><BR></DIV></DIV>
<DIV>
<P><FONT size=2>Ron:<BR><BR>Obviously I cannot speak for DSS offices, but I do
have some thoughts.<BR><BR>First, I don't know where to locate it, but I recall
a court document<BR>specifically stating that electronic texts was by far the
best, most<BR>effective and least costly, way to provide alternative texts for
those<BR>needing it.<BR><BR>Second, I had a lot of experience at the Rochester
Institute of Technology<BR>and its National Technical Institute for the Deaf
with the attitudes of<BR>deaf students and what help systems they
wanted.<BR><BR>Information technology and computer communications provided
opportunities<BR>for these students to increase their independence. For
myself, as a blind<BR>person, there is little else that I value more than
increasing my personal<BR>independence. I'd just about kill for more of
it! I continually found<BR>deaf students resisting tools that would
enhance their independence and<BR>falling back on human support, interpreters
and special tutors. I'd offer<BR>to provide special tutoring for students
who were deaf in my classes. We'd<BR>share a keyboard for
discussions. Few came. They preferred their special<BR>tutor.
Now, the tutor was never in my classroom nor talked personally with<BR>me.
Still they took course content and tried to tutor the student. I'd<BR>have
thought everyone would want to hear how the professor understood the<BR>content
rather than having an outside person explaining their<BR>understanding.
Frankly, I felt these students were embedded in a womb of<BR>special support
protecting them from the rest of the world and resisted<BR>independence and
resisted changing any of their coping mechanisms. They<BR>preferred the
old tried ways, like a farmer refusing to learn from new<BR>ways, and sticking
with doing things the way they were always done.<BR><BR>Fear of change and fear
of independence which, essentially means, being<BR>alone rather than having
hand-holding.<BR><BR>I think that, either the DSS office needs to get out of the
nurturing,<BR>helping mode and push students into independence like a mother
bird pushing<BR>the chicks out of the nest, or, maybe, in another 5-10 years, a
new batch<BR>of students coming to college may have learned independence in
K-12.<BR><BR>Frankly, when I advise any young person with a disability, I urge
them to<BR>run as far away from rehab as they can as it too frequently
fosters<BR>dependency and cripples them. I fear that DSS offices sometimes
also<BR>foster dependency.<BR><BR>Now there's my prejudiced view!<BR><BR><BR>At
06:24 PM 2/22/2005, you wrote:<BR>>I would like your feedback, comments and
direction to any relevant<BR>>research that address this
question:<BR>><BR>>Why is it so difficult to move disability services
offices from a<BR>>blindness centric model of e-text and alt format
provision, to a more<BR>>holistic model that is really willing to consider
all individuals with<BR>>print disabilities?<BR>><BR>>In our heart of
hearts, or at least mine, I think we all know that<BR>>access to good quality
electronic resources helps to level the playing<BR>>field but why are our
peers in the DS offices so unwilling to embrace<BR>>this progressive
strategy. Money is the obvious answer, and the one<BR>>that I keep
hearing from campuses, but I do not find that to be a viable<BR>>response
given what I see is the increasing student effectiveness that<BR>>is provided
by e-text and e-book access.<BR>><BR>>Can you point me to any research
that support my conclusion, and any<BR>>that argues against it. Have
any of you had to formulate a similar<BR>>argument for an e-text production
program, what do you think?<BR>><BR>>Given that there are over 300 people
subscribed to these two lists I<BR>>hope to hear from more than the usual
active
participants.<BR>><BR>>Ron<BR>><BR>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<BR>>Ron
Stewart, Director<BR>>Technology Access Program<BR>>Information
Services<BR>>Oregon State University<BR>>109 Kidder Hall<BR>>Corvallis,
Oregon 97331<BR>>Phone: 1.541.737.7307<BR>>Fax:
1.541.737.2159<BR>>E-mail: Ron.Stewart@oregonstate.edu<BR>>WWW: <A
href="http://tap.oregonstate.edu">http://tap.oregonstate.edu</A><BR>><BR>>_______________________________________________<BR>>adtech-ps
mailing list<BR>>adtech-ps@lists.oregonstate.edu<BR>><A
href="http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/adtech-ps">http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/adtech-ps</A><BR>><BR>>To
unsubscribe, send a message
to:<BR>>adtech-ps-request@lists.oregonstate.edu<BR>>with the word
"unsubscribe" in the body.<BR><BR><BR>-----------------------------<BR>EASI
Online Courses Starting March 7 2005:<BR>Barrier-free Information
Technology<BR><A
href="http://easi.cc/workshops/adaptit.htm">http://easi.cc/workshops/adaptit.htm</A><BR>Learning
Disabilities and Accessible IT<BR><A
href="http://easi.cc/workshops/ld.htm">http://easi.cc/workshops/ld.htm</A><BR>Register
for the all-day Webcast from the 2005 CSUN conference March 17<BR><A
href="http://easi.cc/clinic.htm">http://easi.cc/clinic.htm</A><BR>(Five EASI
courses earn the Certificate in Accessible Information
Technology<BR><BR> Norman
Coombs, Ph.D.<BR>EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information)<BR>Cell
949 922-5992<BR>Home 949 855-4852<BR><BR><BR><BR></FONT></P></DIV>
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