<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:x="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)">
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
span.EmailStyle18
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#17365D;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:.5in 1.0in .5in 1.0in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#17365D'>Fellow Athenians,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#17365D'>I have been asked to collect comments, suggestions, responses
from you and how you and your college handle extra time on quizzes, exams, any
timed assignments in an online class. For instance, most of our students who
meet certain criteria are accommodated with extended time up to time and ½ and
some with double time. This works fine for the traditional F2F classroom and on-site
testing centers, but not online. The CMS we use is Blackboard. Blackboard does
not allow, that we can find, for 1.5 time duration only increments of 1 hr, 2
hr, etc. Blackboard’s answer to this is found in the instructor’s
help file: </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>For users with special needs,
such as students who use a screen reader, give them <b><u>extra time or an
unlimited</u></b> amount of time to complete the assessment.</span><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#17365D'> (I’m
sure you all have some idea of the accessibility issues with the various CMSs
out there, including Blackboard.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#17365D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#17365D'>The concern is that if the norm is up to time and ½ but not available
in the CMS and we allow double time or unlimited time are we over-accommodating?
Discriminating against the other students in the same online class? Do we allow
double time in an online class but only time and ½ in the traditional F2F
class? If the instructor has two or more students with accommodations, 2 with
time and ½ and 1 with double time, how is that handled?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#17365D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#17365D'>How are you handling this at your college? When I suggested
allowing all the students in the online class the same amount of time, say
double time, many of the professors met that suggestion with disdain. You don’t
want to know how they took the ‘unlimited amount of time’
suggestion!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#17365D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#17365D'>Thank you for your kind and thoughtful responses, ideas, etc…
short of doing away with Blackboard (sigh).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#17365D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#17365D'>NJ<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000066'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000066'>-----------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000066'>NJ Brand</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Courier New";color:#000066'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000066'>Houston Community College-NW<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000066'>Technical Support and Innovation Center<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000066'>Assistive Technology Specialist/Sr. Lab Assistant<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000066'>Town and Country Square Campus<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000066'>MC 1379 Room RC13<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000066'>1010 W. Sam Houston Pkwy N.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000066'>Houston TX 77043<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000066'>VM/Office: 713.718.5604 </span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";color:#000066'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000066'>FAX: 713.718.5430 </span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";color:#000099'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000066'>Email:</span></b><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Courier New";color:#000099'> <a href="mailto:normajean.brand@hccs.edu">normajean.brand@hccs.edu</a></span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";color:#000099'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000099'><a href="http://nwc.hccs.edu">http://nwc.hccs.edu</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000099'><a href="http://learning.nwc.hccs.edu/members/normajean.brand">http://learning.nwc.hccs.edu/members/normajean.brand</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:#000099'>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#17365D'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>