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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">FYI I’m still working with McGraw-Hill about the lack of accessibility for their Connect online interactive content. Emails continue to go back and forth. It’s late and I need someone to proofread\edit the
following excerpt for me before I pull the trigger and hit the “Reply All” button. Thanks!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">“<b>Why alternative formats don’t work as equitable substitutes for interactive online content like Connect and LearnSmart.
</b>Providing alternative formats (e.g. accessible\searchable PDF, .DOCX, audio, Braille) for a textbook is equitable because on the whole, textbooks represent a kind of passive learning experience. Students learn by simply reading (or in this case listening
to) the material. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">However, the very nature of Connect and LearnSmart’s content is very different. Like a printed workbook, the structure of the material itself demands active student participation. Furthermore, these types
of programs usually provide automated feedback to the student. The overall effect creates a dynamic, collaborative learning experience that’s quite unlike passively reading (or listening to) a textbook. This level of interactivity is nearly impossible to replicate
in another format so that the student who “sees” using JAWS retains all the same educational benefits afforded to those who don’t.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Simply put, <b>a searchable PDF or Word format</b> of the text found in Connect’s LearnSmart activities
<b>cannot begin to satisfy federal requirements</b> <b>to provide equal access </b>
to the course material in the same way a photograph of a sandwich cannot satisfy the same nutritional needs provided by an actual sandwich.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Too snarky? Thanks!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:20.0pt"><a href="mailto:joseph.m.nast@lonestar.edu"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">Joseph M. Nast</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:20.0pt">Assistive Technology Lab Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt">office phone: 281.290.3207<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt">office room number: CASA 109j<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size:18.0pt"><a href="http://cyfair.lonestar.edu/">Lone Star College Cy Fair</a><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size:18.0pt"><a href="http://www.lonestar.edu/counseling-services.htm">Counseling, Career, and Disability Services</a><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:#BF0000">The information in this e-mail is legally privileged and confidential information intended to be reviewed by only the individual or organization named above.</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:#002060"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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