Maintaining Accessibility in the Modern Classroom

Handouts

Presented at 8:00am in Waverly on Thursday, November 17, 2016.

#4574

Speaker(s)

  • Christa Miller

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 1-hr
  • Format:
  • Expertise Level: Expert
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

Faculty can use modern instructional approaches to increase the inclusion of students with disabilities.

Abstract

Instructional practices currently on-trend in higher education are moving towards learner-centered approaches aimed at greater student ownership of knowledge. Such approaches commonly employ more small group activities and often rely heavily on mobile technologies for participation.

The presentation will examine the intersections of the most common instructional practices and how disability support can work with faculty to integrate students with disabilities into these classroom settings without creating new barriers to learning. When a course is designed with accessibility in mind the implementation of current instructional practices may increase the inclusion of students with disabilities in the classroom.

Keypoints

  1. Current instructional approaches (active, hybrid, flipped) have common activities that create access barriers
  2. Universal Design for Learning is one strategy to remove these barriers
  3. When implemented consciously these approaches improve the experience for students with disabilities

Disability Areas

Cognitive/Learning, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Mobility, Vision

Topic Areas

Accessible Course Design, Assistive Technology

Speaker Bio(s)

Christa Miller

Christa Miller is the Manager of Inclusive Media Services at Virginia Tech. She has worked for the Assistive Technologies Lab since 2006 in many capacities. Most notable among her duties is the production of high quality tactile graphics and Nemeth code Braille for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses beginning in 2010.

Handout(s)