Week 10

Activity 3.1
1 hour
Think about the process by which you produced your learning resource and write some notes about it in your blog. Here is the link to my resource again....Reflection.doc
You might reflect on:

• Why did you choose the particular topic? I chose this topic because it is one which my learners often struggle with initially. It is a requirement of the assignments that they must use reflection.
• Why did you include particular elements? I chose to include links to the OU study skills website so learners could enhance their learning further if they wished to. I tried to keep the resource simple so as not to overwhelm learners. I also enabled the resource to be used by learners who did not have Internet access.
• What guidelines did you refer to when creating the resource? I used JISC. I used the guidelines aimed at creating readable word documents
• What areas were particularly difficult and why do you think this to be the case? Getting a balance between providing useful information that learners could use and not overwhelmimg or alienating them
• Do you think the act of making an accessible resource affected the way that the learning outcomes were addressed? In this case no but this mat have been the case had the resource been more technical
• How many of the decisions you made about the resource were influenced by technical considerations? Very few
• How many of your decisions were influenced by pedagogical or other considerations? All of them were. I also took into account my learners individual learning styles and cultural differences

Week 10

I've had to jump ahead slightly as I'm falling behind a tad.....if that makes any sense!!
I have already gone through the guidelines for Week 9 though!!


Activity 2.1
14 hours
Create an accessible online learning resource that can be shared with your tutor group.
The resource can be in any format but you must be able to make it visible online to other students. This could be through:
a link to another web page
your blog (if it allows you to include images)
the tutor group wiki
a file uploaded to the Week 10 Resource area . If you have linked resources, make sure that you include all the files and that the whole thing can be recreated on another computer. The limit for any one uploaded file is 20Mb.
Discuss this with your tutor if you are not sure how to proceed, but please don’t send attachments to your tutor group forum as this has very little storage space for files. Well after a heck of a struggle due to my lack of techological know how and the fact that this blog doesn't like my files I remebered the eportfolio and uploaded the resource to that.....never thought I would ever be grateful to MyStuff!!!!
Reflection.doc MyStuff failed again so have stuck a link in here too and it's also in the Week 10 Resource area!!!!
The learning resource can be on any topic and does not need be academic in nature, but it should be a self-contained activity. My resource is about reflection. The learners are expected to reflect within their TMA's and their ECA as well as refecting within their practice. I've included links to the OU study skills site and provided a table to help with developing their reflection. I also created the document using Rich Text Format. I based the format on the guidelines from Week 9 as word and RTF seemed to suit my learners better. I could have used a power point presentation but as there are some without computer access they could then feel alienated

It should be intended for use by all students, not a special resource for disabled students. It can include components that may be inaccessible, if an appropriate alternative resource is also provided. It can reflect practice such as imagining human support as a last resort. There are 42 learners in total on two courses that this resource is aimed at. Many have experience using computers but not all. There are no identified disabilities at this present time. Seven learners are Orthodox Jewish who do not have computer access. For them I would print off the resource and print out the OU links and post these to them. It' s aim is to provide learners with further information as and when they need it, to be accessed as and when needed.
It can be as long or as short as necessary, but remember that other students will need to be able to read it to make comparisons in TMA02. We suggest that you aim for a resource that would take a student 30–45 minutes to complete.
The content should include:

• learning outcomes, key skills or a similar indication of what students are expected to be able to do or learn In the actual resource I have not as yet included the learning outcomes. I would expect the learner to gain knowledge and understanding of what is meant by the term reflection, to be able to apply reflection to their practice and within their assignments.
• structure for navigation Here I have tried to keep it as simple as possible so as not to overwhelm my learners. Control/click on the icon will take them to the OU website.
• at least one image that requires a description This is where I did have a problem as I couldn't find an image that was relevant
• links to at least three related resources Have linked to 3 parts of the OU website
• at least one table.Have created a table for learners to use to aid their reflection

You can include other elements such as audio and video if you wish. This will be useful for other students in the evaluation activity in TMA02.
If you have a disability that makes elements of the activity difficult, please discuss alternatives with your tutor.
Bear in mind that the estimated time for this activity is 14 hours. The activity itself will not be assessed so the resource does not have to be polished or even complete, provided that there is sufficient content to demonstrate its accessibility features. Just as well!!

Week 9

Activity 3.1
1 hour
Imagine that you are responsible for designing an online module or lesson on web design for a group of students in your own context.
Decide which aspects of the guidelines are important in your context and think about how you would approach teaching this to your students.
Create notes, an outline or a plan for such a module or lesson in your blog.
Your method will depend on your context and teaching style. If you’re not sure where to start, the plan might include:

• learning outcomes
• a list of topics to cover
• resources that you would use
• which method of teaching (face to face, online, groups)
• the length of time it would take and so on.

The purpose of this activity is for you to think about what else students need to know in addition to a list of guidelines.
In my context I tutor both online and face to face. I'm now more of a facilitator of learning. The students have their course materials and I guide and advise them. I use lesson plans for face to face tutorials and I develop exisitng activities for online participation usually via the wiki.
Resources are usually what ever I have experience of rather than what is supplied by the OU. I tend to mainly use a word document and powerpoint.
In the past I have created a powerpoint on reflection using audio sound.

Week 9

Activity 1.1
1 hour
Return to Chapter 4 and read up to Legislation on page 41 (Seale, 2006).
As you read, make a list of the elements Seale mentions as needing to be made accessible. You will build on this list in other activities this week and in preparation for next week’s activity.

My list........

• Courseware...VLE'S, eportfolios
• Content
• Online experiences
• Web collaboration technologies
• Websites
• Library resources.....databases
• Text documents....PDF, Microsoft word
• Presentation applications......power point
• Multimedia...captions, Flash, Java

Activity 2.1
My List extended.....

• Electronic publications....ebooks

Week 8 Activity 1.1

Activity 1.1
6 hours
From your study of the course so far, you should be able to make a list of formats that would be useful for disabled students as alternatives to inaccessible resources. For example, a Word document might be an alternative to an inaccessible PDF file. Students in the case studies have mentioned alternatives such as braille or subtitles for video.
Make a list of at least five alternative formats in your blog. Use your own experience and any relevant notes from previous weeks to make brief notes for each format about:
its positive features
its negative features
the technical resources that might be needed to create it
the human resources that might be needed to create it.
If you need more information, carry out an internet search.

This is where I feel my lack of technology 'know how' lets me down pretty badly. I've read others' blogs and the wiki pages and there is definitely a big difference between me and some of my peers. It appears many of them are confident in the use of technology and are able to use alternatives to inaccessible resources with a lot more ease than I am.......need to do a lot more reading and researching to get myself up to scratch. If I'm struggling with the technology as someone who has no disability then how frustraing must it be for those with disability. It's as if knowledge and experience of technologies is an expectation of people with disabilities....here's the technology now use it and you will have accessibitiy.y What if they're as technophobic as I am??!! For me the tools and technologies used to aid accessibility at times made the activities I was to carry out as part of this course inaccessible!!!! (Hasn't helped having kids off school last week due to half term holidays!)

Week 7 Activity 7.1

From your activities this week, the case studies and readings in Block 1 and your own experience, write notes in your blog about the factors that contribute to a student either stopping using assistive technology or becoming a successful user.

Reasons for stopping

• Time consuming.
• Difficult to follow instructions.
• Not meeting learners individual needs.
• Cost.
• Lack of training.
• Unreliable technology.
• Unrealistic expectations of what the technology can do.
• Assumption that all learners are competent/ confident using technology
  
  Reasons for success
• The opposite of what is in the 'Reasons for stopping' list!
  
  

Week 7 Activity 4.1

5 hours
Read Presentation 1 – An Assistive Technology Overview in JISC TechDis Staff Pack 1, Introduction to Assistive Technology within a Learning Environment (JISC TechDis, undated).
For each of slides 7 to 14, choose the one technology that you are least familiar with and do an Internet search to find out more.

What are its main features?
How expensive is it?
Do suppliers also supply training?

Slide 7
Mind mapping - almost like a spider diagram with a central keyword or theme. Can also be used for conceptual thinking. Works like brainstorming. Not too expensive.....between $7-12. Some suppliers provided free training others were charging in the hundreds.

Slide 8
C-pen - this allows for instant translation to computer screen by simply stroking pen over word or phrase. Also works for annotation when studying so reduces cutting and pasting. Price approx £150 though cheaper in the States. Couldn't find training......manual is probably sufficient.

Slide 9
Trackball - pointing device that uses a ball which is manipulated by thumb or fingers to move a cursor. Looks like an upside down mouse and takes little effort to move. Good tool for mobility problems. Price approx £20 -£40. Again manual is probably enough rather than providing training.

Slide 10
Word Prediction - as text is put onto screen the word predictor will give a list of words as a suggestion to the letters entered. Good for mobility problems as less typing required and for learning difficulties. Number of different software available. Costs around £60. Training is available at an additional cost.

Slide 11
Speech recognition - converts speech to machine readable input. Voice recognition aims to identify the speaker so is different. Can be used fro a number of disabilities including RSI. Price is £50 -£300. Step by Step instruction available from the programme providers.

Slide 12
CCTV - this is an electronic or video magnifier. A CCTV or video magnifier is a simple way of producing large text, images and maps for people with some useful vision. Printed material and objects can be placed under a camera and the magnified image is displayed on a television screen or computer monitor. Prices range from £100 to £3000. Some organisations provide training but not all.

Slide 13
Speech output/screen reader - A standard computer, whether laptop or desktop, can be adapted by adding a screen reader, which enables the computer to ‘talk’. The screen reader will speak the text in its focus and the user navigates through menus, dialog boxes, edit fields and so on. For sight impairment. Prices around £300 - £1500. Training appears to be available but is hard to find.

Slide 14
Minicom - this is a text phone for those with hearing impairment. This is a type of telephone with a small keyboard attached, which transmits text down the telephone line. Someone using a textphone can communicate directly with other textphone users, or with a voice telephone user via a Typetalk operator. Found this really difficult to cost and find if training was available.

Here we go again!

Decided to go back and retry Activity 3.2 as I don't feel I was doing what was asked of me. Clicked onto H810's website only to be told that they can't display course content and to try again later.....I don't want to try again later I want to do it now (said whilst aggressively stamping foot!!)....I turn into a mum in an hour so all time is precious!
I feel like I'm doing nothing but moan about H810 at the moment....not exactly having a positive learning experience! Thank god its a 30 point course and not a 60. Hate moodle.. love firstclass..have tried to like moodle honest I have but its just not happening for me!
End of rant....promise to try and post positively in future!!

Week 7

Activity 3.1
4 hours
Read the introductory page of Benevolent Bill ,another JISC TechDis Staff Pack (JISC TechDis, undated).
Select Presentation 1 – In-built Accessibility Features of Microsoft Windows.
Some parts of the activity will ask you to write a postcard or similar to practise using an accessibility tool. You should write about how you feel as you are using the tool.
Is it straightforward?
No it isn't
How long is it taking?
There are not enough hours in the day to sit here and try and navigate this!! I must be doing something wrong. Why can't there be a simple click for the link? I struggle if there is more than one key to press as I can't remember the order...control and link may appear easy but believe me its not! Even my laptop was groaning as I opened yet another window!!
Do you have to remember the layout of the screen?
There is so much to remember that layout is the least of my worries. There was so much written info that I lost the will to go on....tried the powerpoint, less to read which helped!
How long do you think it would take you to become an expert user?
Infinity and beyond!
Did you need more help? If so, did you find help and was it useful?
Basically I need to go back and try again as I'm obviously missing something!

STRESS!!!

Okay I understand this is a new course and there are likely to be one or two gremlins but does the entire course website have to crash the day before TMA01 submission??!!
I'm sure there will be many who will think I should have got my finger out and finished the assignment by now to avoid such things happening......point taken but this is how I work. I leave completing TMA's till near the submission date so I can make use of the adrenaline pumping through the blood. However today the adrenaline is turning on me and I feel a peptic ulcer starting!! When I did H808 the ECA needed to be sent electronically alongside the eportfolio with all my evidence tucked up inside it.......the eportfolio system crashed the week of submission almost resulting in me needing resuscitation!!
So back to the dilemma in hand......I can't access the course materials for the course on accessibility (I joke you not!!) and I also can't access tutor group discussion forums....both of which I could do with in order to finish the TMA. I've managed to access the blogs (yippee!!), I've sent a message to Simon, I've sent out an SOS to the computer team and I've posted a distress message to the MAODE site as these are all I can access. My plan to finish and submit my TMA today has now been abandoned and at 22.38 hours I now give up and will try again in the morning!

Jump to TMA 01

After desperately trying to catch up all I seem to have achieved is is a big fat nothing.......I can't catch up to the others who are too far ahead. So I've made the decision to not try! Instead I'm going to start the TMA and work backwards. This is a strategy that one of the other tutors proposed on her site and it seems it may work for me!

For Week 3 I have read Seale re legislation. And I agree with Seale that the legislation for most country's is confusing and open to misinterpretation. Having been on the receiving end of it in the past I am sceptical in its ability to be fair to all concerned but I need to get past this so it doesn't affect how I provide support for students with impairment.
With regard to disability awareness training I have received none both in my last workplace and in he past 21 months that I have worked for the OU. However I intend to ask my line manager if there is any training in the near future that I can participate in.

As for the TMA I have no students with disabilities that I'm aware of and past experiences are limited, so I'm looking at it from the OU's point of view e.g what they provide etc etc. Definitely focusing on online learning. My students don't actually have to be online but they will next year with the implementation of a VLE so I may attempt to address future challenges but as my tutor has stated.. I need to explain quite clearly that I'm projecting to a future situation and that I also manage to demonstrate a grasp of a wide range of the potential issues.....now I just have to fathom out what they are!!! The critical evaluation should be ok if its based on course materials.
So that's the plan for now.....

Where I'm up to so far!!

Blimey the catch up I had to do has been far more than I thought. It's been impossible to post about the week 2-3 activities on the tutor group forum or wiki because I end up falling further behind. The course is fast paced like H808 was. I've decided to sum up what I've found so far and start participating on the week 4 activities and go on from there.

Week 2
The learning outcomes of this week are to:

• understand the challenges for disabled students
• collaborate with other students in compiling a taxonomy of such challenges
• understand the challenges that arise in different subjects and contexts

So did I meet the learning outcomes...well yes and no! I'm aware of the support offered by OU to a student who declares a disability as well as funding available to meet costs. I agree with dyslexia now being more widely recognised as a disability. My son is borderline as well as having Raynauds . I suppose we view it more as a challenge than a disability with the Raynauds being the more problematic especially in the cold weather and because he's an artist and his hands are his tools. During exams he is given a room of his own....nothing to do with his learning difficulty but this allows him to exercise his hands/feet without disrupting other students.
I think this highlights the fact that the challenges that students with impairment face are personal to them and cannot be so easily generalised. What may be a challenge to one student may not be to another though they may share the same impairment.....the impairment will always affect people differently.

Catch Up!!

I've finally finished my ECA for H804 and posted it off this morning....yeah!!!! I've found it really hard having the end of H804 overlap with the start of H810....guess I didn't think it through well enough.
I've now got 2/3 weeks of catch up to do as the other students are well ahead of me and there is the added pressure of online participation carrying 10% of the assignment marks. Not too sure where to start...I know the beginning is always good! Right now I'm also a little confused as to which tool to use when...tutorial group forum discussion, tutorial group wiki, this blog????!!!

Activity 2.2 (week 1)

Off to read Seale so I can attempt to answer the following question..........

Think about the following questions:
1. According to Seale, all the players in accessible elearning have their own perspectives and their own stories to tell.

• What is your perspective or story? Acessibility is similar to inclusion in that not everyone can be treated equally but in the case of courses they may be adapted to meet learners needs. I say 'may' as some courses cannot.
• What events, people or objects have influenced your current perspective regarding accessibility? My Early Years courses (E123/E124) are vocational courses that require that the learners are working with children (0-8 years). This immedialtely rules out anyone with a criminal record. It can also rule out certain disabilities as there is a duty of care to the children. In the past I have had to exclude a learner due to her criminal record at age 16. In an FE college I have also placed a student in a nursery school (under pressure from learning support)... who used an electric wheelchair with limited movement below the neck and had limited speech. Nursery adapted well but the learner became a health and safety risk when the children realised they could make the wheelchair move and she was unable to prevent this. The learner also was only able to complete one or two units and would not have been able to attain a qualification as the examining body required learners to complete all units which included toileting children, working with babies, nappy changing and so on.
• How conscious are you of these factors when you are reading and thinking about accessibility issues? I'm very concious of being politically correct and not discriminating but also not wanting to set the learner up for a fall by not being honest with them. In life there are often limitations that cannot be overcome.

2. If you were to conduct an analysis at this point in time, of the costs and benefits for you personally as a learner in studying this course online, what would the analysis look like?

• Would there be more costs than benefits? More benefits as OU are paying for the course
• Are they evenly matched?
• What factor helped you to decide you could cope with studying this course online? I work online and this is my 3rd online course. I'm driven by wanting to achieve an MA but I'm sacrificing a lot (family time) to achieve this.

3. Seale uses the imagery of a magic fairy to make the point that many of us are waiting desperately in the hope that we don’t have to take responsibility for accessibility because somehow or other it has ‘miraculously’ been done for us.

• What metaphor, analogy or imagery would you use to describe your or your co-workers’ current attitude or expectations regarding finding solutions to accessibility ‘problems’? Bring it on....if this wasn't my attitude why would I be on this course?

4. If you attended a conference where the main theme was making online learning accessible, what kind of information or evidence would you wish to hear from the presenters that would help to inform or change your practice? What can be done, how it can be done, when it can be done

5. Thinking about accessibility:

• Why do you think some students do not declare their disability to the institutions in which they are studying? Wanting to be accepted on their own merits rather than be treated as disabled
• Does it matter if an institution does not know the exact numbers of disabled students registered on its courses and the exact nature of their learning needs? Yes, without such data improvement cannot happen
• How necessary do you think this information is, in helping institutions develop accessible learning? It's necessary
• In what way might such information help an institution improve the accessibility of its online learning material? identify the types of accessibility required but more likely to be lnumber of disabled learners and the cost of accessibility....I know I'm sooo cynical!

6. In our working lives we are all constantly managing our identities – both public and private.

• What aspects of your identity do you openly reveal to your work colleagues or students? Very little if any personal detail to students. More to colleagues once I get to know them.
• What aspects do you reveal in a more selective manner (if at all)? Where I live, husbands job, children's school
• Are there any aspects of your identity or information about yourself that you would feel uncomfortable revealing to work colleagues or students? Yes

Actvity 1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 (Week 1)

Activity 1

• Already familiar with StudentHome page
• and familiar with MAODE Programme website
• Have checked out the website and course-specific online tools e.g. blog, wiki's
• Have created pesonal blog....posted Autumn pics as it feels like Autumn outside and as the course progresses it will hopefully remind me how many weeks have passed since I started and how nearer I am to completing!!!

Activitiy 1.2

• Have now read course guide and Assignment guide

Activity 1.3
I work for the Open University tutoring two level one courses fro the Early Years degree. I'm based in the northeast of England so my learners are both from the northeast but also from anywhere in Europe. This can mean that often English is not their first language. They are 'vocational' students in that they must be working in an Early Years setting in order to comply with the requirements of the course. They are of varying ages, anywhere from 18 years onwards. For many this is their first form of study since leaving school and for some their first experience of OU. At the present time my courses are quite 'traditional' in that the learners have course materials posted to them, they must post me their assignments and I also carry out face to face tutorials. However this is changing with the introduction of eTMA's and more online activities. I have already created wiki's for both my courses since studying on H808 and H804.
I would like to have more awareness and understanding of learners with disabilities especially in relation to online course design as well as being their tutor. At the present time I have no learners with disabilities.
Activity 1.4

• I've added my name to the list of students in my tutor group wiki
• I've made a link there to my blog
• I've introduced myself in my tutor group forum
• I've posted a reply to a member of my tutor group

So far I've ticked off all of the Part 1 activities....yeah!

Day 2

So I decided to tackle today more positively. I waited till nearer lunchtime to log on to the course website and hoped that I would see more members logged on to my tutor group. However the course website is down and therefore I can't access anything. Its a bit frustrating but its actually given me time to get on with other more pressing things...ECA...marking student assignments etc. Once up and running again I will print off the course material so I have a hard copy....I just find this useful but its unlikely everyone on the course does this. I also save resources to my documents so I don't have to keep logging on to OU all the time to access them.
I can't wait to get my teeth into the course but its not helping me having H804's ECA hanging over my head! I decided not t take a break between the 4 MAODE courses as I felt I would lose momentum and it feels good to know that I could have my Masters by the end of next year. On H808 which was my first course I met Enda and Clive....Clive then did H804 with me and is completely responsible for me being on H810...he talked me into it!!!

H810

Today was the first day on H810: Accessible Online Learning:supporting disabled students.

So far there appears to be only two of us in the allocated tutorial group but hopefully more will join. Had tried to put my OU blog onto the tutor wiki but gremlins wouldn't allow it so have created this blog as I'm familiar with blogger.

This is my third MAODE course and so far its not as expected. I'm used to Firstclass desktop as both a tutor and as a student and navigating the course forums is frustrating to say the least....but its early days I guess. Instead of returning to course website I'm redirected to studenthome and have to start all over again.....who has that many hours in their day to waste? Obviously as this is a new course there will be a few problems to iron out.....probably helps that I tutor for OU and have been a student for years!!! Also as it's a masters course and about online learning it will be constantly evolving.

I still have a 6000 word ECA to finish and have somehow got myself involved in an online course with the University of Manitoba in Canada and of course I've got TMA's to mark. So, so far my first day appears to be nothing more than a whinge....can only go up from here eh?! I've had a quick glance at the course material and it seems to be OK. I would have preferred to have started the course after I'd finished the last one but what can a girl do!!