This week's topic on online learning and accessibility really forced me to think deeply about how anyone, no matter their physical limitations or otherwise, could be ensured that they can pursue a higher education. And, before I get too far into my post, I want to say that I greatly admire anyone who lives with a disability, but still decides to pursue a higher education. There are so many excuses that people can have for not going to college. Living with a disability can, and I'm sure does, block many people from achieving that accomplishment. For example, I shared a class with Sarah Eiland a couple of years ago, and she is a student with us in this AHE 591 course. She does not let a hearing impairment become an obstacle. She was a wonderful classmate, and contributed greatly to the course discussion. So, my admiration goes out to all those like her who go after their educational dreams!
Dr. Major ends her blog this week with the following questions. How do we, those of us working in institutions of higher education, honor and ensure this basic right to accessibility? How do we ensure online learning is accessible? After much thought, the only answer I could come up to these questions is this..."hard work." The 3PlayMedia piece sums up my thoughts quite succinctly. "Coordinating accessibility initiatives across a university can be time consuming, laborious, and sometime overwhelming. The costs are substantial and it's not always clear how to prioritize. Furthermore, the spectrum of disabilities makes it difficult to creat educational content that is universally accessible" (p. 19). With all of the varying documented disabilities that people have, it does seem overwhelming to think about how we as higher educational professionals can prepare for anyone who walks in our doors with a disability. However, there is a word in the quote above that provides a place where we can begin to find solutions, and that is "prioritize." Every college has an ADA Coordinator. If that person were able to look back on previous history and see what disabilities were more prevalent at their institution, then the college could take the proper steps to ensure that people with those disabilities were able to access all course work easily.
I am not saying this is an issue that should just be pushed to the ADA Coordinator. On the contrary, all higher education professionals have a part to play. "Instructional technologists and designers must be proactive and incorporate accessibility into all stages of course content development, as well as the selection of university hardware and software systems. Professors should make reasonable efforts to creat accessible content and work with students to pilot new e-learning practices. Administrators should review university buying practices, push for funding, and seek state and federal grant opportunities" (3PlayMedia, p. 19). I thought about my role as an Academic Advisor, and how I need to be prepared to help students with disabilities. I need to know the accomodations available to them, and how to properly guide them to the courses where they can be most successful.
In closing, I will repeat my earlier thought, and that is accessibility will take "hard work". There is no easy answer, and no silver bullet to automatically help all those with varying disabilities. If a person has the desire to pursue a higher education, but that person also lives with a disability, then it is incumbent upon the institution they are attending to make sure that the disability does not become an obstacle that the student cannot overcome.
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