[nabs-l] Accessibility in a college classroom

[Kaiti Shelton]

Hi.

I take a lot of psych classes as I'm working towards a minor.  Most of
the time, psychology has to do with very observable things.  Videos
will often have dialog which can be descriptive enough for a blind
person to follow.  I always have a weekly chat with my professors just
to check in about class material that may not be printed on the
syllabus, or to ask questions.  Sometimes if they are planning to show
a video with no dialog in class, they'll either send me the link to
the video so I can view it in advance of the class and have someone
describe it to me, or they'll send it to the DS office, where one of
the workers will write a text description I can use to follow along as
the clip is playing.  Then, if any questions persist, I can clarify
with the professor before class and have the issue taken care of.

The DS needs to really be the one to provide your accommodations.
Also, it doesn't make sense for a prof to provide accommodations for
one blind student and not the other.  Profs don't get to pick and
choose which qualifying disabled students they get to provide
accommodations for... those accommodation letters have to be honored
according to what you're approved for.

Talking to profs in person is essential.  Ironically, I had a similar
thing happen with a social psych professor I have.  She sent me an
email asking which accommodations on my letter I would actually be
using.  Other profs have sent these emails requesting more specific
information, but they usually say something about wanting to be sure I
have access to the materials, or they know how to create a positive
learning environment for everyone, etc.  I The prof already told me
about her pretty strict testing policies, and so I thought she was
trying to figure out what accommodations were okay by her.  In class
though, it was clear that she just wanted to know what to expect, and
how the system between me, her, and the DS office would work.  I think
most students would agree as well that in the moment when professors
realize the accommodations for a blind person are not as big of a deal
as they think we students are just as relieved that they get it as
they are.

On 1/14/15, Derek Manners via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello.  My name is Derek Manners. I'm currently a 2L at Harvard Law and
> interning at NFB Legal. Would you mind if I forward this information to the
> attorney at the NFB?  What your university and professor are doing is HIGHLY
> illegal. They can't say they don't have time, they can't try to bully you
> into taking an online class, they must provide you with equal access. I
> agree practically that you probably won't suffer much from having
> inaccessible  classroom content since it is psychology. However, this is a
> disturbing pattern and if it were a different class, could be a major issue.
>
>
> My email is dmanners at jd16.law.harvard.edu
>
> My cell is 9032716494
>
> Best wishes and good luck
>
> Derek Manners
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Jan 13, 2015, at 11:59 PM, Amber Kraft via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hello,
>>   My name is Amber and as this is the first week of my new classes I
>> have ran in to a few problems and I am not sure what to do. I have
>> signed up for a Intro to Psychology on-campus class and after signing
>> up for this class along with the rest of my classes I set up a meeting
>> to meet with the disability cordanater for my school along with all of
>> my new instructers. Before getting to the meeting I received an email
>> from the disability cordanater expressing the psychology instructors
>> concerns for me being able to complete this class. She explained that
>> there are many videos and powerpoints for the on-campus class and
>> suggested that I take this class online as she would not have the time
>> to make the videos or the powerpoints accessible for me.
>> After meeting with the disability cordanater and talking to her a
>> little more about my options for this class it it was agreed that I
>> would be able to make the powerpoints accessible myself as long as
>> they are mostly text and I could have someone attend class with me to
>> explain any videos we may watch in class or explain any pictures on
>> the powerpoints that would need to be described. Also after talking
>> with the disability cordanater about this class it was explained to me
>> that the instructor would not be able to make the accomadations that I
>> needed because in one of her other classes she is teaching she has
>> another student who is blind that she has to make accomadations or and
>> will not have the time to make the accomadations for both of us.
>> after meeting with the disability cordanater she had told me to send
>> an email to my instructor and explain to her what we have come up with
>> to make the class accessible for me and to make sure that it is ok
>> with her that someone attends class with me as some instructors will
>> not allow that. I did send the instructor an email explaining what the
>> disability cordanater and I talked about and asked if it would be ok
>> with her that someone attends class with me. When sending this email I
>> did CC the disability cordanater on the email as well. Well tomorrow
>> is going to be my first day of this class and I am not sure what to do
>> as I have not received an email back from the instructor. So I am
>> wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what to do at this point?
>>
>> Thank you
>> Amber Kraft
>>
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-- 
Kaiti