Thank you for your continued support of our students with disabilities. When moving to alternate models of teaching and learning, we are engaged in planning to ensure that you are supported in accommodating your students.
Our work is guided by legislation and the requirement to provide accommodation up to the point of undue hardship; even during these exceptional times. To make the alternate mode of teaching and learning experience positive for all students, there are some adjustments that will not only accommodate students with disabilities but will benefit all students.
If any of the students in your class (es) are registered this semester with the Accessible Learning Centre (ALC), you would have received a Letter of Accommodations detailing the accommodations they require. If you have not received such a letter for students who are now requesting accommodations, they have either chosen not to register or have not activated accommodations this semester. If a student approaches you requesting accommodations, and you have not received an accommodation letter from the ALC to support this request, ask the student to contact the ALC. Please reference your letters to ensure that accommodation needs are met. However, if you are unable to locate your accommodation letter, please contact the ALC. The ALC and Teaching Centre continue to work together to develop strategies on how to provide accommodations to your students in an alternate mode of teaching and learning.
Please review the following information to ensure that students who require accommodations are effectively supported in an on-line environment:
- Extra Time (x 1.5 or x 2) for all evaluative components is determined by the student’s medical documentation (and will be identified, if required, on the student’s Letter of Accommodation). This will apply to on-line content as well. If you are offering alternate forms of evaluation like assignments or presentations, extended time would also apply in these instances. With looming deadlines, we recommend you work backward and shorten timelines so that you have room for the extensions.
- Adding time extensions for exams and/or quizzes in Moodle will require that you individually extend time for each student according to their accommodation. If you are working with the Teaching Centre to set up a quiz and/or exam, their staff can assist you with this. Please advise the Teaching Centre as to any students who require additional time as per their Accommodation Letter. In this new environment the ALC is unable to set up accommodations for exams and must rely on instructors to arrange extensions.
- Accommodated students will require recordings and/or transcripts of video and audio lectures so that they can be successful in an on-line environment. We may later add captioning. Fortunately, many platforms have settings to do this automatically, including Zoom, and require minimal work for the user. See: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115004794983-Automatically-Transcribe-Cloud-Recordings-
- Text to Speech (Kurzweil) - Students who have the web-based version will require internet access without a locked browser. Please provide access to course materials ahead of class and convert documents to PDF format to ensure compatibility with Kurzweil.
- Speech to Text (Dragon) or a compatible voice to text program/app – Apple products are excellent.
- Students may require other accommodations like spell check, grammar check, calculators, or magnification capability.
Exam Booking
The Accessible Learning Centre would like you to be aware of the following:
- ALC has turned on the software program they use, ClockWork, for students to book their exams.
- ClockWork has a 7-day booking deadline.
- ALC would like to allow students to get back to their usual routine of booking exams in advance and have emailed their contact list with the information above.
We welcome opportunities to discuss how we can work together to support student success. Please do not hesitate to reach out the Teaching Center or the Accessible Learning Centre staff if you have questions or concerns.