A WebQuest for Service Providers for Students with Disabilities

Mela T. Bennett

mtbennett3@gmail.com

Introduction | The Task | The Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits

Introduction

At American River College, in the 2007-2008 Fall/Spring semester there were 38,000 students enrolled at the main campus. Only 3,100 students were registered to receive services at Disabled Students Programs & Services. That is 8.2% of the student population.

Many of American River College students are not aware of resources on campus. As a result, they struggle in their classes and end up falling behind their classmates.

In Disabled Students Program and Services (DSP&S) at American River College, there are many different kinds of services that are provided to students to help them be more successful in their academic career. One of the resources they can use is the Adaptive Technology Center (ATC) in the Student Services building. The ATC Lab utilizes assistive technology software and hardware to meet the needs of students with various disabilities. The computer programs and equipment help students with class work, improve their learning skills, and prepare for tests. The ATC Lab is intended for academic use and has open lab hours as well as time set aside for classes, training and workshops. 

It is your assignment as a support staff or faculty member on campus to help guide your students to the right resource and discover what kind of Assistive Technology they can use. Also help your students advocate for themselves. This webquest will provide definitions, resources on self-assesement and self-advocacy, answer questions, classroom integration as well as help you understand your students better.

The Task

By reviewing resources provided in this webquest and asnwering questions with your students as well as completing tasks in a inquiry based format. You will help your students be more informed on how Assistive Technology can help them in school.

Tasks:

You will use the process as a worksheet with your student to:

Find out what is Assistive Technology and what other terms it goes by.

Help your students have access to Assistive Technology.

Show your students how to self-advocate and self-assessment.

Learn how to use Assistive Technology in the classroom or in your curriculum.

Show where your students can go on-campus and off-campus to use Assistive Technology.

The Process

Step One: Here is a series of questions paired with online resources to guide you and your students to understanding assistive technology. Follow the links to find the answers with your students:

Task #1

Question:

What is Assistive Technology?

http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?109

http://www.rehabtool.com/at.html

http://www.pbs.org/pov/freedommachines/

Answer:

~

Task #2

Question:

How do you help your students find resources on campus?

http://www.arc.losrios.edu

http://www.arc.losrios.edu/Support_Services/Academic_Support_Services.htm

http://www.arc.losrios.edu/Support_Services/DSPS.htm

Answer:

~

Task #3

Question:

What can you do to help your students become a self-advocate for services?

http://www.postitt.org/activities/unit01/Section1.pdf

http://www.wrightslaw.com/flyers/college.504.pdf

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-132867331.html

Answer:

~

Task #4

Question:

What is your students' learning style?

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/what.cfm

http://www.ldpride.net/learning-style-test.html

http://www.berghuis.co.nz/abiator/lsi/lsiframe.html

Answer:

~

Task #5

Question:

What kind of off-campus resources can your students or yourself use?

http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/index.htm

http://www.htctu.net/

http://www.rehab.cahwnet.gov/

Answer:

~

Task #6

Question:

How can Assistive Technology be incorporated into your classroom or curriculum?

http://www.sc.edu/scatp/ATclassroom.htm

http://www.sc.edu/scatp/cdrom/integratingat.htm

http://hoagiesgifted.org/eric/e568.html

Answers:

~

Step Two: You and your students had a chance to research what is offered online. Within DSP&S there are many different departments to serve students with disabilities. There are many different kinds of assistive technology used by each department. Below are the links to each department and what kind of assistive technology used for each department. Use this resource to get an idea what is available on campus.

Step Three: Assist your students to compile their answers and to decide which options they have and where they can go to find them.

Additional Resource on Assistive Technology:

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te7links.htm

Evaluation

Describe to your students how their assessment will be evaluated. Go through the rubric your students to decide together if your students has gathered enough information to take the next step.

1. 	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
   Gather Information	Unable to use resources effectively and analyze information in a beneficial form.	Uses some of the resources and analyzed some of the information.	Effective use of resources and competent analysis of information.	Extensive and effective use of resources and extensive analysis of information.
   Evaluate and select the alternatives	Little effort to evaluate effectiveness of alternatives; failure to take other perspectives into account.	Evaluation makes a minimal attempt to address alternatives from some perspectives.	Adequate evaluation of alternatives from  most  perspectives.	Insightful and thorough evaluation of alternatives from a variety of perspectives.
   Using the resources	Made a bare effort to follow up on resources gathered.	Made contact with the resources gathered.	Did additional research on the resources gathered	Used the resources gathered and followed through.
   Self Evaluation	Superficial evaluation of  the process and/or outcome.	Evaluation of the task lacks detail of either the process or outcome.	Thorough evaluation of the task including both the process and the outcome	Evaluation of the task including both the process and the outcome with insight into future applications of the learning.

Conclusion

In this webquest, you and your students have learned about assistive technology and which kind of options available and where they can be accessed. You also have gained additional knowledge of how assistive technology can be implemented in the curriculum.

Credits & References

A thank you to American River College and to various staff members in DSP&S and on campus that provided statistics, information, tips, brainstorming sessions and support.

Last updated 04/05/2004 18:19:07. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

Modified by Mela T. Bennett 07/15/09