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Accessible Education Center adapting to online environment
An extended spring break and the transition of classes going online will create some challenges around the 麻豆果冻传媒 campus.
For the staff of the Accessible Education Center, it鈥檚 a challenge that requires flexibility and creativity.
鈥淥n a typical, regular day, we would be making documents accessible for students who utilize our services,鈥� said AEC Director Chester Goad. 鈥淲e offer a large variety of services, from academic coaching, to housing and dining accommodations, live captioning services and much more.鈥�
Currently, the AEC caters to 615 students 鈥� or 6 percent of the student population - who have a variety of disabilities, from visual limitations, hearing issues, and many others.
Over the last several days, the staff has been looking at how to communicate with faculty and students about the transition to online services.
鈥淭here is always a lot of coordination with regards to testing,鈥� said Ed Beason, AEC assistant director. 鈥淲e already work with faculty with the TN e-campus online classes, but we鈥檙e identifying those faculty and staff who have not signed up to do online classes and helping them figure this out.鈥�
Occasionally, there are glitches with software used by AEC鈥檚 students, but that can be easily worked around.
Nearly 30 percent of AEC鈥檚 students are computer science majors. STEM majors, such as computer science, engineering and math, often present unique accessibility challenges.
They鈥檙e in talks to provide video remote interpreting (VRI) or live captioning for video classes.
鈥淲e鈥檝e created a number of recommendations we鈥檙e putting out to faculty and staff and other resources will be on our website,鈥� Goad said. 鈥淭his is definitely a challenge and we want to relieve any anxieties and fears students may have during this time.鈥�
Information about the AEC and the various services offered can be found at /disability/index.php.
For more information regarding Tech鈥檚 response to COVID-19, go to /covid19/index.php.