This week we’ll talk about accessibility and technology. Sarah Hendren’s “All Technology is Assistive” is an excellent introduction to universal design principles. Ian Bogost’s article was just published in The Atlantic this week and is not directly connected to accessibility issues, but I think it raises some useful ways to think about the issue, which we’ll connect up with Anil Dash’s blog post from 5 years ago.

Tuesday

Read the Sarah Hendren article linked above. I’ve also asked you to watch this screen reader demonstration:

The first 5 minutes is the demonstration itself, followed by a brief description of what is going on.

We’ll spend time in class connecting the demonstration video and Hendren’s article with Pullman’s argument in Writing Online. What lessons can we draw from these sources about how we present information?

Thursday

We’ll continue the discussion of accessibility, but we’ll also bring Bogost and Dash into the mix.

[More details coming here today]

I strive to create an inclusive learning environment for all. I am invested in your success in this class and at Emory, so please let me know if anything is standing in the way of your doing your best work. This discussion can include your own learning strengths, any classroom dynamics that you find uncomfortable, ESL issues, disability or chronic illness, and/or personal issues that impact your work. I will hold such conversations in strict confidence.

This course emphasizes user-centered design and the value of connectivity over static standards to facilitate “universal instructional design.” Issues of accessibility are an integral component of instruction for all students. While students should disclose non-standard needs in keeping with guidelines provided by the Office of Disability Services in order to have those needs augmented by digital tools such as voice to text software or close captioning, the course recognizes the extent to which all students are “multiply situated learners” (Price 88). As such, the course emphasizes shared strengths over remediation.

All of that said, Emory University complies with the regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and offers accommodations to students with disabilities. If you are in need of a classroom accommodation, please make an appointment with me to discuss your situation as soon as possible.

For more information, please visit Access, Disability Services and Resources or contact the office by phone at (404) 727-9877 [voice] or TDD: (404) 712-2049. Students who receive accommodations must present the Accommodation Letter from ADSR to your professor at the beginning of the semester, or when the letter is received.

Work Cited

Price, Margaret. Mad at School: Rhetorics of Mental Disability and Academic Life. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2011. Print. 88