Empowering Students with Disabilities through an Online Student Support Portal PRESENTED BY: Casey Frechette, Ph.D. • Sharon Austin, MSETM, MA WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO: Berrie Watson, MCP, MCSE Core • Robert Beasey

Empowering Students with Disabilities through an Online Student Support Portal "This presentation leaves copyright of the content to the presenter. Unless otherwise noted in the materials, uploaded content carries the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license, which grants usage to the general public with the stipulated criteria."

Background In 2015, a USFSP Online Student Support Portal team was tasked with designing a robust web presence that would help USFSP’s online students to accomplish tasks to advance their academic careers without coming to campus.   27 key stake holders from the institution were interviewed in order to understand the concerns of the university. From those interviews, ten critical concerns emerged. Among those ten critical concerns was one that specifically addressed accessibility. https://austin-2017.github.io/reports/SupportPortalInterviewSummaryDocumentFeb17.pdf

Background Accessibility for students with disabilities is still a challenge. Various systems and software packages provide a wide range of support and access to students with disabilities. As it applied to accessibility, the list item above reflected our concern with both hardware and software. We sought to use standardized, established guidelines concerning the software component, such as using WCAG guidelines, and VPAT. WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 VPAT: Voluntary Product Accessibility Template 

The Existing Model

The Existing Model

The Existing Model

The Existing Model

The Existing Model

The Existing Model

The New Model

Don’t make me think.

The Answer: Bring the Content to the Student

Don’t make me think

How the problem was solved. 1. Design a custom database and custom coding that would enable students to get information simply by asking for it, rather than having to seek it. 2. Integrate voice as a great time saver for those who have motor skills problems. 3. Develop special interfaces for those who have low-vision problems. (Integrate it directly into the interface. No one should have to download anything)

The Low Vision - Poor Motor Skills Initiative

Low-Vision Low-Motor Skills Initiative

Putting it together with Voice

Support the Supporters All students rely on a support network outside of school. Those with disabilities are especially dependent. The database structure and interface allow support personnel to participate in assisting the student. Enable the supporters as well as the student. It takes a village to raise a child.

Run Anywhere. Construct the platform so it is able to be run on a mobile phone WITHOUT the need to download an app.

Questions? frechette@mail.usf.edu sharon.austin.2016@gmail.com