Page 17 - July JSF report

STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF FLORIDA ANNUAL MEETING REPORT (5)
One person noted that she would like more of her students to know about the background of the Johnson Scholarship. It might help the students feel more connected. At some schools, the annual award ceremonies are a way to share the history. One of the attendees volunteered to share with the group the materials her school uses to promote the scholarship.
ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL ASSOCIATION’S LOFT PROGRAM
Appearing by Zoom, Erin Klokker Mangwiro gave a brief overview of A.G. Bell, a national organization based in Washington, D.C. that helps people who are deaf and hard of hearing hear and speak. Erin is the Program Director for the Leadership Opportunities for Teens (LOFT) program, which teaches self-advocacy skills to young adults who are deaf and hard of hearing. Erin is also a graduate of this program. After moving to an online format during the pandemic, LOFT is back to being an in-person, weeklong summer program that involves 2 cohorts of 20 teens. This year, the LOFT teens are doing a ropes course and rock-climbing exercise in partnership with Gallaudet University. They are also doing a D.C. improv workshop. The application for LOFT opens in early December each year.
Erin then spoke about her experiences as a student with disabilities at the University of North Texas. She explained that her school had a disability office, and she was able to get captioning accommodations just fine. However, they would not honor her simple request to text her instead of calling her on the phone. She talked about how students with an invisible disability like hers may appear fine to others, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need support.
ACCOMMODATED TESTING: CHALLENGES & SUCCESSES
At the FL AHEAD virtual conference in February, this was a roundtable discussion facilitated by Lisa Diekow, Assistant Director of Testing Services at the University of Florida.
Lisa explained that the roundtable had 3 goals: discussing
challenges unique to accommodated testing operations; sharing successes; and establishing a collaborative network of support. Resources, test security and collaboration/communication with faculty were primary topics. She then divided our attendees into three groups and assigned each group one of the primary topics. The group members were asked to discuss their challenges and successes and then summarize them for the group as whole.
Lisa Diekow
The group discussing resources talked about the limited number of proctors and scribes, especially during midterms and finals. Some of the successes they mentioned included forming partnerships with other departments for space, extending testing hours to serve move students, and developing partnerships with faculty.
The group discussing collaboration/communication with faculty mentioned the challenge of trying to teach new faculty and staff, as well as teaching new methods to veteran faculty. Some of the experienced faculty are opposed to having tests scanned, for instance, for fear it violates their intellectual property. Some successes that were mentioned included the development of modules within a school’s learning management system (such as Canvas) to teach faculty about accommodations and how to do things themselves instead of expecting the disability services folks to do everything.
The group discussing test security mentioned such challenges as the expense
of cameras and technology as well as space/staffing issues. Some schools have to rent space in other
parts of campus during test time. Also, make-up exams are a challenge, as well as students needing
a phone for test authentication purposes. Bathroom breaks also are a challenge to monitor. In addition to watching out for unauthorized cell phone use, proctors need to make sure students don’t cheat using smartwatches and smart eyeglasses. Problems can arise when professors allow certain things (such as open books/notes) but don’t let the disability services people know. That can place an extra burden on student assistants who are trying to help.
Page 15 HORIZONS