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AT in the General Classroom

Public Laws
Scavenger Hunt


No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

SETT Framework
Case Study:
Joshua


Communication Board

Low Vision
Case Studies:
Adam
George

AT Device Abandonment

Computer Access Barriers
Case Study: Marty

Without Hearing
Case Study: Susan


Universal Design


Funding
Case Study: Karen


Group Work:
IEP/IST Exercise


Empowering ESL Students with Universal Design

Experience Reflection and Course Evaluation

Experience Reflection

Please share your experiences with this course this semester. What did you expect? What did you get out of the course? What will you remember months from now?

This was my first online course, and I enjoyed it and learned a lot. Also I liked that the computerized format allowed for the flexibility I needed for my busy schedule. However, I have to admit that I missed the human interaction that is available in traditional courses.

The content of the course was great. I've learned a great deal but so much information was given to me that I haven't processed it all yet. The case studies were the most valuable activities for me. In addition, I liked the IEP assignment very much because it gave us an opportunity to implement what we had learned in this course.

The resources/readings were easy to read and understand, and they made me aware of all the possibilities that AT devices had to offer. As an ESL teacher I benefited a lot from this course because I learned about Universal Design principles which can be used to help students from diverse backgrounds and different learning skills function with greater independence. I also learned that assistive technology is not necessarily expensive. There are so many low tech or no-tech solutions that can be used to improve the quality of people with disabilities.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank my peers and the course instructor, Davina Pruitt-Mentle for sharing their experiences and knowledge with me. The quality of the discussions posted on the discussion board was certainly very high. Your postings always made me think and helped me to understand the content better. Thank you!


Course Evaluation - Online/Hybrid Experience

Please give a critical analysis of this course, course content, course experience (including the online format). What formatting features in the instructional design would make it easier to navigate (given the WebCT format)? How many "discussions, mini exercises" etc… do you feel are appropriate each week? (remember this is a graduate course and we do not meet the 3 full hours F2F or online each week). Did you prefer the assignments separate from the discussion or embedded within the discussion section? Please indicate anything else that would be helpful towards presenting this information to others.

This was my first online course and I was very pleased with the course content and the delivery of the content. The discussion questions/activities made the class engaging and thought provoking. As I indicated before, the quality of postings were very high and I realized that the depth of knowledge the students taking the course possess has a huge impact on the quality of the course.

I guess I would like to see more interaction with you, Davina, on the discussion board, such as responding to students' postings with comments. I liked the way you summarized every topic at the end of each discussion but I felt like I needed more feedback from you.

As I indicated earlier I thought this was a good course and found it to be useful. The content was very well organized. I really enjoyed almost all of the articles that were required for this class. Davina did a great job on picking the resources/readings out but sometimes I found the links/resources required for each week a bit overwhelming. On the otherhand, this class has exposed me to a variety of AT tools/services to which I'd never been exposed.

The course objectives were very clear and all the activities/assignments were relevant to the course objectives. I appreciated the variety of the activities/assignments (such as online chats with guest speakers, simulations, case study analyses, field trips, etc,) very much.

Thanks!

 

 

 


Copyright © 2003 Yesim Yilmazel-Sahin. All rights reserved.
Please contact Yesim Yilmazel-Sahin at ysahin@umd.edu for questions and comments.

Last Modified October, 2003.