Tag Archives: ADA

Learning Technology Integrations

Software in the Classroom and Its Approval for Use

Leave a comment

“To use or not to use” is the question that has come up about software usage in the classroom (in-person and online). With such an abrupt shift to more online learning from the previous pandemic, the need to use various applications, integrations, and software in the classroom has been on the rise. To add more to a course for student enrichment, faculty have searched for software that could aid with this endeavor.  

There are many diverse types of software available on the market. For instance, there are those that provide learning activities, easy access to a textbook, store student work, or even provide additional learning material. They can also be used to provide interactivity with the material and provide more engagement. Then there are the ones that either entirely or partially incorporate artificial intelligence (AI). While there are many available, both for a price and free, not all are approved for use in the classroom at SCSU by the Minnesota State system. Something to keep in mind is that approval for use may be institute specific. 

What Gets Checked and Why 
Data Compliance and Security 

As a duty to our students, the university is bound, by law, to keep their personal information safeguarded. At the federal level you have the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and at the state level is the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) (St. Cloud State University, n.d.). With unapproved software (and websites), this information could be at risk. These risks could stem from tracking cookies, and malware (viruses, ransomware, spyware, keystroke logging, etc.), which can track user information, collect personal data, and cause a user’s device to not work properly (Federal Trade Commission, 2021).   

System Integration and Accessibility 

New software must be checked to see if it is compatible with our current Learning Management System (LMS) and provides features that make it accessible to all students. Technology is ever-changing and improving. As of the beginning of 2024, the Minnesota State system switched over to Learning Tools Interoperability® (LTI®) 1.3.  Any LMS integrations not using the LTI 1.3 specification will not be approved for use.  

Also, so that all students can use any software available at the university, it must be accessible. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, learning materials and activities should be provided to students with accessibility features added to help remove/decrease obstacles to learning. The features vary depending on what is present in the software.  

Terms and Conditions 

Another issue is the usage agreement language within the contract. Everything written within a contract needs to either be deemed acceptable or amended during the approval process. There may be verbiage in a contract that is unclear, unfavorable, or just unacceptable for the university. This is when the legal team steps in to make sure that the language in the contract has the university’s best interest in mind and proper usage of the software is followed, once approved.   

The Process of Approval  

For software to become approved by the system, there is a process that it must go through. All software (websites, downloadable, etc.) for use at the university need to be reviewed for compatibility, security, and legal purposes to make sure that all parties can use the application safely and properly. Whether for a price or free, each software must go through a predetermined process.  

Simply stated, for both processes, are the following steps: 

  1. Requestor provides the specified information about the desired software application  
  2. The Information Technology Services (ITS) department conducts a review for compatibility with the current systems 
  3. The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office (AGO) conducts a review of the legal policies       

For more information about each process, you can read more about it on the Information Technology Services (ITS) webpage.  

The Alternatives 

The Minnesota State system has approved many software applications for classroom use. Based on your needs, there may be something available for most learning activities administered within a course. The ITS department has a list (with downloadable links) on one of their web pages. For a full list and assistance with setup, please contact ITS. Below is a table with ways the approved software applications can be used within a course.  

For Learning Activities  Approved Software Applications 
Meetings 
  • Microsoft Teams 
  • Zoom 
Collaborative work 
  • D2L groups 
  • Zoom or Teams Whiteboard 
  • Microsoft Outlook 
  • Microsoft SharePoint 
Interactivity 
  • H5P 
  • Kaltura quizzes and hotspots 
  • Zoom quizzes and polls 
  • Adobe 
  • Kahoot (Contact IT for the SCSU branded version) 
Learning materials (can include textbooks, articles, blogs, assessments, supplemental material, videos, etc.) 

*Log-in may be required for access* 
  • Cengage 
  • Pearson 
  • Wiley (Assignments and Resources) 
  • FlatWorld (Assignments and Books) 
  • McGraw Hill (ALEKS and Connect) 
  • SAGE Vantage 
  • RedShelf 
  • myBusinessCourse  
For Other Uses  Approved Software Applications 
Academic integrity 
  • Lockdown Browser and Respondus Monitoring 
  • Turnitin (only for courses in the Herberger Business School) 
Teaching presence 
  • Media Library (Audio notes and videos) 
  • Kaltura 
  • Zoom 

SCSU makes every effort to approve and make software available to faculty for use in their classroom. No matter if the entire course is reliant on a textbook integration (Pearson or Cengage) or if parts of the class are supplemented with learning activities (H5P or Kahoot), there is something available. If you are interested in learning more about what is approved and available at SCSU, please check out the Information Technology Services (ITS) webpage dedicated to this topic. If you are interested in having a desired software go through the approval process or have any questions, please contact ITS. 

The SCSU Online team can help you choose the right approved software for your classroom, whether it is taught in-person, online, or in combination. Just reach out to us via email or through Bookings.  

Additional Reading:  

For more information on any of the following topics, please check out our previous blog articles. 

References:   

Federal Trade Commission. (2021, May). How to recognize, remove, and avoid malware. Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-remove-avoid-malware#:~:text=Once%20malware%20is%20on%20your,vulnerable%20to%20even%20more%20malware.  

Kindel Media. (2021). Woman Smiling and Approving [Photograph]. Pexels.  https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-smiling-and-approving-7688367/      

St. Cloud State University. (n.d.). Data privacy and data practice. https://www.stcloudstate.edu/policies/data-privacy/default.aspx  

St. Cloud State University. (2023, September 12). Software purchasing guidelines for campus. Retrieved October 5, 2023 from https://services.stcloudstate.edu/TDClient/1919/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=147217  

DEI Learning

Creating Accessible Content for Equity and Inclusion in the Online Classroom

Leave a comment

Providing learning materials and activities in the online environment, so that all students can learn, is imperative for equity and inclusion within the course. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, all people with disabilities are afforded the “equal opportunity as those without disabilities, no matter the sector (transportation, school, work, etc.)” (United States Department of Justice [DOJ], n.d., para. 1). Only individual students with documented needs are guaranteed specific accommodations under the ADA, to help make learning more accessible. In a higher education setting, these accommodations can be anything from extended time on assessments to screen reading software on their devices. By adding accessibility to the learning materials and activities within the course, faculty can make learning available for those students who may need some assistance but do not have a documented need.  

Unfortunately, adding accessibility to a course is not always considered, which in the end could negatively affect those who need it. There are several reasons this is occurring: 

  1. Faculty do not think about it or simply forget to incorporate it 
  2. Faculty lack proper training on how to properly incorporate it 
  3. Faculty are not interested in taking the necessary steps to incorporate it 
  4. Faculty have a misunderstanding on which materials need accessibility added 

No matter the reason, a helpful solution is providing ample opportunities for faculty to be introduced, re-introduced, reminded, and properly trained by offering accessibility training (webinars, workshops, guides, etc.). By keeping this practice in the forefront of faculty’s minds it can also help to make the enactment occur more readily. This action would fall in line with the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives put forth by the university. 

ADA and the Classroom 

As stated previously, the ADA was added to the category of civil rights laws that attempt to “add equity to spaces without it for people with disabilities, to achieve equality” (DOJ, n.d., para. 1). Equity means that an individual’s needs are recognized and that resources are provided to ensure fairness and equality (Merriam-Webster, n.d.; Morton & Fasching-Varner, 2015). Equality means the same treatment is afforded to everyone as it pertains to “equal access to opportunities and benefits in society” (Anderson, 2022, p. 4).  

This allows for services provided by the law to be used by those who need them but can also be used by all. By doing so, it establishes environments and situations that are inclusive for everyone. For example, ramps for elevated surfaces. These were intended for those in wheelchairs. Ramps could also be helpful for users of assistive equipment (walkers, canes, or clutches), strollers (or other wheeled contraptions), pain sufferers, and those with recent injuries or surgeries.  

Cartoon image of a drawing showcasing the difference between equality (left image) and equity (right image). Scene at a baseball game of 3 people of different heights peering over a fence. the Equality side provides crates of the same height for all to use. In the equity image, crates tall enough for all to see the game are provided.

(Interaction Institute for Social Change & Maguire, 2016) 

Implementing Accessibility 

The D2L Brightspace LMS (Learning Management System) is already accessible, but when it comes to adding accessibility to learning materials and activities, each object has its own set of features to be added. Below are simplistic tables, with the key features, for reference. Notice that objects are separated by “text only” and “others” in the separate tables, to make for easier usage. Microsoft Office applications and Adobe Acrobat have accessibility checkers built into them to identify the issues and information on how to fix them. For further assistance, please reference this website on Tools for Promoting Disability Access and Inclusion.   

 
Object (text only)
Features
How it helps
PowerPoint slides 
  1. Reading order 
  1. Allows screen reading software to read slides in the correct order 
WORD  
  1. Headings 
  2. Sans serif font
  1. Allows screen reading software to pause, which signals a new section 
  2. Allows the visually impaired (or dyslexic) to read the words more clearly 
PDFs  
  1. Language 
  2.  Title 
  3.  Tags 
  4. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) 
  1. Allows screen reading software to read aloud the content correctly   
  2. Allows screen reading software to search and identify documents better 
  3. Allows screen reading software to identify features readily accessible in WORD documents (headings, lists, tables, etc.) 
  4. Allows the document to be searched for specific words, the text to be selected, and the screen reading software to read aloud the content correctly   
Excel Spreadsheets 
  1. Names (cells, ranges, worksheets) 
  2.  A1 cell 
  3.  Simple design 
  1. Allows screen reading software to readily identify the purpose of each 
  2. Signals the screen reading software to begin reading at the A1 cell 
  3. Allows screen reading software to keep up with its location as it reads the document 
Tables  
  1. Headers first row 
  2. Repeat header rows 
  3. Alternative (Alt) text 
  1. Allows screen reading software to identify the information on the top row  
  2. Allows the heading to appear at the top of any rows that spread to subsequent pages 
  3.  Allows the visually impaired and screen reader software to read the title and description of the table’s content 
 
Object (Other)
Features
How it helps
Videos 
  1. Captions 

 

  1. Transcript 
  1. Both allow the hearing impaired (physical or environmental) to read what the speakers are saying 
Images 
  1. Alternative (alt) text 
  1. Allows the visually impaired and screen reader software to read the context of the image (not for images deemed decorative)  
Audio (only) 
  1. Transcript 
  1. Allows the hearing impaired to read what the speakers are saying 
Links (to outside sources) 
  1. Embedding URLs to word(s) within a statement 
  1. Allows screen reading software to easily identify hyperlinked text 
Colors 
  1. High contrast 
  1. Allows the visually impaired (and with neurological conditions) to better read the text  

There are a couple of places that could offer assistance for faculty and staff who need it. The first is the Student Accessibility Services (SAS), which assists students, faculty, and staff with the accommodations they need to be successful.  SCSU Online is also equipped to walk faculty through the processes that make their content more assessable. Lastly, the Minnesota State Network for Educational Development (NED) offers short courses and webinars on accessibility.  

If you want to learn more about adding accessibility to your course, reach out to us via email or through Bookings. The SCSU Online and Distance Learning team can walk you through the process for any of your content.  

Additional Reading:  

For more information on any of the following topics, please check out our previous blog articles. 

References:  

Anderson, N. (2022). Enhancing inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) in open educational resources (OER) – Australian edition. University of Southern Queensland.  

Booth, C. (2020). Girl sitting on a couch using a laptop [Photograph]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/girl-sitting-on-a-couch-using-a-laptop-4058219/ 

Equity and equality image was created by Angus Maguire and adapted under the public domain from: Interaction Institute for Social Change. (2016). Illustrating equality vs equity. [Joint Photographic Experts Group]. https://www.interactioninstitute.org and https://www.madewithangus.com.  

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Equity. Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved August 15, 2023, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/equity  

Microsoft (n.d.). Make your Excel documents accessible to people with disabilities.  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/make-your-excel-documents-accessible-to-people-with-disabilities-6cc05fc5-1314-48b5-8eb3-683e49b3e593#namecells_win 

Morton, B., & Fasching-Varner, K. (2015). Equity (Vol. 1.) (S. Thompson, Ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.  

United States Department of Justice. (n.d.). Introduction to the Americans with disabilities act. Americans with Disabilities Act. https://www.ada.gov/topics/intro-to-ada/