BW ONLINE DAILY BRIEFING
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY by John M. Williams April 21, 1999
Online School: A Boon for Disabled Students -- and Teachers
Convene International's cyber-education tools are opening new doors to
virtual schoolrooms
I like to think of it as my legacy. Twenty years ago when I appeared
on Good Morning America to discuss how I used a computer to help
control my stuttering, I think I coined a phrase for prosterity. Host
David Hartman asked, "What are the benefits of the computer to a
stutterer?" To which I quickly responded: "Computers are the great
equalizer for disabled people." I knew I was right then. And Scott
Stevens still proves it today.
Stevens, 40, has muscular dystrophy. He has used a wheelchair all his
life. He's very bright. By the time he was 20, he had earned a BA in
business and then an MBA from Saginaw Valley State University in
Michigan. In 1988, after holding a series of accounting and investment
positions, he was recruited by the president of Great Lakes Junior
College in Caro, Mich., to teach accounting, business, and economics.
But about two years ago, nature started taking its toll. Years of
heavy scheduling had exhausted Stevens. He was scared. He wondered if
he could continue earning a living as a teacher. A fellow instructor
told him about an online teaching program at the Flint (Mich.) campus
of Baker College. He contacted the program through E-mail.
FARMHOUSE TO CAMPUS. Today, Stevens is chairman of his department at
several Great Lakes junior colleges -- and a frequent teacher and
lecturer still -- thanks to an interactive teaching program made by
Convene International, an online education provider. Teaching online
allows Stevens to lecture, lead discussion groups, and assign studies
from the computer in his living room in a farmhouse in the Michigan
countryside.
Stevens taught himself general computer concepts and many common
software applications, in addition to taking an online training
program at Baker College. But he quickly came to appreciate the
simplicity and standardization of CLiP (the Convene Learning Internet
Platform). It allows students 24-hour access to downloadable course
material. And he found the CLiP "whiteboard" useful to graph economic
curves, flow charts, and supply-demand models.
Convene's package includes accreditation guidance, program
organization, network setup and administration, product support,
marketing consultation, faculty training, and help with converting
standard courses to an online format. Convene also offers online
instructors four to six weeks of training, taught entirely online.
This was how Stevens learned to teach in cyberspace.
FOCUS ON INSTRUCTION. Now, he swears by it. Online instruction is less
physically taxing, Stevens says. No longer must he maneuver from
building to building. Yes, he misses the intimate, one-on-one contact
he had with students for so many years. But he's glad he doesn't have
to appear in front of students who might focus more on his disability
than his instruction. "Many of my students do not know I have a
disability. Online, no one knows I am disabled. In this environment,
we do not recognize people by race or disability or how they look.
None of those things get in the way of communication," Stevens says.
Stevens uses a keyboard to reply to E-mail and make notes. When he
needs to write lecture notes or a course outline, he uses
voice-recognition software to translate his voice to text. His
instruction includes management economics and all levels of
accounting.
A typical online class is limited to 15 students, and the primary mode
of instruction is asynchronous -- that is, the students choose the
time of day to participate in class in a style similar to chat rooms.
Sometimes Stevens will schedule "live chat" synchronous discussions
and use a whiteboard to diagram ideas. He posts lectures and then
assigns questions to the students that sometimes lead to online
discussions. He also assigns group projects requiring extensive
interaction.
Stevens has found that people very quickly warm up to each other
online. "It's amazing how quickly relationships develop online. I open
an outline forum outside of class where students can work together.
People open up and attempt things much more easily. They are not
afraid of being wrong," Stevens says.
LIMITS ELIMINATED. He sees a bright future for online education,
especially for disabled students. He believes it will also enhance
college opportunities for the busiest people. And online schooling
offers continuing education for students needing more learning in a
specialized field or graduate-level classes.
Online education has also expanded another opportunity for Stevens.
He's now working on his PhD in Applied Management and Decision
Sciences -- all in cyberspace. Because of computers, Stevens' personal
and geographic limitations have been eliminated. I'll say it again:
Computers are the great equalizers for disabled people.
More than 70 colleges and universities, seminaries, and corporations
have joined with Convene International to offer online programs. The
company also offers independent online teaching instructions and
collaborates with several online teaching programs. For more
information about Convene visit http://www.convene.com/instructor.
Williams writes frequently for BW online on assistive technology's
benefits for disabled people. For any questions on assistive
technology, E-mail him at mailto:[log in to unmask]
EDITED BY DOUGLAS HARBRECHT _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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