Printed Materials
The Assistive Technology Lab Brochure
Purpose
The brochure was created because students complained that they did not know of the lab's existence even after having registered with the Disability Services Office. The goal is to advertise services available to students. I have passed out the brochures to the Campus Information Center as well as to the Library. The Disability Services Office now includes them as part of their Intake package.
Usage
Faculty and staff have also obtained copies of the AT Lab Brochure and that it reminds them that there is a population who needs alternate tools to access their classes. This has become one more way of spreading awareness. Having seen the brochure in the hands of faculty members who come to me for advice, I believe it is serving as a foundation piece of understanding for assistive technology.
Reflections
Happily, the lab brochure intended for student usage has expanded to be a tool for faculty awareness. When I teach staff and faculty in groups, I bring these brochures along with my business cards and many of the brochures are taken. I am not sure how they are used but I do get phone calls after these classes. Some staff members have stopped by to see me and comment that my hair is not purple "like it is on the brochure." They seem to identify with woman my age who would dye her hair purple. I think I made a positive and welcoming first impression as advised by Nancy Duarte. (2010, p. 122)
Faculty and staff seem to be hungry for more information about Assistive Technology and its availability for use in the classroom. I intend to come up with a new printed brochure describing how AT is used in the classroom and pass those out in my group classes to faculty.
Infographic
Purpose
This poster was created for an earlier assignment in this course. I actually use it regularly to hand out to teachers when I give them a one-on-one training on creating accessible documents.
It is a reminder to them that they need to create accessible documents. I didn't have any printed handouts so I used this instead to put something in their hands after a lesson with me.
Usage
This poster/handout served a different purpose than my original intention. The two comments I get consistently are: (1) They like the colors and imagery especially the icons and the dog! (2) Faculty are often surprised by the graphs, especially the one about UCCS Students enrolled with Disability Services.
The poster almost always leads to a discussion about the percentage of people with disabilities that attend our university. I am able to tell them that our numbers have increased to about 1150 in 2018 and they are amazed. I also point out that these are only the ones who have registered with the disability office. We estimate that there are another three to five hundred have not registered but attend and struggle on their own.
Most of the teachers do not look at the bottom portion of the poster with the comparison of accessible and inaccessible documents without my prompting. Even with prompting, they are not that interested. It doesn't seem to be as effective.
Reflections
I print this poster as an 8 1/2" by 11" page. I don't believe the bottom portion is readable at that size. I am very happy that it has turned into a conversation and awareness builder for faculty members. I still have some faith that the bottom half is usable information. I spent a lot of hours designing it and I think it is workable in another format.
My plans are as follows:
I will increase the size of the paper and hang it as a poster in a few key locations. I'd like to see if this generates any requests for training sessions so I will add my business card or contact information more prominently to the posters.
Along with updating the graphs to include 2018 numbers, I will expand and include a pie graph with the number of students in each disability category. I now have access to those numbers and could show them easily in the graph. I think that might help teachers become aware that the vast majority of students with disabilities in their classes have invisible disabilities. With this addition, I think the poster might be better without the bottom portion.
Thirdly, I will recreate the Inaccessible v. Accessible part of the document as a 2-sided laminated handout. I may add a few more details but not too many. I think this will clarify the instructions and will serve as a good reference aid after the one-on-one training.
Lastly, I miss my little doggy. RIP.
References
Duarte, N. (2010). Resonate: Present visual stories that transform audiences. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.