Kirkwood and educational publisher cooperate to assist students with diverse needs
For many years, Kirkwood Community College has built a reputation for giving learning support to students with a wide spectrum of educational needs. With the advent of more assistive technologies, that philosophy of access has increasingly reached for new levels of student success as well.
One example of the college’s emerging philosophy of student success is a growing use of electronic books and e-reader tools. In collaboration with Elsevier, a recognized leader in educational materials design and publishing, Kirkwood’s Learning Services department has made a wider selection of materials available in electronic reader formats.
Kirkwood Support Services Coordinator Mike Scallon says the increased availability of popular e-readers is an indicator of how many more tools students can use to assist them in college studies.
“We’ve come a long way in the last several years. To make a class more accessible a decade ago, we would literally read a whole textbook onto audio tape for a student to hear,” Scallon recalls. “Looking back on those days, a decade ago can seem like the Stone Age, in a way. Now a growing number of texts have the ability for text to be highlighted and an audio translation played for the student. Our work with Elsevier has been pioneering, in that they are providing more textbooks in digital formats, ready for downloading on a variety of e-readers and other tools. It’s a growing area of teaching support in the industry.”
“We have enjoyed a long and friendly relationship with the staff at Kirkwood,” said Tripp Narup, Elsevier’s Archive Manager. “Elsevier benefits by learning more about our customers’ needs so that we can continue to be the preferred partner when schools think about their textbook purchases and Kirkwood benefits by being able to provide services for their students more quickly. It’s a win-win situation.”
Scallon says Kirkwood Learning Services tools are available to all students with documented ADA needs.
“Once we have the student’s records verified, the Elsevier agreement provides a download of the student’s textbook in a digital format. Then they can access audio translations, magnified page images and other ways to assist them in more productive study in their classes,” he added.
“Student needs can run the gamut from dyslexia and similar challenges, to low vision and many other situations. We also know there are a good number of students who could benefit from some of our support that we don’t see. We want people to know there are plenty of tools available to make higher levels of student success a reality,” Scallon added.
Officials agree that a print disability shouldn’t deter students from entering a health science program such as nursing. Cooperative exchanges between publishers like Elsevier and Kirkwood will only make it easier for a student with a print disability to access the learning materials that will lead to academic success.
“When it comes down to it, accessibility is a civil right and everyone should have equal access to information whether it’s a textbook or an online product,” said Ted Gies, Sr. User Experience Specialist for Elsevier and Chair of the Reed Elsevier Accessibility Working Group.
More information on Kirkwood’s Learning Services department is available by calling 319-398-5574, or from Scallon via email: mike.scallon@kirkwood.edu.