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Using Video in the Online Classroom on Short Notice:
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A faculty member in an online class has come across a useful video to demonstrate a complicated point. The faculty member has taken care of the copyright issues, but is now concerned that there is no transcript of the video yet available and no time to have one created. The faculty member is concerned that a student with a disability, such as deafness, may not be able to access this material. Should they forego using this video? This was exactly the dilemma that a Grad School faculty member recently faced. Noelle Atwell, UMUC's Director of Veteran and Disabled Student Affairs, clarified what course of action faculty should take. The University is bound by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 <http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/disability.html>. This is a US federal law designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive federal funds from the US Department of Education, such as UMUC does. It states that "No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States... shall solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance..." So, does that mean that the faculty member cannot use the video in question? "The faculty member can use the video", says Atwell, but cautions that "if there is a student currently in the class who cannot access the video [for disability reasons], UMUC is responsible for providing the material in an alternative format." She adds that "UMUC would be responsible for the costs involved in making the material accessible." In practical terms, she suggests that "perhaps the instructor could ask the class first if they all have the ability to view a video and if everyone can, make the decision to use the video now." In broader terms, Atwell points out, "It is so much faster and less expensive to use a product already made accessible than to make it accessible. If the instructor uses the video, then the video must be accessible" if so requested. She cautions that faculty members should not assume that "a student with a disability has made their disability known, especially in online classes. There could be someone in the class with an accessibility issue." She also says that taking a "let's-see-what-happens" approach is not necessarily a good course of action either. For example, this could entail removing a previously-posted video from a class because it turns out there is a deaf student in that class who could not access it. "I don't believe we would have a legal problem," she opines, "but I think doing so makes a statement we would not want to make." When possible, having the material available in an alternate format, such as a text transcript, remains the best strategy. When this is not possible or especially difficult, checking with the students is both courteous and compliant with federal law. Faculty members who have a disability-related question can reach Ms. Atwell at natwell@umuc.edu. |
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