In a classroom setting, course materials created with accessibility in mind require no adjustments for students requiring accommodations. They are designed with all levels of ability in mind from the start!
Accommodations
The term accommodation refers to making a modification for someone to gain access or participate as fully as others. However, this doesn't mean that if someone needs accommodations your materials are not accessible. There are cases where a student or employee will need accommodations regardless of the work you've put into your content. For instance, the changes you've made will not necessarily eliminate the extra time it takes to complete a quiz with a screen reader or without the use of a mouse - that accommodation of extended time is still important.
ALT-Tag
An HTML attribute that is used to designate a title or description of an image. This is particularly helpful for students who use assistive technology (like a screen reader). ALT-Tags should also be added for tables and images in word-processing documents.
Assistive Technology
Technology that is used to aid persons with disabilities.
Asynchronous
An approach to distance education in which instruction occurs outside a specific time and place. Email and discussion boards are examples of this type of learning modality in the online learning environment.
Authentication
Verification of students’ identity.
Canvas
The learning management system used at San Mateo County Community College District.
Caption Overlay
An integrated process between a caption service provider and a streaming video platform that adds captions to videos without altering the original works.
Course Cartridges
Prebuilt publisher course material, sometimes also referred to as e-packs.
CVC-OEI
Is the acronym for the California Virtual Campus – Online Education Initiative (CVC-OEI) is a collaborative effort among California Community Colleges (CCCs) to ensure that significantly more students are able to complete their educational goals by increasing both access to and success in high-quality online courses.
Directory Information
Information which institutions may usually release without student permission. Directory Information includes: Student’s name and dates of attendance; Participation in officially recognized activities and sports, including weight, height and high school graduation of athletic team members; Degrees and awards received including honors, scholarship awards, athletic awards and Dean’s List recognition. NOTE: A student can restrict the release of any or all “directory information” by requesting that it be kept confidential.
Distance Education
Title 5Links to an external site. defines distance education to mean instruction in which the instructor and student are separated by time and/or distance and interact through the assistance of technology. All distance education is subject to the general requirements of this chapter as well as the specific requirements of this article. In addition, instruction provided as distance education is subject to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12100 et seq.) and section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. § 794d).
DE Addendum
A supplemental document detailing the distance education component of a course that undergoes a separate Curriculum Committee approval process.
F2F
Is the acronym for face-to-face. Instruction that takes place in the classroom. Face-to-face instructional time is not replaced by the distance mode. However, course materials may be made available to students at least in part online, and the learning support and office hours may be provided at least in part online.
FERPA
Is the acronym for The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 . It provides guidelines for access to and release of student educational records.
Flipped Classroom
An approach to web-enhancing a course where content is delivered for homework via instructional technology, and classroom time is used for interactive group and project-based activities.
Formative
The goal of formative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark.
High-Stakes Exam
An exam that represents a large portion of the final grade.
Hybrid
Courses that substitute a portion of face-to-face instructional hours with online work. The course may have some regularly scheduled on-campus meetings without alternative distance education means of student participation.
Instructional Design
Instructional design involves the identification of the performance, skill and knowledge gaps of a particular group of people and creating or selecting learning experiences that close this gap. Instructional designers base their learning decisions on cognitive psychology, instructional theory, and best practices.
LMS
Is the acronym for learning management system. A platform for online learning such as Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, or Sakai.
Lecture Capture
Technology and tools that are used to record instructors’ lectures.
Metacognition
Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.
Multimedia
Multimedia refers to the presentation of information and instruction through a combination of graphics, audio, text, or video. Multimedia instruction is often interactive.
Netiquette
A term derived from ‘network’ and ‘etiquette’ which refers to the appropriate manners and protocol for communication in online interactions.
Objective Test
Tests in which there is only one correct answer. Multiple-choice, fill-in, true/false tests are examples of objective tests.
Online Courses
Courses where the instructor and student are separated by distance for the entire course and can interact exclusively (100%) through the assistance of communication technology. The course is conducted through a class website, which may include multimedia material and links to other online resources. Students interact with the instructor and other students through posted class discussions, direct individual communication and assignments (which may include group work). Testing may be done online, via proctoring arrangements, or other means. Instructors require no mandatory on-campus meetings. If an instructor wishes to incorporate on-campus meetings into the course, the instructor must also provide for alternative distance education means of student participation.
Online Learning
The term online learning is often used synonymously with eLearning. It is an umbrella term that includes any type of learning accomplished on a computer and usually over the Internet.
OEI
Is the acronym for the Online Education Initiative, the overarching California Community College (CCC) initiative, funded by the CCC Chancellor’s Office, that provides support to college online teaching and learning programs and coordinates resources and services available to the entire CCC system. Resources include the Common Course Management System (CCMS) and other components such as student resources, faculty resources, other technology resources, and research and policy documentation.
OEI Rubric
The OEI Course Design Rubric was developed in 2014 by the OEI Professional Development work group to assure that all courses offered as part of the initiative promote student success and meet existing regulatory and accreditation requirements. It has undergone three major revisions since then, including the current iteration, in response to changes in available instructional technology and feedback from both instructors and reviewers.
OER
Is the acronym for Open Educational Resources, which are high-quality teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license, such as a Creative Commons license, that permits their free use and repurposing by others, and may include other resources that are legally available and free of cost to students. “Open educational resources” include, but are not limited to, full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, faculty-created content, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge (language from SB-1359).
PBL
Is the acronym for Project-Based Learning, an approach to instructional design in which class projects are used for learning course content. This allows students to not just learn the course content but to also apply the content in a way that could have real world applications.
Summative
The goal of a summative assessment is to measure what students have learned or mastered, usually in the form of a grade.
Synchronous
Online learning that happens at the same time. Chat rooms and live video-conferencing are examples of this type of learning modality in the online environment.
UDL
Is the acronym for Universal Design for Learning. An educational framework based on research in the learning sciences that guides the development of flexible learning environments that can accommodate individual learning differences. Curriculum created with UDL principles in mind should address multiple means of representation to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge, multiple means of expression to provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know, and multiple means of engagement to tap into learners' interests, challenge them appropriately, and motivate them to learn.
Zero Textbook Cost
Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) means that a course has eliminated conventional textbook costs, including required publisher’s homework platform access codes. Instead, the course utilizes alternative instructional materials and methodologies, including the learning management system in use by the college and open educational resources. Discretionary student printing of instructional materials shall not be considered a cost as part of ZTC (language adapted from California Education Code – EDC Section 78052).