Article Response

After reading Oblinger and Ruby's article, "Accessible Technology Can help Colleges and Universities Remove Barriers to Education," I am much more aware of the problems that students with disabilities face when trying to get an education in today's technological environment, and I have a better sense of what it will take to address those problems. I must admit that I was oblivious to many of these issues, even after teaching in a community college environment for several years.

Oblinger and Ruby's article explains why accessible technology is needed on college campuses around the country. Technology is changing the world, and for many of us it's a simple matter of adapting to those changes. For the students with disabilities, though, those adjustments are more monumental and critical. Oblinger and Ruby say that a lack of accessible technology on college campuses put students with disabilities at a further disadvantage, whereas accessible technology "empowers people, and the independence they gain from it changes them, makes them better. Empowerment and transformation is the true purpose of education." As an educator, I must agree with that statement. Students with disabilities, just like other students, must have the tools that will make them independent, successful citizens of this society and of the world. If that means that colleges have to rearrange their budgets so that money is put in the right coffer, then so be it. They should not let administrative red tape get in the way of providing resources for the students.

According to Oblinger and Ruby, there are benefits for the colleges too. The authors state that a college can make itself more marketable and can create a more diverse student body by having accessible technology in its environment. But that, I believe, should not be the selling point for the colleges. It's about the students' need to get a good education!

All levels of educational institutions should have accessible technology. Even though as Oblinger and Ruby's article points out, students with disabilities in the K-12 setting "are used to having individualized education plans. . . with the students and their teachers, parents and rehabilitation professionals to ensure their specific needs are met," there is a serious lack of suitable resources in this setting too. I know that there is a lack of adequate resources at my school and many others. We do not have any special resources in the library and if we have them in the school at all, they are not being utilized (at least, as far as I can see). And, like the colleges, budget and administrative red tape always get in the way. I am not sure what can be done or how quickly it can be done, but we need to do a better job of providing even the simplest resources for our students.