February 12, 2002
DO-IT program takes award-winning techniques nationwide via the Internet
The award-winning University of Washington-based DO-IT program is using cyberspace to reach a national audience with strategies for creating a level academic playing field for students with disabilities.
Program leaders started the New Year by launching The Faculty Room, a Web-based resource that offers instructors and other professionals the means to provide full educational access for students with disabilities. From the site, college faculty and adminstrators can view in-depth information on instructional techniques and strategies and download information, including PowerPoint presentations and video segments, on topics ranging from academic accommodations to accessible Web design.
“It really is one-stop shopping,” said Sheryl Burgstahler, director of DO-IT, which stands for Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology. “The entire site is created in response to the specific needs for information of faculty and college administrators.”
Members of the DO-IT team will give presentations next month about the new resource at conferences of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators in Boston and the American College Personnel Association in Long Beach, Calif.
The Faculty Room was developed through DO-IT Prof, a nationwide project funded by the U.S. Department of Education that equips college educators and campuses with the tools needed to provide full academic access for students who have disabilities. Through that project, DO-IT leads a consortium of more than 40 universities and partner schools, including Purdue, Drake, Seattle Central Community College, Arizona State University, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in developing and presenting inservice and training resources across the country.
The great strength of The Faculty Room concept lies in its quick and almost universal accessibility, according to John Pedraza, disabilities resource coordinator at Michigan State University.
“The Faculty Room is a great site for faculty to learn more about students with disabilities at their own pace and when they have immediate questions to be answered,” Pedraza said. “MSU faculty find it extremely useful.”
Content on the site covers accommodation strategies, instructional design to meet the needs of a wide range of students, legal issues, interactive presentations, and resources for trainers, staff and administrators. Case studies and FAQs illustrate many of the concepts.
DO-IT staffers are highly qualified to lead a nationwide educational thrust toward full accessibility for students with disabilities, according to Burgstahler. For the past nine years, the DO-IT Scholars program has used a combination of computer and Internet access, mentorships, and UW summer camps to provide youth with disabilites from around the country with the skills they need to be successful in challenging academic and career fields.
DO-IT has won a number of national and regional awards, including the National Information Infrastructure Award in Education, an exceptional program award from the Association for Higher Education and Disability, the KCTS Golden Apple Award and the President’s Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring of Underrepresented Groups. The program was also showcased in the 1997 President’s Summit on Volunteerism and the 1996 National Science Foundation Dynamic Partnerships invitational conference.
The unveiling of The Faculty Room is the culmination of years of collaborative work with the DO-IT Prof partner schools, according to Burgstahler.
“The effort is unique in its broad representation of small and large, two-year and four-year, and geographically diverse institutions,” she said. “We have created a resource tailored to the needs of any faculty member, teaching assistant or administrator at any postsecondary institution across the country.”
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For more information, contact Burgstahler at (206) 685-3648 (voice and TTY) or sherylb@cac.washington.edu.
The Faculty Room can be found on the Web at www.washington.edu/doit/Faculty/
