Chapter 5 Understanding Your Needs: Overcoming the Personal Barriers to Success in Distance Learning
Selected Resources
College Student Guides | Setting Goals and Priorities | Health and Wellness Resources |
Disabilities and Distance Learning | References | Worksheets
In an information-rich society like ours, there seems to be a resource for every need. The resources listed here may be immediately useful. You are encouraged to do your own search for other resources using the Internet.
College Student Guides
These guides are commonly used to help students understand the college experience from a holistic perspective. The guides tend to include exercises and techniques that cover a range of territory, including some related to goal and priority setting, being assertive and self-disciplined, and health and wellness. Newer editions have also begun to include topics related to learning communities and learning assistance. These recommended guides are comprehensive and can be completed independently.
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Ellis, D.A. (1991). Becoming a master student, seventh edition. Rapid City, South Dakota: Houghton Mifflin Company. (This book also has a good section on health and wellness.)
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Gardner, J.N. and Jewler, A.J. (1997). Your college experience. New York: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
- Jewler, A.J. and Gardner, J.N. (Eds.) Your college experience: Strategies for success. New York: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
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Setting Goals and Priorities
A few other resources on setting goals and priorities not specific to college students include:
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Ellis, K. The magic lamp: Goal setting for people who hate setting goals. (forthcoming). New York: Three Rivers Press.
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Stevens, P. (1996). Balancing your life: Setting personal goals (Worklife Series). San Jose, California: Aperture.
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Wilson, S.B. (1994). Goal setting (The Worksmart Series). New York: AMACOM.
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Health and Wellness Resources
Numerous resources are available for issues related to health and wellness. A few of these include:
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Weil, A. (1997) Eight weeks to optimum health: A proven program for taking full advantage of your body’s natural healing power. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Company.
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Dreher, H. (1995). The immune power personality: 7 traits you can develop to stay healthy. New York: Dutton.
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Otis, C.L. and Goldingay, R. (1989). Campus health guide: The college student’s handbook for health living. New York: College Entrance Examination Board.
A resource list would be remiss not to include some Interesting Websites. In the health and wellness area, there are many, but here’s a few for starters:
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Disabilities and Distance Learning
If you are interested in learning more about accommodating students with disabilities, there are a number of resources that you can explore. These resources were consulted in developing the material for this guide.
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Thompson, A. R. and Bethea, M.S. (No date listed) College students with disabilities: A desk reference guide for faculty and staff. Project PAACS: Mississippi State University.
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Academic access: A faculty desk reference for accommodating students with disabilities. (1997). Bangor, Maine: University of Maine System.
There is also some excellent information available through the internet. Try these sites:
FYI: The Law Regarding Accommodating Students With Disabilities
Definitions
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A person with a disability is anyone who either has, used to have, or is regarded as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially affects a major life activity (such as seeing, walking, or learning).
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A qualified person with a disability is someone whose experience, education, and training enable the person to meet program requirements, with or without a reasonable accommodation.
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An accommodation is any change in the learning environment or in the way things are customarily done that enables a person with a disability to have equal educational opportunities.
Federal Law and Institutional Policy
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) mandate the elimination of discrimination against people with disabilities and require institutions, such as colleges and universities, to provide reasonable accommodations unless they pose an undue hardship for the institution. Most educational institutions have also developed local policies and procedures that support these federal laws and provide guidance for students, faculty, staff, and administrators to support the learning needs of students with disabilities.
Accommodating students with disabilities does not mean setting different standards. It may mean, however, that presentation, evaluation, and administrative and/or physical modifications may need to be made to ensure that you have equal educational opportunity. A few examples of accommodations include:
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providing services such as readers for blind or learning disabled individuals, interpreters and note-takers for deaf, or note-takers for students with learning disabilities or mobility impairments;
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allowing extra time to complete examinations;
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changing test formats (e.g., from multiple choice to essay);
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using alternative forms for students to demonstrate course mastery (e.g., a narrative tape instead of a written journal).
What is a Reasonable Accommodation?
In general, a request for accommodation is considered reasonable if it:
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is based on appropriate individual documentation in all cases of non-apparent disability;
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allows the most integrated educational experience possible;
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does not compromise essential requirements of a course or program;
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does not pose a threat to personal or public safety;
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does not impose undue financial or administrative burdens on the host institution;
- is not of a personal nature (e.g., hiring personal care attendants, tutoring).
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References
The following additional references/resources were consulted and/or used in preparing this chapter of the Guide.
Blanchard, K. and Johnson, S. (1982). The one minute manager: The quickest way to increase your own prosperity. New York: Berkeley Books.
Egan, M.W. and Gibb, G.S. (1997). “Student-Centered Instruction for the Design of Telecourses.” In T. Cyrs (ed.), Teaching and learning at a distance: What it takes to effectively design, deliver, and evaluate programs. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Number 71. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Ellis, D.A. (1991). Becoming a master student, seventh edition. Rapid City, South Dakota: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Evans, T. (1994). Understanding learners in open and distance education. London: Kogan Page Limited.
Hardy, D.W. and Boaz, M.H. (1997). “Learner Development: Beyond the Technology.” In T. Cyrs (ed.), Teaching and learning at a Distance: What it takes to effectively design, deliver, and evaluate programs. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Number 71. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Heiss, J. (1981). “Social Roles.” In M. Rosenberg and R.H. Turner (eds.), Social psychology: Sociological perspectives. New York: Basic Books, Inc.
Mansfield, E. (1989). Economics, sixth edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.
Office of Civil Rights (2002). Students with disabilities: Preparing for postsecondary education: Know your rights and responsibilities. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.
Peterson, C. (1995). In Brown, L. “Healing: Personal to Planetary.” Monadnock News.
Stoner, A.F. and Freeman, R.E. (1989). Management, fourth edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Verduin, J.R. and Clark, T.A. (1991). Distance education: The foundations of effective Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Weil, A. (1997). Eight weeks to optimum health: A proven program for taking full advantage of your body’s natural healing power. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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