Accessibilities Summit

AERO

Algonquin CollegePearson Publishing Canada

E-TEXTBOOK PROJECT

2013-2014

Algonquin College e-Text Initiative

Agenda:

• Welcome and Introductions• The Challenge of Obtaining Accessible Textbooks• How Algonquin’s E-Text Initiative came about• Partnering with Pearson Canada• AERO• Q & A

Access to Alternate Format Material

Project Objectives:

• 100% of students will have all required resources on the first day of class.

• 100% of students will have access to their resources, on-line or off-line at anytime of the day

• 100% of resources available on the mobile device(s) of their choice.

The student cost for the eText resources in 13/14 was

63% of the traditional printed textbook

Next year we are targeting 55%

eText Project @ Algonquin College

e-Textbook Project – Pilot January 2013

The following first level, Winter Intake Programs were involved in the e-Textbook Project in January 2013

1. Business Mgt. & Entrepreneurship2. Business Administration3. Computer Engineering Technology4. Computer Programmer5. Computer Systems Technician6. Event Management

Publisher Partners involved in the E-Textbook Pilot

• Pearson Publishing• Wiley• McGraw Hill• Nelson Publishing

e-Textbook Project – Pilot January 2013

Connecting• 750 students• 6 Programs• 27 courses• 26 Instructors• 2283 Student eTextbooks

1008 - Pearson 810 – Nelson 345 - McGraw 120 – Wiley

e -Textbook Project – January 2013

e-Resource Platforms• CourseSmart - Pearson textbooks were used by the

School of Technology and Trades, and had been seamlessly integrated into blackboard operating system

• Faculty would logon to Blackboard and find their eTextbooks in their course, …making the course available automatically allowed student access – authorization was managed in the background of Blackboard

• Vital Source – Nelson, Wiley, and McGraw Hill textbooks were used by the School of Business and Event Management students

• Faculty and Students logon to a web based Bookshelf and install eTextbooks with an access code per book.

• Deployment of the codes were managed by a college website.

e -Textbook Project – January 2013

Two Types of eText Deployments at Algonquin• Institutional Pay Model

• eTextbook Incidental Fees are collected with registration fees at the beginning of each semester with100% enrolment – all students will participate in the eText program

• Course level fee structure to students is based on the number of “Required” resources identified by the professor

• Important to Note: eTexts in our program are permanent versions and printable from “Cover-to-cover”.

• Student Pay Model• Would include CCOL (Continued Online Learning), CE, International Campuses

and other campus programs interested in moving to eResources. • Students may wish to purchase their eText resource from the Connections

Bookstore website and can then obtain their etextbook by using the access code on the VitalSource Bookshelf.

• The etext is usually for a short term and offers restrictive print options.

Phase #1 - eTextbook Project – Fall 2013

Connecting

• 3600 students• 34 Programs• 180 courses• 450 sections• 160 Instructors• 16,800 Student eTextbooks

Pearson - Wiley – McGraw – NelsonLippincott – Elsevier – Emond - APC

eText Platform - VitalSource Bookshelf

Phase #2 - eTextbook Project – January 2014

Connecting

• 3400 students• 34 Programs• 160 courses• 420 sections• 140 Instructors• Levels 1 & 2• 14,000 Student eTextbooks

Pearson - Wiley – McGraw – NelsonLippincott – Elsevier – Emond - APC

eText Platform - VitalSource Bookshelf

Phase #3 - eTextbook Project – Fall 2014

Connecting

• 120 Programs• Approx. 11,000 students• 600 courses• 1450 sections• 300+ Instructors• All first level students (including Level 3 from Phase #1)

• 50,000 Student eTextbooks Pearson - Wiley – McGraw – Nelson

Lippincott – Elsevier – Emond - APC …a total of 28 publishers are now involved

eText Platform - VitalSource Bookshelf

eText Advisory Group• Student Association • College Faculty • Student Council Representatives• Library Resources• Registrar’s Office• Blackboard Support• IT Support• AODA Officers• College Bookstore• College Print Centre• Student Success Specialists• Centre for Students with Disabilities

eText Project @ Algonquin College

LMS (Blackboard) Deployment Challenges

• Course Level Deployment – unable to resolve individual student issues and account adjustments

• Browser issues …Pop Up Blockers must be turned Off.• Process of adding the etext to the students “Cloud Account” is not

intuitive and the student the leaves the resource in Blackboard, instead of in the VitalSource Bookshelf.

• Only available “Online” in the browser view• Browser view has only a few of the rich

eText features enhancing the Student Experience

• At Algonquin College we have thousands of students enrolled in programs not usingour Blackboard system.

eText Project @ Algonquin College

eTextbook Project – Fall 2014

eText Strategies• A new Book Adoption database (Learning Resources Management

System) has been developed to help manage the challenge for September 2014.

• Special features have been integrated into the system to address the very specific challenges we face with large scale etext deployment. Enrolment Numbers (SIS Student Information System) Onix Data Feed from Each Publisher Single Sign-on solution for students Access to other student program specific information Initial 30 Day complimentary Access Code Permanent Validation Code

We wanted to improve our etext deployment model by simply using an access code to redeem in VitalSource Bookshelf

eText Project @ Algonquin College

All students will login (network access username and password) to a new Personal Resource Access website portal.

System will be connected to the college student information system and can identify student resources based on the specific courses the student is enrolled into at the college.

eText Project @ Algonquin College

eText Project @ Algonquin CollegeLEARNING RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - Student Access

Algonquin eText Resources >> e-Resources >> eTexts Available for you

McGraw Hill Connect - Student eResourceThis eResource is included in your registration fees, please log in to open your Connect account at http://www.mcgraw.com and use this access code to open your resource. Your instructor will provide instructions in Blackboard

Access your resources from your Blackboard Account

This etext is included in your registration fees, please log in to your VitalSource Bookshelf account and use the temporary access code to open your etext resource.

Return after Sept 12 to obtain your permanent code or take advantage of the textbook option.

Temporary Code: 1234-2345-3456-4567

This etext is included in your registration fees, please log in to your VitalSource Bookshelf account and use this access code to open your etext resource.

Temporary Code: 1234-2345-3456-4567

Digital eResources available to you include:

I would like to buy the TEXTBOOK

My eTextbooksBYOD – RequirementsMy SoftwareMy UniformsStudent Survival GuideLogout Now

Selecting the TEXTBOOK OPTION button will allow you to use the etext fee

value against the purchase of the text in our college

Campus Store.You must have selected this

option before Sept 15.

I would like to buy the TEXTBOOK

Permanent Code: 1234-2345-3456-4567

Permanent Code: 1234-2345-3456-4567

ENL1813S - Business Communications …. Ann Mikula

Welcome: Larry Weatherdon

ECO2305 - Microeconomics…. EXPLORING MICROECONOMICSSUPPORT

VIDEO

SUPPORT VIDEO

We will be able to offer the choice of applying the student etext fees to the purchase of a traditional textbook.

This student would then loose access to that eText.

CLICKCLICK

CLICKCLICK

eText Project @ Algonquin College

www.algonquincollege.com/etextbooks/

Pearson and Algonquin College• The initiative at Algonquin represents an opportunity for us to work with a

forward-looking institution, on a true partnership that is indicative of where we believe the post-secondary education space is headed

• A pilot opportunity to test all facets of what is (was?) a complex business-model

• A potential win-win for all stakeholder groups

Publisher Challenges• Content coming from 3 sources within

Pearson• Traditional accessible file transaction

model• Timing• Legal• Internal structure & communication

21

Challenges…accessibility is needed forAll portals, systems, platforms, players

22

More challenges… Accessibility is needed for all media content eBooks, documents, animation, activities, video…

Making Learning Technologies AccessibleGuidelines were created to guide Pearson's development teams and are updated

regularly with new techniques. They are public so that customers and others can see what we're working toward and will, we hope, find them useful for their own digital

learning projects.

• These guidelines explain how to make educational Web media accessible to people with disabilities, and meet the international Web content accessibility guidelines from the World Wide Web Consortium, specifically Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Version 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) at Level AA

• Step 1. Value people• Step 2. Learn how to include each person• Step 3. Implement

• Alternatives: Provide alternatives for sounds and images that provide information. (5 guidelines)• Coding: Write UI code according to standards so that varying operating systems, browsers, access methods

and assistive technologies will be supported. (22 guidelines)• Color: Choose text colors that pass standards for good readability. Design with color blind users in mind. (3

guidelines)• Executive: Consider accessibility when choosing technologies and publishing options. Document your

product's accessibility. (4 guidelines)• System Functionality: Allow learners or instructors:

• To control time limits, motion, and audio to avoid distraction & to adjust for differing needs. (7 guidelines)• To make their own content accessible while authoring in Pearson systems.(1 guideline)

AERO’s Mandate• The mandate of Alternative Education Resources for Ontario’s (AERO) is to assist in

the provision of alternative format texts to students with perceptual disabilities who attend publicly funded educational institutions in Ontario.

• Perceptual Disability: As defined in the Copyright Act, section 32 and for the purpose of the Pilot MOA, a perceptual disability includes one or more of the following range of difficulties:

• For education purposes, a student whose visual acuity is not sufficient for the student to participate in everyday instructive activities without the accommodation of instructional and related materials in multiple formats;

• an inability to hold or manipulate printed materials; or any other impairment (including but not limited to dyslexia and brain injury) such that student cannot use print publications other than in formats not available from the publisher.

• Print Alternate Format is a version of a text document or digital file that has been converted into another format (such as Braille) to make it accessible to a student with a perceptual disability.

AERO’s Overview

AERO System

( MEDU / MTCU )

AMICUS

External Systems

Alternative format producers

Publishers

AERO Staff

Producers

Postsecondary Education

Postsecondary Education

Elementary Education

Secondary Education

Education Institution

WorldCat

CAER ACE

AERO’s Goals

Students

• Reduce wait times

• The use of Higher quality accessible materials

Institutions

• Reductions in workload and duplication

• Cost savings

Publishers

• Have a single point of contact /services• Secure file management services by AERO

All Stakeholders: Shared Goals• Compliance with ADOA Information and Communication Standards (Jan 2013)• Increase quality of textbooks for postsecondary education • Uniform and standardized production processes • Increased security• Increased access to postsecondary education for all Ontarians, including students with disabilities.

AERO System Architecture

Students / Advisors

Institution

Oracle 10.iWebserver

Ministry of Education – Central Repository

AERO

Publisher

Publishers

Alternative format title files

Electronic title files

External Producers

ProducerAlternative format

Title files

Alternative formattitle files

Students

Institutional Clouds

Oracle 10.iWebserver

Institutional Clouds

2nd site fail over / backup

AERO Request Process

Submit the Requests2. The Disability Office logs onto AERO’s web-based repository to submits a request.3. If the accessible file exists in AERO’s repository it may be downloaded or mailed as a hard copy.4. If the accessible file does not exist, AERO will work to obtain the conversion ready file and produce the accessible format version requested by the student.

The Accessible Format is Provided5. AERO informs the institution the accessible format requested is available and has been sent.6. The student signs an agreement stating the accessible format will not be copied or shared.7. The college or university provides the student with the accessible format version of the textbook as requested.

Check Eligibility Requirements1. The Disability Office at the institution ensures the student

is registered at the institution and has purchased a hard copy of the textbook.

Questions and Answers