Hi ... I am Jennie, Susan's current student who she recently posted about concerning accessibility of websites and online learning tools. I am a strong advocate for making technology accessible during the creation phase rather than trying to go back later and "fix" it. Susan asked me to post some comments concerning website and online accessibility considerations to this thread.

Accessibility during the online publishing and course creation process should be considered a required component of the creation process. Making most things accessible does not really take a huge amount of effort or cost, but it does require individuals who are knowledgeable about ADA, Section 508 and the specific technical knowledge to implement the accessible options.

Some things to consider when thinking about website and online accessibility includes not only providing real-time captioning for any videos or narrated animations/clips, but also making sure that the site is accessible to screen readers for those individuals who are visually impaired or low vision. Animations or learning tools that use Flash technology are usually problematic for screen reading software. Thought needs to be given to an alternative method for the same information to be available on the site. Perhaps you might want an interaction version in Flash as well as a text based version that outlines the information in detail or provides a text description version.

As far as real-time captioning for those individuals who are deaf or have a hearing loss, keep in mind that it is important that the information be "real-time". This means that simply providing a text transcript is not necessarily equal access to a video or demonstration. The text needs to be accurately queued in real-time to the video/demo that is being shown at the same time. Reading an adjacent transcript does not allow the individual understand the information in "real-time" or have "equal access to the communication" as is required by ADA. For example ... if the video is saying "Look at this chart and notice the rise of column B as opposed to column A". The text narration needs to be on the screen simultaneously with the chart so that the individual is able to view the information with the narration.

Simple considerations include things such as posting You Tube videos. While You Tube does provide a very rudimentary speech recognition program that will add captions to your videos ... the accuracy of this automated speech recognition system is less than accurate. It is a neat novelty item, but it does not necessarily satisfy the standards of equal access under ADA ... especially for educational purposes.

There are some low cost or free programs that you can use to add captions yourself to your YouTube videos and you can ensure the quality of the captioning is accurate and communication is accessible. One such program is called MagPie.
http://ncam.wgbh.org/invent_build/web_multimedia/tools-guidelines/m...

As course creators and curriculum content designers, accessibility of the website environment should really not only fall on the educators' shoulders, but actually is the responsibility of the website designer and technician. However, it is important that everyone in the process be proactive in demanding accessibility be a requirement and not an afterthought. Legally, if someone were to file an ADA lawsuit or complaint through the Office of Civil Rights, everyone would be held to some percent of liability if they are in fact found to be not providing equal access.

One last interesting point in this matter is that several states are now starting to pass legislation that states all educational materials and media that is purchased using any portion of state funds or for any program that receives any state funds must be fully accessible. As more and more states are starting to implement such requirements, publishers and educational online environments will hopefully make accessibility a priority because they will be forced to either be accessible or be banned from selling to public institutions within certain states. There are about a dozen such states now. One example is California. Here is the wording from the state of California's law:

California Government Code Section 11135 require public entities to procure accessible electronic and information technology.

"In order to improve accessibility of existing technology, ...state governmental entities, in developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic or information technology, either indirectly or through the use of state funds by other entities, shall comply with the accessibility requirements of Section 508..." (Section 11135).

Here are a few resources online if you would like to read more about online accessibility and various technologies available and considerations to be taken.

http://www.webaim.org/
http://www.w3.org/WAI/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_accessibility
http://www.section508.gov/

Energetic Trauma Release CEU Workshop

July 17, ,August 28, Sept. 18, Oct. 9, Nov. 62010
Prerequisite: None

Instructor: Sue Heldenbrand, chtp, certified Healing Touch Practitioner
Location: Lafayette, La.
Investment: $125

Approved as a state recognized provider of continuing education classes, LA State Board of Massage Therapy CEU Provider #LAPO146

PURPOSE:
To provide a non-invasive therapeutic, energy modality for trauma/ PTSD/chronic stress that can bring peace and well-being to all who give and receive. Participants will have the opportunity to share in hands–on giving and receiving. Each participant will be guided by easy–to–follow, step–by–step verbal and written protocols and individualized assistance.

This class is designed to increase your knowledge regarding working compassionately and effectively with the effects of trauma /PTSD/chronic stress in your practice. Information will be provided regarding techniques designed to address the needs of a person whose life has been touched by trauma/PTSD/chronic stress.

Hello Fellow Massage Educators,

I will be conducting a webinar for Instructors on July 14.

Topic: Technology in the Classroom.

If there is something specific you want me to address, I'd love to hear from you.

I need my webinar outline to ABMP by Wed, so get me your wish list it to me ASAP.

Describe how easy adding distance learning is when integrating courses that have been professionally done and are intigrated inot textbooks. Of course, I am only a little excited about this because of what Elsivier has supported for the Textbooks you and I write. It is just so easy.

Sandy and Susan,

I'm knocking out an education column and would be interested in your experiences with the Elsevier support for this as well as any impressions on where this will (or should) take us in the future. Also happy to talk with either of you by skype, Google talk, or even ordinary phone. Thanks.

Hey Keith,

Great idea. Let me and Sandy know how to access the column and be a part of it.

Be sure to join me Wed for the webinar.

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/187512688

For all those that were on Susan's webinar on Technology in the Classroom, here are a few of the resources that I mentioned:
The YouTube video on Socialnomics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhPgUcjGQAw

The resource page for online educators at Education and Training Solutions:
http://educationtrainingsolutions.com/wp/resources/

Let me know if you have any questions,
Whitney

Thanks for joining us Whitney. I really enjoyed the conversation.

Thanks so much for having me be a part of it. I really enjoyed the conversation!

Thanks to both Susan and Whitney for the webinar on Technology in the Classroom. I hope the conversation continues--there is much to learn. The only consistent thing about technology is change--it takes a village to keep up!

I enjoyed the webinar. I hope that those who were there feel encouraged to jump in and learn how to use the technology and teach using electronic resourses.

The webinar sounded great but I was unable to attend due to a previous commitment. Is it available for review anywhere? Also wondering if anyone has tried Digital Chalk. It seems more appropriate for CE distance learning than schools, but any thoughts on their service? (http://www.digitalchalk.com/)

The debate continues. This is from InsideHigherEd and it refutes some of the studies in the Dept. of Ed's meta analysis. I don't think comparing online and face-to-face are particularly useful, but looking at outcomes is. Course construction and teacher competency in the online environment are critical to achieving good outcomes. But isn't that also true in the f2f classroom?

Make that... "is" particularly useful. Hate when that happens!

Well put, Jan.

Instructor involvement, not matter what the learning platform, is a critical element.

One of the biggest problems I think the massage profession is facing is training and support for the teacher. Teaching is a really complete process. Certainly the situation is helped by having available high quality textbooks and online courses and instructor support materials. However those who are teaching need to know what is available and how to access and use it. I have said before that the major textbooks have support materials such as program develpment guides, lesson plans, text banks and so forth that the publishers provide, often at little or no charge. Technology in the classroom can make for much richer learning expereince and expand the learning outside the limits of the traditional four walls of the classroom, but again teachers have to know how to use the information and technology. Learning in a many layered process. I believe the hybrid system that combines face to face and online learning is most productive. I have been slowly implementing online instruction over the last four years. First we had to develop computer literacy. Then we had to figure out the Elsivier Evolve platform. Next we had to learn to be diciplined enough to go log on to the site discussion boards and use the other aspects of the course managment system. We began two years ago to deliver all written exams though the evolve site. That was exciting. I just picked up all of the chapter test banks, had the students complete all of the questions ( usually between 200-300 questions). They could work on their own, had 10 attempts and had to achieve 90 %. Talk about whining. Then we began to project the tests in the classroom. Each class we would work through about 20 of the questions and then they were responsible for the rest. That helped. Of course we had to learn how to use the electronic grade book. Finially this year the Essential Science online course went live. One class was given access to the course to use for extra credit, another that was only 1/3 through was transitioned into the course and one group began at the beginning. Thankfully my daughter is a biology teacher with experince in online education, so I had help. She is the desgnated online teacher for the course, keeps connected with the students, posts all the discussion questions, replys to most of the questions or sends them on to me etc. I wish I could say that it has been smooth. Well, the actual course is great and the students really like it--WHEN THEY DO IT---. This is no different than doing any other course work or showing up for class. So all, I wrote the books and the course--Just like Susan. I teach from my own materials- and I am figuring it out as I go. I will respond on this board to questions and you figure it out. Bet you will to Susan. I know Jan and Whitney are very involve in developing teacher compentency in the area. You just have to start.

Well when I posted the comment I discovered that I was long winded but my passion shows. Ha.

Hey Nancy,

I have not tried Digital Chalk. And from the website, it's difficult to decipher exactly want it is. Can you enlighten me?

I haven't used it yet, but I was considering it. The people who work there are very helpful. You can develop an on-line training class there with chalkboard, assignments, tests, video, audio, slideshow. They issue printable certificates with your signature, and also they will randomize the test questions for you.Its all online- you don't buy the program and download it. You pay a one-time set-up fee starting at $199 and going up based on how extensive the program is you are offering. Then they take a small cut for each person who signs up for the class. They process all the money, too. They have a program for schools, also, which I think is more of a package deal (the school prices are not listed).

I thought it looked interesting, for CE and for maybe proprietary schools. I would imagine colleges have their own programs and servers. But I am just looking into the online learning scene and I was wondering what else is out there, and is Digital Chalk the kind of thing that others are using, etc. If you have any thoughts on this......

A comment on teaching in the classroom- It is my observation that massage school teachers are strongly biased to teach in the manner in which they were taught. If they graduated from a school that had access to technology, they will be motivated to use technology in the classroom. If their experience as a student in massage school was more traditional, they will firmly believe that is the best way for their students to learn. Perhaps it is a subconscious wish to be loyal to the teachers they loved and respected.

There is also the idea out there that massage is a profession in which I can leave the stress of adjusting to a rapidly changing society behind me. And move into a more natural life. In rural areas, especially. I think it is good to have teachers of this leaning also in massage therapy programs, because they can reach the adult students who want models for this type of life and professional practice.

Personally, I love technology- I find it exciting and freeing. But my honest observation is that some people don't feel the same. I was looking to pick up a used desktop for my brother off Craig's list and spoke to a gentleman who basically said he was giving away his computer because it was drawing him into a lifestyle he didn't care for. I've heard this lately in regard to computers, TV and cell phones.

I am reposting links to online courses and encourage you all to check them out.


Comment by Kellie White on June 11, 2010 at 8:42am It's been so itneresting to read all of the discussions about online learning. I thought you all might like to view a portion of our two courses. You can find a module of Susan Salvo's Pathology course at:

https://evolve.elsevier.com/productPages/i_1809_5490.html

and you can view a module from Sandy Fritz's Essential Sciences course at:

https://evolve.elsevier.com/productPages/i_1529_5271.html

When the page pulls up, just click on "Preview sample content" and you'll be given access to a complete module. If anyone has questions, just ask Sandy, Susan, or me.

I would like to ask if anyone has encountered the situation where students do not have access to a computer. The model for teaching with technology assumes each student has a relatively new computer and a printer, does it not? Do the schools that offer tech-based classes have policies that require students to have access to a computer & printer?

I distribute slideshow handouts as PDF files (and links and other media) via email and continue to find one in three students are not able to access the information.

For students that do not have a computer at home options are: school has a computer lab. students can go to library and use computers, students can be required kto purchace a notebook style. Schools can have all books electronic and loaded on a notebook and factor cast into tuition.

And with most schools going "green," printers are not as vital as they once were. Just this year, we allow (and encourage) students to submit assignments electronically rather than on paper.

And, Jaya Jeff Sims, I honestly believe that computer and internet skills should be included in massage training.

Let’s face it….

ALL state boards have websites.

ALL professional organizations conduct most of their business online.

ALL national certification and licensing exams use website and computers to administer exams.

And many clients look for massage school and massage therapists using internet search engines.

Students/Therapists need these skills to “navigate” around their professional world.

Please don't think i am not an advocate for technology as I have benefited enormously from online resources and as an aid in presenting and distributing information. Accessing book publisher exam questions from an online database, chapter review questions, or graphic images to add to a PowerPoint slideshow have been only some of the ways that technology has made teaching easier and I believe has resulted in improved learning experiences.

I would love to leverage technology further. I will share your comments with Jim Hackett, John Sanderson and Samana Benedetti. Since transitioning from software (25 years) to soft tissue I have tried not to make any assumptions about technology in the classroom, and probably have been shy to push technology.

Hey Java,

Anything new takes time.

My book was the last fundamentals book to add a companion DVD. I think our school was the last school to have a website. I just started using YouTube in the classroom to teach concepts such as action potential and muscle contraction. So I totally get how this process works in an educational setting.

My initial thoughts were “but we are doing just fine without it.” Looking back, it was more grassroots… students were bringing technology into the classrooms via THEIR assignments and presentations and I watched in awe how it transformed the learning environment and enhanced instructor-student interaction.

There are some computer and internet skills assessment sites. I'll see if I can locate a few and post links soon.

I'd like to set up a basic online course where anyone can download lessons as to their preference. Does anyone have any suggestions as to the easier way to approach this? I would like to set this up through my website but when it comes to this type of technology, I'm lost!

Sue, I am not sure what you are thinking. Maybe more details

Our students access online courses from our website.

We set up a “Links” page. Take a look.

Home page: http://www.lamassageschool.com/

Links page: http://www.lamassageschool.com/links/index.php

When students click on Evolve under Textbook Resources, it takes them right to the Login Page.

The Evolve Login Page looks like this:

https://evolve.elsevier.com/cs/Satellite/FacultyHome?Audience=Faculty

But again, students access this from the massage school website.

It’s easy for your Tech folks to set up.

Hope this helps.

Sue, one more thing…

The online courses Sandy and I created are designed to allow the administrator customize the content.

Each module (a module is equivalent to a book chapter) contains a number of lessons (a lesson is equivalent to a heading within a book chapter). Each module contains an exam and other assessment features.

You, as the administrator, can choose which modules AND which lessons can be viewed by your students. You can even set up WHEN they can be viewed. This same principle is also true for module exams.

Let’s say you set up the nervous system exam, to be “viewed” only on December 3, 2010. The date you select will coincide with the date the exam is administered on your syllabus. Students cannot view or take the exam until you say they can.

Let’s say you don’t teach massage and medications (module 3) in your curriculum. The administrator can “hide” that ENTIRE MODULE.

There is a learning curve to understanding the nuances of online learning, but I do find most of it intuitive and user friendly.

Let us know if you need anything.

Wow Susan, you are doing a great job explaining this stuff. You go girl.

I hope all massage therapy educators will contribute to the Massage Therapy Project - Home! Many educators have already voiced their support for this effort!

http://www.massageprofessionals.com/forum/topics/the-massage-therap...

I'd like to set up a series of video classes that include holistic health, basic energy work information, energy based techniques, chakras, etc. Someone could purchase as many lessons as they would want and continue with lessons at their convenience. I welcome any suggestions on the best way to approach this and how to set it up on my website..thanks Susan for your info..I checked on your site and got some ideas. I'm in the beginning planning stages. I would need flexibility in customizing it.

Jan Schwartz and Whitney Lowe can help you I think Education training solutions http://educationtrainingsolutions.com/wp/

does anyone have any good ideas for my students to do marketing/advertsing the massage clinic? they have already done the complete business project, but this would be focused on the clinic they are about to enter. they have to do 60 hours worth of massage in 120 hours.

Krista, I teach biz at an acupuncture school and the students there have contacted other career schools in the area and asked to be able to talk to those schools business classes about the benefits of acupuncture. If they didn't have a space for guest speakers we requested to post flyers in the student area. It was very well received. We ran a special for students of the other schools and got a good response, plus new relationships are building between the students, which is cool.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks again for attending the webinar on Technology in the Classroom.

Whitney and I referenced a few web resources during the webinar and we thought to share them with you. Here they are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhPgUcjGQAw

http://educationtrainingsolutions.com/wp/resources/

www.lynda.com

The archived version of the webinar has also been posted to the ABMP website at www.abmp.com. You can review it by logging in and going to the ABMP Archived Webinars section.

If you are not yet a member, contact them and they will show you how.

thank you Jan!! You gave me a great ideas!

What do people think about this? I often wonder about the validity of the reason/excuse that massage therapists can't learn well in a certain way because they are mostly kinesthetic learners.

http://chronicle.com/article/Matching-Teaching-Style-to/49497/

I believe these researchers are substantially correct when the subject matter being taught is high level theory. (In the experiment cited, the subject students were being taught the structure of complex molecules). However, much of what's taught in massage school is substantially simpler, and of course in the case of massage techniques and palpation, it's motor skills.

Jan,
You make a very good point here and one that I think needs to be mentioned. In my opinion, ultimately, the methodology used in the classroom by the instructor makes the difference in whether or not a student is able to retain information. This is not the only thing, of course due to students initial learning capacity, but relevent assessments, activities and competencies all given in an interactive learning environment is what I think is best.

As far as massage therapy students only being able to learn in a certian way, I think it comes down to the subject matter and desired outcomes. If the desired outcome is a knowledge base such as anatomy and physiology, the students may appreciate the hands on applications, but they don't necessarily learn it easier or better than they would with other more verbal or visual styles. But, when it comes to hands-on, performance based competencies, I feel that most every student will learn the neseecary things and retain the information better for the simple fact that it is a physical action they are learning. Kinesthetic learning is a huge pat of massage therapy education becasue a huge part of massage therapy is kinesthetic. The most effective way to teach kinesthetic action is therough kinesthetic methods.

This does not address whether or not there is a predisposition of people in the massage therapy industry to retain kinesthetic information easier than others. That may be very difficult to prove.

Just my two cents.

Thanks, KP

Thanks for sharing this Jan. I am a firm believer in multi-sensory approach in the classroom.

I also liked how the author brought in the "enjoyment" factor into the educational experience.

While I hire teachers based on their academics and experience, if there are two equal candidates, the trump card is often their personality. Can they connect with students…

But whatever the teaching style, the key to learning is repetition. They need to hear it, see it, and do it often.

To expand on Susans comment -But whatever the teaching style, the key to learning is repetition. They need to hear it, see it, and do it often.--

Repetition is essential to comprehension but the repetition needs to be novel each time and become more integrated into practical application during repetition. For example: using good ole Blooms taxonomy . The link explains it well http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html Knowledge in the platform for new learning. Knowledge is the recall of data or information. I think that this is the most difficult level of learning regardless of learning styles. It can also be a tedious level to teach and because of this the students may not really end up grounded in fundamentals such as terminology, anatomy, basic massage application and so forth. I know that i get bored with bony landmarks and draping and positioning on the massage table. Understanding- the next level of learning according to Bloom often does not occur until the forth or fifth or more repetition of the knowledge and each of those repetition must be novel or the brain screens it. Therefor- consider bony landmarks. The student can read, then label,, then palpate, then identify on a bone,then draw a bone will the landmarks on it, label a different chart., take a quiz, find the landmarks during a massage and maybe by this time they can recall the name and location. Students will likely ask the inevitable question--why do I need to know that- so at the beginning you need to set the stage for learning by jumping to learning level three- application just so the students will see the relevance in becoming competent in the knowledge. The ongoing repetition is the opportunity to present the information in multiple leaning styles. Everybody learns visually, auditory and kinesthetic. An effective educator or textbook or online course for that matter should continually repeat content in multiple ways gradually moving up the learning levels until the student can synthesize and evaluate- ie become their own teacher.
the first stage is knowledge-

Jan: Re matching teaching styles to student learning bias or base on subject matter; research on development of professionalism suggests that it depends. For those truly interested in the subject, I suggest reading, Development of Professional Expertise - Toward Measurement of Expert Performance and Design of Optimal Learning Environments, edited by K. Anders Ericsson, Cambridge University Press,2009. And possibly the much lighter read, The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle, Bantam Books, 2009.

WOW! This is good stuff!!! Howard Gardner proposed the theory of multiple intelligences back in 1983 (and there are 8 not just 3 and now the new theory has 11) but like many has stated repetition in different forms makes the training work for all. By the way does any of you want a job at my school??? Great discussion!

I second Charlie's WOW.

And I'll throw more into the conversation…

It’s my favorite definition of learning.

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience and/or practice.

I realize it’s behaviorism, but most learning theories are based on a behaviorist viewpoint.

Hey Charlie, most of the folks in this conversation are ALL OVER the internet. If you have internet in your classroom, we are a mouse click away. ;-)

To piggy back on what Susan said, I wrote a blog a couple of weeks ago and linked to this site. It's kind of fun to help think about our educational philosophy. Note that there is a lot of white space in the website so you need to scroll to see the questions. BTW, I identified as reconstructionism, which is pretty accurate for me.

Following up on a comment that Jan Schwartz made regarding the "reason/excuse that massage therapists can't learn well in a certain way because they are mostly kinesthetic learners" Does anyone actually know if there is actual data which supports that particular statement/reason/excuse?

I know for myself personally, though I do well with kinesthetic learning, I am actually very well-balanced across the VAK styles... often needing to blend visual and kinesthetic and sometimes speaking my way through something to really lock it in.

Please understand I am not saying that by way of being difficult... but more to understand if there is data on this. I am a B.Sc. and M.Sc. lab-based medical scientist who left the lab (due to burn-out), and currently am half-way through my 2200hr Massage Therapy training program here in Ontario, Canada. I have also completed a community college based certificate in Instructing Adults. I have also long had a passion for and experience in teaching in various venues/communities.

Anyone's thoughts? Links to data/papers?

Scott, I don't believe there is data on this. I think the assumption is that since massage therapy is a hands on skill that it follows people must be mostly kinesthetic learners. I would ask how they know that.

When I was at a massage school, I asked incoming students what kind of learners they thought they were. Usually the question was greeted with a blank stare, After I said the VAK thing and explained the word kinesthetic, most said they must be kinesthetic because they were here to learn how to do massage.

I"m not sure where I fall on the learning style debate, but I'm curious about what other teachers think.