ILP "Participation" 2

For this independent learning project, I wanted to focus on the trip we made to the FSU Service Center. This trip was particularly important to me because of the content I have been learning from another course I am currently taking. The class has a high focus on persons with disabilities, so it was really cool to take part and see hands on just how inclusive and accessible FSU really is. The accommodations that are made to help students learn, such as creating 3D textbooks for students who are visually impaired, or computers that read the text off screen. It was not my first time being involved and learning about the technologies that were offered from that trip. This semester I made a trip over to the Florida Division of Blind Services and learned all about the organization and what they offer there. I saw many similarities between the DBS, especially among the pieces of assertive technology, and also among the services and lengths they go for for their clients and students. I learned that many accommodations are in reality much cheaper than people think, and the services that are usually needed are simple and inclusive, such as renting a book from their 3D library for reading, or going to the center to use their library filled with assitive technologies to do homework. The relationships that are made between the employees and their clients is essential are strong as trust is vital in these relationships, and its interesting to see how the technology that is used makes their interaction seamless. Understanding persons with disabilities and asking the individual what accommodations or assistance they require helps all party members, and it provides insight on different perspectives that are brought into the classroom and those perspectives can be related to future students to face similar situations.
I included pictures from both site visits I did.