Massage Educators

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Comment by Susan G. Salvo on June 25, 2010 at 1:56pm

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.

Comment by Sue Heldenbrand on June 17, 2010 at 5:56pm

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.

Comment by Jennie Bourgeois on June 13, 2010 at 10:24pm

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/

Comment by Jan Schwartz on June 12, 2010 at 9:54am

Susan, I agree that it is important to add script someplace, either on the same screen or as a supplement so those who are hearing impaired can follow along. Compliance with Section 508 is another challenge to meet when considering online education.

Comment by Susan G. Salvo on June 12, 2010 at 9:25am

Jan, hope you are in the mood for an interesting story…

While the course was in Beta stage, I pulled it up on the classroom computer and began showing the students. That day, we were using it like a supped up powerpoint where students could play games, discuss case studies as a class, and watch amazing videos. BTW, this is another way instructors might consider. It made the ppt very interactive.

While watching the videos, of the students noticed that some had transcripts running along side and others did not. This particular student worked in Baton Rouge in the Student Services department at LSU. She looked at me and said, “Ya know, Ms. Susan, if you placed transcripts on all the screens with animations and videos, this course would meet many of the ADA requirements." ADA stands for American with Disabilities Act.

I gave her BIG hug, and then made a phone call. All animations and videos have transcripts.

Comment by Lisa Mertz on June 12, 2010 at 9:03am

Good point, Jan, this issue arises all the time at my college, which is a large, public community college. For us, it's not a rural issue, but urban. The campus is wireless, there are computer centers, but many students' lives are very complicated. They don't all own computers, they don't all have the wherewithal to go to a computer center. They might have 2-hr commutes to school plus jobs and families. These students obviously would not opt for online or hybrid courses, and it helps to have options for homework assignments for classroom courses.

Comment by Susan G. Salvo on June 12, 2010 at 8:57am

Thanks for clarifying that point, Jan.

Yes, the course orientation module discusses browser, monitor settings, plug ins, and technology minimums such as RAM and Hard Disk space.

While there are plenty of graphics in the course, it is not so graphic intensive that it would bog down even a computer that is five years old. Graphic and video size was taken into account when designing the course.

The syllabus includes these types of statements: Access to a computer and reliable internet connection is essential. Students are expected to have an email account and check this account weekly. Students are expected access the course module, complete assigned lessons, and participate in class activites, and complete and submit any assignments using a computer on a weekly basis.

And yes, we just altered our catalog to “disclose” the need for a computer and internet access.

So far, we have not had a student unwilling or unable to meet these requirements. But some students do come to class early or leave later to use our classroom computer -- but this is rare and most often because, while they have a computer at home, it is quieter at school or they have children that monopolize their computer. ;-)

Comment by Jan Schwartz on June 12, 2010 at 8:27am

Another thing to keep in mind if you are at an accredited school, everything must be disclosed up front, such as the need for computer access. I'm always surprised, as a provider of online courses, at how many people do not have computers at home, or are in such rural areas that they don't have adequate access, or they don't have a new enough computer to open the media files. To say they can go to the library or stay at school longer is challenging in this economy, when work or family beckons.

This does not suggest you not explore online education, it's just suggests that there are additional considerations to take into account.

Comment by Susan G. Salvo on June 12, 2010 at 7:59am

Hey Kelly,

Does your school have internet? That is really the biggest expense because it is a monthly bill. Wireless can be added to any internet system for about $100.

But really, wireless capability is not necessary (it’s just convenient). But students do need access to a computer and Internet at home. Additionally, all public libraries and many restaurants and coffee shops have computers and wireless for their customers to use.

At our school, we have a 1) classroom computer, 2) internet hookup with a 3) projector and a 4) screen. We bought these items 3 years ago for a grand total of less than $2000 (amortize that over 36 months and it’s quite low cost).

During orientation, the instructor demonstrates how to log in and navigate through the course. Questions are answered by the students as they arise.

Then students take turns “driving” at the classroom computer so the instructor can "ck for understanding."

The syllabus (which features blended learning or both online and classroom instruction) is distributed and discussed. From this, students know when they must complete select modules, participate in discussion boards, turn in case studies, complete exams, or what ever else you want to include in your course.

Good luck and I hope you dive in soon. The water’s fine.

And we are here to help if you feel like you are sinking.

Comment by Kelly Grounds on June 12, 2010 at 7:08am

Sandy and Whitney, I loved the online World Massage Conference. I'm hoping to show my stud ents all the online classes during the next summer months. Now if I could convince the school owners to invest in wireless classrooms! How many people work in 'techno savy' massage schools? I have to bring my own equipment at my school, although we do have projectors for Power Point.

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