Making the University Accessible to Everyone

fall 2013

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SPOTLIGHTS
New Chancellor: From the Supreme Court to the Open University
A New President for the Open University
A Celebration: Lord Woolf's 80th Birthday

GRADUATES
Graduation Ceremonies
A Fighter Pilot and Researcher of Nanometer Threads
27 Years Old and Co-Founder of a Multi-Million Dollar Company

INNOVATION, RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY
OUI Now MOOCs
Digital MBA
Once App on a Time
The Eighth Chais Conference
Caregivers, Caregiving and Emotional Intelligence
Exodus: The Real Story

ACCESS
Practical Solutions for Students with Disabilities
Project 100: A Program for Arab Minorities
Enriching Immams

EVENTS
A Taste of Academia: Coffee, Beer and Professors
OUI Students Argue Best
Inauguration of Academia in High School
American Friends of Open University

HIGHLIGHTS & MILESTONES
US Ambassador Visits OUI
Prof. Sara Guri-Rosenblit
Prof. Miri Soroujoun
Prof. Bat-Zion Iraqi-Klorman
Dr. Yuval Eylon
Prof. Yagil Levy
Dr. Tzahi Weiss
OUI in National Survey
OUI Grads
Co-editors: Elissa Allerhand, Ilene Bloch-Levy Photographer: Gideon Markowitz Graphic Designer: Laura Grinberg Web Manager: Batsheva Engelberg-Behr Web Master: Sonia Pechersky, Royi Gumprich

ACCESS
Making the University Accessible to Everyone ...continued from previous page. A Smart Approach There is a great variety of assistive equipment and programs available in the marketplace, which does not impact other students in the classroom. "Let's say a student has trouble following a lecturer," Dr. Saadon elaborates, "a smart pen may provide an ideal solution. The pen records the lecturer. The student writes the subject headings of the lecture in a special notebook, which the University has also provided, and then places the pen on a word, where it will replay the lecturer's talk on that particular subject." Closed-circuit television screens can enlarge the written text for a visually-impaired student to the size that is most suitable for his/her needs. A program reads aloud text in both English and Hebrew, while the student highlights the written word. Yet, another program automatically transcribes everything the lecturer writes on a smart board through a console to the student's computer. For the hearing-impaired, a special FM system which includes transmitter and receiver can enable the student to hear the lecturer. Libraries are also being made "accessible." And, the University is planning on making much of this specialized equipment available to students on loan. In addition to the specialized equipment, the University will also need to reconfigure some furniture. Nir Bernard, 42, lost his vision 17 years ago. Today, he comes to studies at the University's Haifa campus accompanied by his guide dog. "Currently I record each lesson and transcribe it. Now, with the new "accessible classroom" I can bring my laptop and really listen to the lecture, while the information is being transmitted to my computer. No doubt I will be able to improve my learning capacity." On the International People with Disabilities Day, the OUI inaugurated the first Tzmicha Center, (Accessibility for Students with Special Learning Requirements) on the Ramat Aviv Campus. The center, housed in an accessible classroom, is the first of several such centers planned for other campuses to provide assistive technologies. Page: 1 2 3

ACCESS

Making the University Accessible to Everyone

...continued from previous page.

A Smart Approach

There is a great variety of assistive equipment and programs available in the marketplace, which does not impact other students in the classroom.

"Let's say a student has trouble following a lecturer," Dr. Saadon elaborates, "a smart pen may provide an ideal solution. The pen records the lecturer. The student writes the subject headings of the lecture in a special notebook, which the University has also provided, and then places the pen on a word, where it will replay the lecturer's talk on that particular subject."

Closed-circuit television screens can enlarge the written text for a visually-impaired student to the size that is most suitable for his/her needs. A program reads aloud text in both English and Hebrew, while the student highlights the written word. Yet, another program automatically transcribes everything the lecturer writes on a smart board through a console to the student's computer.

For the hearing-impaired, a special FM system which includes transmitter and receiver can enable the student to hear the lecturer. Libraries are also being made "accessible." And, the University is planning on making much of this specialized equipment available to students on loan. In addition to the specialized equipment, the University will also need to reconfigure some furniture.

Nir Bernard, 42, lost his vision 17 years ago. Today, he comes to studies at the University's Haifa campus accompanied by his guide dog. "Currently I record each lesson and transcribe it. Now, with the new "accessible classroom" I can bring my laptop and really listen to the lecture, while the information is being transmitted to my computer. No doubt I will be able to improve my learning capacity."

On the International People with Disabilities Day, the OUI inaugurated the first Tzmicha Center, (Accessibility for Students with Special Learning Requirements) on the Ramat Aviv Campus. The center, housed in an accessible classroom, is the first of several such centers planned for other campuses to provide assistive technologies.

Page: 1 2 3