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Plan for Outcome Based Evaluation of
Adaptive Technology Project
Mercer County Community College Library
Submitted to
the Institute of Museums and Library Services by
Elizabeth Breedlove, Grants Management Supervisor
New Jersey State Library
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Evaluation
Team Members
Library Director
(also acts as Grant Project Manager)
At least 2 library staff members at each campus
Coordinator of Special Services
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Timetable
for Outcome-Based Evaluation
| Action |
Months |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
Identify
outcomes, indicators,
data sources, and data collection
methods |
X |
X |
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| Test
measurement system |
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|
X |
X |
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| Assess
and report outcomes |
|
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X |
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| Implement
tested system |
|
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X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
- Program
Influencers
President
of College
Advisory Council
Students with visual and learning disabilities
MCCC Library Director and staff
MCCC Coordinator of Special Services
New Jersey State Library
Middle States Association
Institute of Museums and Library Services
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Institutional
Mission
Mercer County
Community College is a comprehensive two-year public
institution that is dedicated to the intellectual
development of students of all ages from a wide
variety of backgrounds and to instilling in them
the skills, habits, and inclinations with which
they will continue to educate themselves throughout
their lives. The College maintains an open admissions
policy making educational programs accessible to
all who can benefit from them, investing in special
efforts to enroll students who might not otherwise
aspire to higher education.
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Program Purpose
The Mercer
County Community College (MCCC) Library will install,
at each of its campuses, a Univirtual Access Center
(UvAC) containing PCs with adaptive technology and
assistive equipment which will be used by students
with visual impairments and learning disabilities
to increase their skills to independently retrieve
and to effectively use information from printed
and electronic library resources and the Internet.
As a result of receiving this new MCCC library service,
students with visual impairments and learning disabilities
will increase their ability to successfully complete
class assignments.
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Inputs
LSTA grant
for $14,988 used to purchase:
- 2 PCs with
the following software: pwWebSpeak, Kurzweil 1000/3000
print scanner and voice synthesizer, Jaws for
Windows 3.5 and Magic Large Print
- Clearview
CV700 CCTV system
MCCC Library
staff
MCCC Coordinator of Special Services
Facility: space, at both campuses, to house Univirtual
Access Center (UvAC)
- Program
Activities
- Form an
Advisory Council composed of students with disabilities,
MCCC Office of Special Services and members of
county public and private agencies
- Purchase
PCs with adaptive technology and assistive equipment
and install a Univirtual Access Center (UvAC)
at each campus
- Train at
least two library staff, at each campus, in the
use of UvAC equipment and sensitivity issues in
serving people with visual impairments and learning
disabilities
- Develop
policies and procedures for serving students with
visual impairments and learning disabilities and
for the use of the Univirtual Access Centers (UvACs).
- Conduct
user satisfaction survey and hold focus group
meeting.
- Evaluate
Adaptive Technology Project and report evaluation
results.
- Program
Services
- Conduct
at least one orientation workshop for students
with visual impairments and learning disabilities,
at each campus, during Student Orientation days.
- Conduct
one or more training sessions for students with
visual impairments and for students with learning
disabilities, at each campus, at the beginning
of the Fall semester.
- Library
staff provides assistance and training, on-demand,
to students with visual impairments and learning
disabilities to use PCs with adaptive technology
and assistive equipment independently to retrieve
and effectively use information.
Projected Outputs for Each Campus
- number
of library staff trained to assist students with
disabilities to use PCs with adaptive technology
and assistive equipment
- number
of orientation sessions held for students with
disabilities
- number
of students with visual impairments attending
sessions
- number
of students with learning disabilities attending
sessions
- number
of formal training sessions on use of PCs with
adaptive technology and assistive equipment
-
number of
students with visual impairments trained
-
- number of students with learning
disabilities trained
- number
of disabled students provided with on-demand training
and assistance to use PCs with adaptive technology
and/or assistive equipment
- number
of students with visual impairments using PCs
with adaptive technology
- number
of students with visual impairments using CCTV
system
- number
of students with learning disabilities using PCs
with adaptive technology
- number
of evaluations of orientation sessions returned
- number
of students with visual impairments submitting
evaluation
- number
of students with learning disabilities submitting
evaluations
- number
of formal training evaluations returned
- number
of students with visual impairments submitting
evaluations
- number
of students with learning disabilities submitting
evaluations
- number
of focus groups held
- number
of students with visual impairments attending
sessions
- number
of students with learning disabilities attending
sessions
- number
of user satisfaction surveys returned or completed
through interview process
- number
of students with visual impairments completing
surveys
- number
of students with learning disabilities completing
surveys
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Program Target
Population
The project
is targeted to 10 visually impaired and 157 learning
disabled Mercer County Community College students.
The average
age of full time students is 23; and for part-time
students it is 31. Seventy percent of the students
are part-time. Ages of the students with disabilities
will reflect these averages.
Most MCCC
students with disabilities do not own their own
PCs with adaptive technology and/or assistive equipment
and will require more training to independently
make effective use of this technology.
MCCC is a
two-year public institution with an open admission
policy. All students who apply are accepted into
the Freshman class. Most MCCC classes require that
students read a text book and other printed materials
supplied by the instructor. There is little emphasis
on research.
Fifty Internet
access PCs at the MCCC Library was made available
to students at the end of May 2000. It is expected
that many students with visual and learning disabilities
will have a high degree of interest in using the
Internet for personal research, school assignments
and recreation.
Program Outcomes
-
Initial Outcome
Outcome:
- MCCC students
with visual impairments will increase their knowledge
about the benefits of using the PCs with adaptive
technology and assistive equipment that are provided
by the MCCC Library.
- MCCC students
with learning disabilities will increase their
knowledge about the benefits of using the PCs
with adaptive technology and assistive equipment
that are provided by the MCCC Library.
Measures:
Percentage
of students with visual impairments who indicate
that they have increased knowledge of the benefits
of using adaptive technology and assistive equipment.
Percentage
of students with learning disabilities who indicate
that they have increased knowledge of the benefits
of using adaptive technology and assistive equipment.
Data Source:
- Student
self ranking evaluation, written or oral
- MCCC training
staff observation
Data Collection
Point: End of each orientation session
Target:
80% of the students with visual impairments
and learning disabilities, who attended a MCCC Library
orientation session, indicate that they have moderately
or significantly increased their awareness of the
benefits of using the adaptive technology and assistive
equipment provided by the Library. (Rating on a
scale of 1-4 with 1= no increase in awareness, 2
= slight, 3 = moderate, 4 = significant.)
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Intermediate
Outcomes
Outcome:
Students with
visual impairments are able to independently make
effective use of PCs with adaptive technology and/or
assistive equipment that are provided by the MCCC
Library.
Students with
learning disabilities are able to independently
make effective use of PCs with adaptive technology
and/or assistive equipment that are provided by
the MCCC Library.
Measurement:
Percentage
of students with visual impairments who indicate
that they have increased their competency to independently
make effective use of PCs with adaptive technology
and/or assistive equipment.
Percentage
of students with learning disabilities who indicate
that they have increased their competency to independently
make effective use of PCs with assistive equipment
and/or assistive equipment.
Data Sources:
- Student
self ranking evaluation, written or oral
- Observations
of MCCC Library and Computer Lab staff
- Observation
of MCCC Coordinator of Special Services
Data Collection
Points:
- Student
self ranking at the end of each formal training
session
- MCCC staff
observation at the end of provision of one-on-one
assistance
- MCCC Coordinator
of Special Services observation when student use
disabilities laboratory on second floor of the
MCCC Library.
Target:
65% of the
students with visual impairments, who attended a
training session provided by MCCC Library staff,
indicate that they have moderately or significantly
increased their competency to independently make
effective use of PCs with adaptive technology (e.g.,
pwWebSpeak screen reader web browser software and/or
Kurzweil 1000 software which scans printed material
and has a voice synthesizer) and/or a closed-circuit
television system (CCTV) which magnifies printed
materials. (Rating on a scale of 1-4 with 1= no
improvement, 2 = slight, 3 = moderate, 4 = significant.)
45% of the
students with learning disabilities, who attended
a training session provided by MCCC Library staff,
indicate that they have moderately or significantly
increased their competency to independently make
effective use of PCs with adaptive technology (e.g.,
pwWebSpeak screen reader web browser software and/or
Kurzweil 3000 software which scans printed material
and has a voice synthesizer). (Rating on a scale
of 1-4 with 1= no improvement, 2 = slight, 3 = moderate,
4 = significant.)
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Long Term
Outcomes
Outcomes:
Students with
visual impairments who used the MCCC Library's PCs
with adaptive technology and/or the assistive equipment
will increase their ability to successfully complete
class assignments.
Students with
learning disabilities who used the MCCC Library's
PCs with adaptive technology and/or the assistive
equipment will increase their ability to successfully
complete class assignments.
Measurement:
Percentage
of students with visual impairments who indicate
that they increased their ability to successfully
complete class assignments.
Percentage
of students with learning disabilities who indicate
that they increased their ability to successfully
complete class assignments.
Data Sources:
- User satisfaction
survey, written or oral.
- Recording
of comments at Focus Group Meeting
Data Collection
Points:
- User satisfaction
survey, written or oral at the end of the Fall
semester.
- Focus Group
Meeting held one month before end of Fall Semester.
Target:
35% of the
students with visual impairments indicate, that
as a result of using the MCCC Library's PCs with
adaptive technology (e.g., pwWebSpeak screen reader
web browser software and/or Kurzweil 1000 software
which scans printed material and has a voice synthesizer)
and/or a closed-circuit television system (CCTV)
which magnifies printed materials, they have moderately
or significantly increased their ability to successfully
complete class assignments. (Rating on a scale of
1-4 with 1= no improvement, 2 = slight, 3 = moderate,
4 = significant.)
25% of the
students with learning disabilities indicate, that
as a result of using the MCCC Library's PCs with
adaptive technology (e.g., pwWebSpeak screen reader
web browser software and/or Kurzweil 3000 software
which scans printed material and has a voice synthesizer),
they have moderately or significantly increased
their ability to successfully complete class assignments.
(Rating on a scale of 1-4 with 1= no improvement,
2 = slight, 3 = moderate, 4 = significant.)
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Success of
the Project
The success
of the project will be based on evaluation data that
shows that the targets for the initial, intermediate
and long term outcomes have been met or exceeded.
Additional
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