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Guide to accessible courses

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This tutorial is about
how to plan, conduct

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and follow up your courses
in an accessible manner.

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But first: What characterizes
an accessible course?

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In short: that all students can
take part in it independently.

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This includes that the event,
the associated Moodle course

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and the teaching material are designed
to be accessible and well structured,

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as well as the room being barrier-free.

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11% of all students
in Germany

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have a study-relevant
health impairment.

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In a course with
30 participants,

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on average around
three students are affected.

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For them,
accessibility is essential

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in order to be able to
successfully complete their studies.

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Not every kind of impairment
is visible at first glance.

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So be aware that
your class consists of

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a heterogeneous
group with different needs

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e.g. because of impaired mobility,

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hearing and seeing impairments,

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chronic or mental illnesses.

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Of course, not all students have

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the same preconditions for learning.

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Step 1: preliminary considerations

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In addition to the content and
didactic planning of your course,

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you should also think about the issue
of accessibility right from the start.

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View it as an
opportunity to restructure

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your teaching content once more

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and to thereby improve
its comprehensibility.

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This not only increases
student satisfaction,

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but also contributes to the
improvement of teaching as a whole.

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It is not always possible
to meet all requirements.

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One basic requirement
for accessible teaching

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is first of all, that the seminar
room or the lecture hall are barrier-free.

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This means that
access is possible without any steps,

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or, if necessary, with a ramp.

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That there is an elevator and the
door is at least 90 cm wide.

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There should also be a
wheelchair-accessible toilet nearby

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and sufficient sockets for
technical aids available.

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Often though, you won't have any influence
on the allocation of rooms from the university.

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Information on
structural accessibility

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can be obtained from the
Hochschul-Gebäudemanagement Potsdam.

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Inform the students as early as
possible about the accessibility

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of the room, ideally,
in the introductory text

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of your course in
the course catalogue.

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You should also point
out the possibility of

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communicating individual
requirements in advance

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and supply your email contact.

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For students with certain impairments,
this information is necessary

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to determine whether they can
attend the course at all.

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The same goes for excursions.

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Find out as early
as possible about

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the accessibility of 
the excursion location.

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Accessibility also includes
an understanding attitude.

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For example, if someone
is not attending class,

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it doesn't automatically
mean that he or she is lazy.

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A chronic illness,

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psychological problems, a sick child
or other reasons can be the cause.

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If necessary, take this into account
when applying the rules of attendance.

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Step 2: Preparing the course

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After planning the content of
your course, you should ask yourself,

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which materials, formats and
platforms you would like to use.

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Ideally, you should take into account
the multiple sensory principle.

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By conveying the information
through multiple channels,

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e.g. in spoken and written form,

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Students with different impairments
will have less difficulty

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to follow the content.

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Alternate between
different forms of learning, e.g.

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the discussion in
plenary sessions vs. in small groups.

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This way, different learning styles are taken
into account and students with disabilities

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are able to avoid disadvantages that
may arise with one learning method

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by using others.

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When using media or
interactive applications, always check

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their accessibility for
the participants in your event.

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If their unrestricted use
is not guaranteed for everybody,

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but you would still like to use
the respective medium or tool,

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you should provide the relevant
information as well in a different form.

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All documents provided (e.g.
semester plans or seminar reading)

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should be accessible PDFs.

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So they are easy to read with screen readers
and screen magnification software.

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When designing your text documents,
presentations, images and graphs

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make sure to use a clear structure.

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Always use Styles
in text documents

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and the Tools for
tables and lists.

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Add Alternate Text
and a caption to images.

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To ensure the best
possible legibility,

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use sans serif fonts,
e.g. Arial, Calibri or Helvetica.

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Use embolding or underlining
instead of colors for emphasis.

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If you use colors, they should
have enough contrast to one another.

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Careful: Avoid the
complementary colors red and green,

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because people with a red-green
color blindness cannot see any difference.

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To find out in detail how to create
accessible documents, refer to the tutorials

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"Accessible Word
and PDF documents"

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and "Accessible Microsoft
PowerPoint Presentations".

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When using visual or
audio content, remember

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to provide videos with subtitles
and, if possible, an audio description.

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Audios require an additional transcript.

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Learn more about creating
subtitles and accessible videos

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with the tutorial
"Accessible video recordings".

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After you have planned your
courses, create a Moodle course.

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Make sure to structure it clearly.

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At the top, place a section with
general information about the event:

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Lecture or seminar schedule, reading list,
clearly defined performance requirements

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as well as contact options
(email and office hours).

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The reading list should
be available as early as possible

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as well as the presentation topics.

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This information is helpful for everyone,

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but essential for blind
and visually impaired students,

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in order to be able to participate
in the course meaningfully.

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Because if the literature is not made
available to them as an accessible PDF,

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they must first translate this
into a form that they can read.

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In another section
you highlight the fact,

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that accessibility is taken
into account in this course.

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Ask the students
to pay attention to it

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when preparing
their own contributions,

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e.g. by providing them
in the form of accessible PDFs,

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as well as sticking to
conversation rules.

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In the next section,
you should point out that

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you are ready to respond
to individual needs.

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You can also explain 
about other offers of assistance.

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Each unit of the course should 
now be treated in a different section.

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Include the date,
a title and a summary

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and upload the related literature
as accessible PDFs, if possible.

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Have the material for the
upcoming session ready

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at least three working days prior.

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If possible, your
lecture presentation as well.

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Just before the
event, you should check

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the room once more and
prepare it if necessary.

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For a seminar, set up the
tables in a U-shape.

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This is not only beneficial for discussion
and interaction among students,

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but also enables lip reading,

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because everyone can
see each other while speaking.

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If necessary, set up a space for
wheelchair users (plus accompanying person).

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Finally, check the lighting
conditions and ventilate once more.

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Step 3: Conducting the course

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Let's start.

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Pay attention to a clear
presentation style at a moderate speed

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and stay facing the
students to enable lip reading.

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If possible, use a
microphone in the lecture hall.

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This also enables the automatic
subtitling of your presentation

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through applications
like Web Captioner.

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The lecture can also be saved as
text with the help of this application

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and made available
to absent students.

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Please note: Web Captioner does not
comply with data protection regulations

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and is not supported by all browsers.

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So you are
responsible for its use.

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At the beginning of the course,
announce its structure,

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in the first session also the structure
of the seminar or lecture as a whole

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and project it
during your presentation.

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If you use a blackboard or flipchart,
write large and clearly and avoid speaking

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when facing the blackboard, as
lip reading will not be possible.

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If you use graphs,
tables, pictures or videos,

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you should verbalize them.

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This can also be done by students
as a starting point for the discussion.

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Conversely, you should visualize
audios or spoken text in the presentation.

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When presenting or
discussing literature,

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always mention the
relevant page number.

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At the beginning of
your course, mention

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that accessibility
should be ensured.

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Show your willingness to
respond to individual needs,

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verbally and in writing.

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Do not present the various needs as a burden,
but formulate in a positive manner.

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Encourage sharing individual
needs during or after the session

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and signal openness to questions
and suggestions for improvement,

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in person or by email.

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Also inform the students
about the possibilities

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of individual disadvantage
compensation

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to help with studying and examinations.

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However, do not approach
students proactively in class,

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when you believe
there is a need.

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Not everyone wants to speak
publicly about their impairment.

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A tip: prepare a sample slide
on the subject of accessibility,

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which you can incorporate into your
presentations and which can be displayed,

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for example, before the course
starts, during the break, or at the end.

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This should include your contact details and
information about offers of assistance and help.

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If your students
need technical aids,

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e.g. hearing systems, a laptop
with a refreshable Braille display

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or access to an accessible
computer workstation,

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you can contact the Center for
Information Technology and Media Management

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or the Counseling for 
Students with Health Impairments

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Ask the students to pay attention to the
accessibility of their own contributions.

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Please also refer to the quick
guide for creating accessible PDFs,

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which you provide in
your Moodle course.

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In addition, ask for observation of
the following converstation rules:

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Several people should
not speak at the same time.

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The desire to speak should be
indicated by a visual hand signal

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and others should be allowed
to finish their sentences.

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Mention your own name
before speaking.

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The pronunciation should be clear,
with your face turned towards the others.

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Address the students by name.

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This is especially important for
people with visual impairments,

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otherwise they will not
realise that you are adressing them.

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If someone speaks
slowly or with an unfamiliar

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intonation because
of an impairment,

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be patient and never try

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to complete sentences or
words for the person concerned.

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Find a student to take
minutes for each session,

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so that a transcript is
available for everyone.

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The content of the discussion
should also be recorded.

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The minutes should then be
made available as an accessible PDF

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or a plain text
document on Moodle.

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If necessary, you can also
provide a template for the minutes.

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For 90 minute events, plan to
take a short break after 45 minutes

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and ventilate the room.

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summary

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I will briefly
summarize once again

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what is important in
an accessible course:

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Provide information about
the accessibility of the room.

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Plan the accessibility
right from the start and

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signal to the students
that you are ready to

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respond to their needs.

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Take into account the multiple
sensory principle when designing the concept.

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Make texts, presentations,
videos and pictures

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available in an accessible manner
- as early as possible.

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Establish clear
conversation rules

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and speak clearly,
facing the students.

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If you do run into technical
difficulties, you are welcome to

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contact the Center for 
Information Technology and Media Management

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If you have any other questions,
please contact

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the Counseling for Students with
Health Impairments / Chronic Conditions

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of the University of Potsdam.