Some of Our Parts

Guidelines – Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students Online

ADCET and the NDCO program are excited to launch Guidelines – Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students Online. This resource is a part of a COVID response project, funded by DESE.

Content includes the impacts and challenges of online learning and provides information around everything from using captions, speech to text technology and tips and tricks when teaching.

The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic led to multiple challenges across all levels of education. Many of these challenges centred around the provision of accessible and inclusive online education for people with disability.

The guidelines were developed by Joe-Anne Kek-Pamenter who works at Griffith University and is Deaf herself. And the project was overseen by Cathy Easte, Bobby Blackson and Gary Kerridge.

When Does an Online Video Need Audio Description?

*From Australian Network on Disability

A video with audio description will have a separate audio track that describes what’s happening on screen for those who can’t see it. Key visual elements, such as actions, scenery, expressions and on-screen text, are described by the narrator to ensure people who are blind or have low vision don’t miss out on important visual information.

Think about it in the context of a promotional video on your website, an instructional video within an online learning course, or a live interview shared on social media. Do all of these need audio descriptions to be accessible?

From an online and technical point of view, the answer lies with the World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C. Through its Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) – the global standard for web accessibility – the W3C specifies three levels of conformance when it comes to audio description: Level A, Level AA and Level AAA. But unless you’re fairly well-versed in the Guidelines, deciding when audio description is needed can still be tricky.

Thankfully, Vision Australia has come up with three easy-to-follow decision trees to make it simpler….

*For more information, read the full article at Australian Network on Disability

Evacuation Procedures for People with Disability

*From Australian Network on Disability

Being an inclusive employer means taking every employee’s needs into consideration when implementing Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) procedures. Procedures for fire and other emergencies should always include provisions for the evacuation of people with disability.

As an employer, it’s your responsibility to make sure all employees are aware of the evacuation procedures in the workplace. Here is what you need to consider in order to ensure your evacuation procedure is inclusive of people with disability.

Always keep in mind, the nature of each person’s disability is unique and the best way to prepare is to discuss and develop evacuation procedures with the individuals.

Evacuation considerations

Appropriate structures need to be put in place to ensure all employees can evacuate in an emergency.

To ensure safe evacuation, a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) should be implemented for each individual with disability.

A PEEP is a practical measure to ensure appropriate, agreed actions are taken for the individual in an emergency. This customised document provides the framework for the planning and provision of emergency evacuation of a person with disability.

It is best practice to plan the assistance required (if any) well before any emergency occurs.

Essential steps

• A fire warden should be nominated for each work area, for example per floor in an office building, or a section of a warehouse or factory.
• A PEEP should be in place for any person with disability requiring assistance to evacuate in an emergency. The fire warden should be aware of any PEEPs in place for people with disability in their work area and have an understanding of the assistance that is required.
• Fire warden to advise emergency personnel (for example, firefighters and police) of the location of people with reduced mobility in refuge areas.
• Evacuation drills should be conducted regularly, including practice for evacuating people with disability.
• Emergency exits should be clearly shown using illuminated exit signs.
• Emergency and evacuation procedures should be clearly displayed on appropriate signage.

*For more information read the full article at Australian Network on Disability

What Are Equity Scholarships?

Equity scholarships recognise groups experiencing disadvantage and the impact it can have on their educational progress. Monash awards equity scholarships to students who come from one or more of our defined equity or personal disadvantage groups:

• Indigenous Australian descent
• recent refugees
• experiencing difficult circumstances
• have a low income
• from regional and remote areas
• having a disability or long term medical condition
• attended an under-represented school.

Go to this search page for a comprehensive list of Equity Scholarships for different faculties.

Merit and equity

Merit and equity scholarships help high achievers succeed despite disadvantage.

Monash offers many different types of coursework scholarships such as honours, postgraduate, sport, research and international scholarships.

Check out the information relevant to you:

• Current students
• Prospective students

Scholarships and Grants Available for 2019

All offers are subject to scholarship terms and conditions and require you to meet eligibility criteria and enrol in a relevant course at a Monash University campus in Australia.

Graduate Research Scholarships

For Graduate Research Scholarships (including Monash Equity Scholarship) see this web page .

Monash Support Scholarships

Monash Support Scholarships are provided to current and commencing students whose educational achievements may have been masked by their personal circumstances. The scholarship is awarded based on need – there is no specific ATAR requirement.

You may be eligible if you are a low income earner and intending to study an undergraduate or graduate degree at Monash. Find out more at this web page.

We are seeking student volunteers to work in the Student Life tent on Monash’s Open Day at both Caulfield and Clayton on Sunday 2nd August. We are looking for students who have engaged with Monash services, supports, student organisations through their studies and are willing to speak about their Monash experience.

Volunteers will be working approximately 10 am – 4pm (including a break) and will be responsible for talking to prospective students about SJU programs including Disability Services, Cultural Inclusion and Ally Network/LGBTIQ inclusion. You will also be inducted to have some understanding of other student engagement/support programs including volunteering, careers, counselling, residential services etc.

Volunteers will receive training prior to Open Day to assist them in promoting the SJU and will receive a $95 Coles Myer voucher and Monash hoodie.

If you are interested please complete the expression of interest form.

James Ong, Monash PhD student has received the Sir John Monash Medal for Outstanding Achievement.

We are looking for volunteers who are registered with Disability Services to assist academic staff in understanding the point of view of students with disabilities so they will be enabled to approach students with greater confidence.

The volunteers will NOT be providing practical advice and assistance on how to handle or solve problems caused by students’ disabilities (e.g. accessibility issues and accommodations). That is the role of Disability Advisers within Monash Disability Services. The focus of this volunteer program is to serve as a ‘port of call’ for staff who want to better understand the perspectives and experiences of students with disabilities to enable them to work more cooperatively and sensitively with a particular student. The role is expected to involve a single conversation with the teaching staff member for any given student: recurring queries about the same student/issue will be referred to Disability Services.

If you are considering volunteering, for this program, it is important that you feel comfortable with declaring your disability. Even though your identity will not be on the public Monash website, it will be on the Monash Intranet which is accessible to all Monash staff.

To fulfill the duties of the role you will need to make yourself available 1-3 hours per week.

Training will be provided by Disability Services to further define the role and answer any questions you may have. It is expected this will take no more than one hour.

The following table sets out the broad areas of disability. If you have personal experience of any of these and are interested in volunteering to help staff to discover how they may implement inclusive practices in their classes, please add complete this form. If you have any questions about the program please contact Michelle.woods@monash.edu.

beyondblue is bringing its big blue bus ‘Roadshow Rhonda’ to Monash University, Clayton for Survival Week! Currently on a 50,000km journey around Australia to encourage and support people everywhere to ‘Take 1 step’ for better mental health, the beyondblue team will set up at Monash University, Clayton:

Wednesday 25th March
11am-1pm
Free BBQ and activities
Law Building Forecourt, 15 Ancora Imparo Way
No bookings required

The visit is a great opportunity to find out more about depression and anxiety and where to get support. For more details, visit www.beyondblue.org.au/take1step

Monash Counselling Service at Clayton campus is offering a free one-hour workshop on time management, specifically for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This workshop will provide practical strategies and exercises for managing your time at university and problem  solving when you are stuck.

Date: Monday 23rd of March
Time: 11am-12pm
Venue: CCD Seminar room, 1st floor, Campus Centre, 21 Chancellors Walk
If you are interested in attending this workshop, please RSVP to Disability Services (disabilityservices@monash.edu) by Monday 16 March, as places are limited.

Welcome to the 2015 Monash O -Week!

The sun is out, the festivities are buzzing, the music is pumping and the lines for free food are growing! Make the most of the week by checking out all the various events and activities and events on your Monash campus.

Just a reminder, as well – the Monash Disability Services is running an Open House all this week. That means if you have any questions at all about disabilities or mental health conditions that you feel might impact on your studies, pop into the Disability Services at 21 Ancora Imparo Way (previously Building 55 – right at the bus loop, near the Law Building and Menzies). You can speak to one of our friendly Disability Advisers who will be able to assist you with any inquiries you might have.

Also, starting tomorrow, we will also be running Disability Campus Tours around the Caulfield and Clayton campuses. Tours are open to all registered students and you can register for one of these tours here.

Clayton tours will run from 2pm on the Thursday and Friday of O-Week (26th and 27th February)

Tours will meet outside 21 Ancora Imparo Way (previously Building 55) at 1.50pm for a 2pm start

Caulfield tours will run from 2pm on the Tuesday of O-Week (24th of February)

Tours will meet outside Monash Connect (Building A, ground floor) at 1.50pm for a 2pm start

Campus maps will be provided on the day and it may be advisable to bring your own pen and paper to take notes. Please let us know in advance if you require Auslan interpreters, electric scooters or have any other accessibility requirements.

If you have any further questions or concerns about the tours, please contact Sarah Mander at sarah.mander@monash.edu or on 9905 3857.