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Disability Office

Codes of Practice

Policy for Use of Assistive Technology Centre

Equipment Contract with Disability Office

Policy on students' making recordings of lectures

Policy for Use of Assistive Technology Centre

  1. The centre is for the use of students registered with the Disability Office. The centre will also be used for training purposes.
  2. Users should sign in and out on the sheets available in the centre. Please indicate which technologies you are using in the ATC as this helps us to ensure high quality service delivery.
  3. The ATC is for academic or other college related work only. Please refer to the University's Policy for Responsible Computing, which is on display in the ATC.
  4. The ATC is firstly a place of training. Priority will always be given to students or groups receiving training.
  5. Outside of scheduled training times, users of assistive technology such as voice-recognition or text-to-speech applications will be given priority over other users, as these applications are not yet available outside of the ATC and the Assistive Technology Room in the Library.
  6. No food or drink may be consumed in the centre.
  7. Printing may be done in the ATC for a fee.
  8. Do not attempt to open the printer to replace paper; always ask the supervisor. It will cost the same to print using your own paper.
  9. The use of mobile phones is not permitted.
  10. Under no circumstance may a student use the ATC without supervision by a member of staff.
  11. The ATC may close at times throughout the term. We will attempt to give as much notice as we can, but this will not always be possible. Notices will be posted in the Disability Support Area in Moodle and on the noticeboards in the ATC.
  12. Students may book specific PCs in advance.
  13. USB storage devices may be used in the ATC. Please use either of the two USB ports to the front of the PC or the USB extension lead attached to each computer.

 

Equipment Contract with Disability Office

The equipment/software remains the property of NUI Maynooth and is to be returned in full working order on cessation of studies at NUI Maynooth.

The student is responsible for the equipment at all times and will need to replace any damaged, lost, or stolen equipment and/or accessories.

If technical problems occur, the equipment should be returned to the Assistive Technology Advisor in the Access Office.

There follows some practical advice on protecting and maintaining your equipment.

Protecting your laptop

  • NEVER leave your laptop unattended. It's a little like leaving €1,500 in cash unattended.
  • Do not leave your laptop unattended in the library, reading room or other public place in the university. It takes only seconds for a laptop to be stolen.
  • Consider a laptop case which is less obvious.
  • Do not leave it visible in a car. Put it in the boot.
  • If you use the laptop at a desk, consider buying a security cable. We can give you advice on choosing one.
  • In public places, do not leave your laptop on the ground beside you, keep it between your feet or legs. In restaurants or bars, see if you can securely connect the strap of your case to your chair. You can buy small padlocks for the zipper too.
  • If you intend to travel with the laptop, consider purchasing extra insurance. Avoid checking your laptop in on flights. Keep it with you, preferably under the seat in front of you.
  • Keep food and drinks away from the laptop. That spilt cappuccino could destroy your hard drive - and your data.
  • Keep your equipment clean. Purchase some screen wipes and use them regularly. Avoid dust by closing the laptop when you are not using it.
  • If your laptop has been stolen on campus, contact security immediately. Make a note of your computer's service tag (on the white sticker on the underside of the machine). If your laptop is stolen off campus, contact the gardaí first then contact the Assistive Technology Centre.

Protect your data

  • ALL DRIVES FAIL EVENTUALLY. It is easy to backup your important files, so do it. Get a USB drive and regularly copy your important documents to it. Remember that you have a huge amount of space on the university's server. This is your X drive, and it is a great place to store your files.
  • When you come to collect the laptop, we will recommend that you create a unique login and password. Think about a login and password that you can remember. Do not leave passwords or logins on your laptop or written down on paper with your laptop.
  • You do not have administrator privileges on the laptop. This is to protect you from malicious software and to help ensure that no critical settings are accidentally changed or erased. We are happy to install additional (legal) software for you on request.
  • Disable automatic logins to websites such as Moodle, banks or other sites which could allow someone else to see your personal details.
  • If you backup nothing else, make copies of your essays and assessments. Save your work every few minutes and save copies to the X drive, a USB drive or email a copy to yourself.

Support:

  • We will support your equipment and software. This means that we will help you to use the equipment and software correctly. Also, if you have technical problems, we will try to solve them.
  • Contact the Assistive Technology Centre first for advice. Many problems can be sorted out quickly over the phone or by email. Some problems may have to be looked at more closely, so you may be asked to take the equipment in to the ATC.
  • If the problem is more serious, we may need to get help from the Computer Centre. We try to solve problems as quickly as we can, but you may be without your equipment for a few days or more.
  • We cannot guarantee support for software that doesn't come with the laptop or that we haven't provided. By all means, ask us, but we simply may not know the answer! Also, we will not be able to assist you in getting connected to the net if you live off campus. If you hire professionals to help you with such installations, we can provide them with relevant information where necessary.
  • Sometimes you may want the administrator password. In very limited circumstances, we may give it to you temporarily. In this situation, you have to be responsible with it. If you install unauthorised software or make unapproved changes to the settings, this will break your contract with us and we can ask you to return the equipment.
  • Think twice about letting other people borrow and use your laptop. Our contract is with you only, so you will have to be responsible for other people's actions too.
  • If you don't backup your data, you take a risk. You have to take responsibility for that risk. Unfortunately we cannot spend time and resources trying to recover data that you did not backup. If you need help with making backups, ask us.
  • Read the Code of Conduct for Users of Computing Facilities. There are copies of this document in the ATC for you to take away with you. You will be asked to have read and understood this document before you sign a contract with us.

 

Policy on students' making recordings of lectures

The Disability Office sometimes recommends the use of a recording device such as a dictaphone for learners whose disability impacts significantly upon their ability to independently take effective notes or otherwise record material from learning contexts such as lectures. Under the Disability Act 2005, educational institutions have an obligation to do whatever is necessary and reasonable to allow persons with disabilities to access information. In some cases then, recording a lecture may be considered a reasonable way for a student to access their curriculum.


Examples of learners who may reasonably be granted the accommodation are those whose report indicates significant difficulties with writing by hand due to a physical condition such as arthritis; learners whose lower cognitive processing speed makes note-taking unreasonably difficult to do effectively; or those who have an ongoing condition that either directly or indirectly results in the inability to concentrate enough to take effective notes. Some learners who are hard of hearing may make recordings for later processing to enhance the sound quality or for transcription by a third-party.

In many cases, the Disability Office provides such equipment to eligible students. Where a student has his/her own device and would be deemed eligible for this support, we encourage the use of their own devices.

The evidence of a disability in itself is not enough to justify a learner's use of a recording device. The granting of the accommodation is based on the significance of the impact of the disability on the learner's ability to access the curriculum through note-taking or other contexts which involve writing content for archival/review purposes.

Granting of this support is intended to allow the learner to access the curriculum independently. Where a learner has been granted this accommodation, this is indicated on the student's Learning and Academic Needs Report which is distributed to the relevant Heads of Department and Executive Assistants in late September.

Learners are not permitted to

  1. record a speaker without first asking that speaker for permission,
  2. record a tutorial without first asking and receiving permission from all people present at the tutorial.


Where a learner is given access to any content in alternative format (e.g. recordings, electronic versions of texts, lecturer’s notes), he/she must agree that such material is for their personal use only and is not for distribution to a third party.

If a speaker does not wish to be recorded, their department should make arrangements for the contents of the teaching session to be made available to the student at the time of the session. This may take the form of a transcription or developed, legible notes.

It may be inappropriate to permit recording in some learning contexts (e.g. situations that may involve personal privacy, copyright infringement). The appropriateness should be determined by the department.

Many learners may not need to make recordings if they are provided with notes or outlines of a teaching session in advance or on the day. Teachers may consider making such material available through Moodle or by email to the relevant learners. Some teaching staff make use of podcasts or video recordings which allow them to have control over the recorded content and reduce the need for learners to make their own recordings. More recommendations and suggestions for teaching staff are available in our Guidelines for Staff with Students with Disabilities document.

Questions about the eligibility of students for these and other supports can be addressed to Rose Ryan, Disability Officer,  01 7086341. 


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