Read Seale Chapter 12 Individual responses to accessibility: tools, activities and contradictions. Make notes in response to the following questions:
- Seale identifies six potential areas for conflict or contradiction within an organisation or activity system. What potential contradictions exist in your organisation and why?
In my own organization there are the subject, object, community and tools. There are the teachers who are responsible in delivering knowledge to the students and they are also responsible to help disabled students too and make their learning resources as accessible as possible. Without the teachers then it will not be possible to deliver knowledge using another role, i.e. learning technologist. As all the roles have to work together in order to successfully deliver the knowledge and make their resources available to their students. There are the tools; however, the legislation is not so strict from what I am experiencing. Maybe this is due to the fact that in my school there are no disabled students in that extent as to need assistive technology to help teachers to make their resources accessible. There is only one kid that just cannot concentrate in the classroom properly but they take it away in a separate classroom when needed. Not the best way though of treating such a kind of situation. The community exists but in a very small part that includes the students themselves, support services and Principal of the school. This is due to the fact that by employing learning technologists, staff developers etc will cost more money to the government. Thus, they might have very few specialists who have to control each and every school in Cyprus. I am not sure about this point, but I am talking from my own experience.
- How helpful is it to conceptualise the development of accessibility within your organisation as an activity system?
From the one hand, it would definitely be helpful, but on the other hand it will not be as there are areas that my own school does not actually fulfill, i.e. rules and division of labour.
Do you think that Figure 12.1 on page 165 would be useful as a trigger for discussion within your organisation?
Having examined the figure I can say that it would have been useful but not many things could be made in order to apply something in the school I am working. However, it would give an idea to the Principal of the school about this accessibility matter that will one day become more formal in the evaluation of this system. I think that if this was presented to the Minister of Education in Cyprus it would have been better to see other views of this matter but still it would be very difficult to do something.
Would it enable you and your colleagues to identify what changes or developments are needed and why they are needed?
It is a very helpful figure in helping us identifying these changes or developments and the reasons why these changes should be applied in the school in order to achieve our objectives regarding accessibility issues.