Disability Services partners with Library to make assistive technology tools more readily available
You might not expect it, but some of the most powerful learning tools for student success at the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) aren’t textbooks or research databases – they’re highlighters that talk, pens that digitize handwriting, and headphones that cancel out the chaos.
Since late 2023, the JIBC Library has been home to a growing collection of assistive technology that’s available for all students, staff, and faculty to borrow. It’s part of a collaborative effort with JIBC’s Disability Services team to make learning supports more accessible – especially for students who may be struggling but don’t have a formal diagnosis or access to academic accommodations, or even any disability at all.
Disability Services Manager Victoria Ansell emphasizes that the needs are very individualized and learning aids don’t all work for all students.
“But when they’re a good fit, these tools can sometimes be the difference between passing and failing an exam,” she said.
“When they work for students, they really work for students … and they are doing so much better.”
No disability required to access assistive tech
While reported figures vary widely at post-secondary institutions, the Canadian University Survey Consortium found 31 per cent of first-year students at Canadian universities reported having a disability in 2022. JIBC’s experience is also extremely varied from program to program. However, what is known is that such figures only reflect reported cases. Many students either do not disclose their disabilities or they remain undiagnosed, a situation exacerbated by the shortage of family doctors and mental health professionals.
Most post-secondary institutions have assistive tech available to loan out to eligible students through their disability services offices. When JIBC's Disability Services staff considered such a purchase, they discovered the JIBC Library had funding available and was open to collaborating.
As far as Ansell knows, JIBC is the only post-secondary institution in B.C. which makes its collection of such tools available through its library. And they’re accessible regardless of whether the user has a disability or not.
All JIBC students, staff and faculty can borrow the tools for short periods to try them out, often leading to personal purchases. With a Disability Services referral, longer loans are available for those eligible for accommodations.
Nine assistive tech tools available through Library
There are nine tools of both the electronic and low-tech variety available for loan including:
- C-Pen – scans and reads out text. This is helpful for those who find it easier to process words spoken aloud.
- Echo 2 Smartpen – a device that helps with notetaking, it can record audio while also converting what a person writes by hand with it into digitized text.
- Noise-cancelling earmuffs and headphones – to reduce distractions.
- White noise machine – for students who focus better with background noise or who use white noise to drown out distractions.
The items have been available for loan since late 2023 and have proven popular, said Crystal Yin, JIBC’s Electronic Resources and Systems Librarian. She noted that the Library can send the devices to students at any JIBC campus.
Collaboration plays to departments’ strengths
The collaboration lets Disability Services focus on student consultations, while the Library handles lending, logistics, and promoting the tools to raise awareness.
“It’s more streamlined,” Yin said, adding that most students would tend to be more comfortable approaching the Library initially for help.
As Ansell said, it’s meant “many more people are able to get the help they might need.”
For more on JIBC Library’s assistive technology collection, visit its guide here.
To learn more about student resources and academic accommodations at JIBC, please contact studentresources@jibc.ca.