A Minute with Project EXCEL - Video!

Hi Students and Staff of Project EXCEL!  Please check out our latest promotional video - you may well recognize some familiar faces - Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/CUjoIlkYRzo

 

UPDATES FROM PROJECT EXCEL

WELCOME BACK
 
Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year. We are excited to work closely with you. This year most Project EXCEL services will be in person. Our office is open at 8:00 am. Monday - Friday. 
 
 Wishing you a successful semester!
 
 
Just a reminder...
 
In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Project EXCEL provides reasonable academic adjustments and auxiliary aids to you, at no charge, based on your individual needs. Click on the links on this page to access the forms you need to request alternate texts, note-takers, and test accommodations. Please let us know if you need assistance.
 
Project EXCEL goes above and beyond the free academic adjustments and auxiliary aids provided to you under the Rehabilitation Act. Project EXCEL provides academic support through weekly tutoring by professional staff, time management sessions, and academic counseling. Your Project EXCEL fees pay for these extra services. Please take advantage of these resources!
 
MyMount and MSJ email also provides you with up-to-date information about services and events that will prove helpful to you throughout the year. Check myMount and your MSJ email often.
 
Have a great year!

 

Email Etiquette Tip Sheet

Not sure how to email a professor correctly?  How about using email in a business setting? Attached please find very helpful tips and hints on how to do this the most professional way. Any questions - please reach out to Becky or Loraine for help!

Tips for Acclimatizing to College Level Coursework

Good morning Project EXCEL Students!

Welcome to S124 - Fall Semester.  Attached please find a very useful tip sheet on how to prepare and complete course work, and how to do so in a healthy way!

WHAT IS 'LET'S TALK'?

Have a PDF document read to you by the computer

All campus computers are equipped with Read & Write software and Adobe Acrobat Professional! Use these programs to read documents aloud. After opening your PDF document:
 
For Read & Write:
  1. Open Read & Write software by clicking on the "rw puzzle piece" icon
  2. On the toolbar, click PDF
  3. Find the PDF file you would like to be read and click to open
  4. Use the toolbar to hear the document

For Adobe Acrobat reader:

  1. In the Adobe toolbar, click on VIEW.
  2. In the down down menu, click on READ OUT LOUD.
  3. In the side menu, click on ACTIVATE READ OUT LOUD. 

Asstistive Technology Solutions & Accessibility Options

Tools for students:

Read & Write
Read & Write is a screen reading software available on all campus computers and compatible for download to personal computers through myMount.

To access on MyMount:

  1. Access the Read and Write Take Home Version section of the Software page underneath Technology. You will need to be logged in to myMount to access this content.
  2. Follow installation instructions for your Mac or PC computer

Features of Read & Write:

  • Reads PDF documents, Word documents, and internet web pages through the use of a toolbar at the top of your screen
  • Additional tools available for organizing study materials and retrieving information
  • Manage settings through toolbar
  • Instructional videos for each toolbar feature
  1. CCTV
  • Magnifies instructional material including graphs and charts from print based sources
  • Facilitates access to material presented on a blackboard or projection screen
  • Place material to be magnified under projector
  • Available for use in the Learning Center

Color Contrast, Large Print Keyboard

  • ZoomText Keyboard
  • For users who struggle to see the lettering on the keyboard
  • 36-point text and high-contrast color scheme
  • Eighteen dedicated buttons allow users to instantly start ZoomText functions
  • Available on computers in the Learning Center

Microsoft
Offers some accessibility tools. EX: Narrator, Magnifier, On-Screen Keyboard, High Contrast

  1. You can find by clicking All Programs-Accessories – Ease of Access-Ease of Access center to see all tools
  2. Narrator
  3. A menu pops up. Follow the directions to enable it. 
  4. Choose Voice Settings on the menu for speed, volume, and pitch.

Alternate Text and resources

Read & Write, Adobe Reader or Note Pad. E-textbooks can be used in several different ways. With special software such as screen readers or document readers, e-text can be audibly "read" by a computer. E-text may also be converted into MP3 files, which can play on any computer or portable MP3 playing device.

Alternative Text Resources:

Bookshare

Bookshare is an online community that enables scanned books to be shared, thereby eliminating significant duplication of effort. Bookshare takes advantage of a special exemption in the U.S. copyright law that permits the reproduction of publications into specialized formats for the disabled. Copyrighted books are only available for download in the specialized formats of digital Braille (BRF) and the digital talking book format (DAISY), and are only available to people with disabilities that have provided certification of disability. A downloadable copy of the computer software application for reading the DAISY format digital books, called Victor Reader Soft Bookshare.org Edition is included in Bookshare.org membership. The text is displayed on the screen, so it can be read with the adaptive features of the Victor Reader Soft. A student with low vision can use screen-enlarging software to read the material. In combination with screen reader software such as JAWS or Window-Eyes, the book can be listened to with Text to Speech, in a synthetic voice. Cost for book downloads and alternative players as well as the account application are listed on the website.

Website (https://www.bookshare.org/cms/)

Access Text Network

The AccessText Network is a membership exchange network that facilitates and supports the nationwide delivery of alternative files for students with diagnosed print-related disabilities. AccessText provides these textbooks by leveraging an online database powered by Intuit QuickBase® and incorporating publisher-provided information on thousands of textbook titles. Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) Higher Education Committee serves the needs and interests of AAP members who publish for the post-secondary educational market. The committee works in a variety of ways to inform the media, the higher education community including faculty, administrators, college students and their families, and the general public about an industry that is producing the finest higher education instructional materials in the world.

The AccessText Network is supported by post-secondary institutions as well as member publishers.

Website (http://accesstext.org/)

Accommodation Request Forms

You must be a Project EXCEL student and logged in to myMount to access the forms listed below. Please comply with the suggested time frames to help ensure that we can make all of the necessary arrangements for your test accommodations:
  • Test/Quiz - 5 school days advance notice preferred
  • Final Exams - 2 weeks advance notice preferred

Students arriving more than 15 minutes late to an exam will not be allowed additional time to compensate for tardiness. Project EXCEL will consult with the professor to proceed according to the professor’s instructions. Whether or not the student can take the exam may also depend on space and staff availability.

Faculty Staff Resources

Office hours are:
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Friday

Becky Noble

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Specialist, Project EXCEL
Rebecca.Noble@msj.edu
(513)244-4859

Loraine Delaney

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Testing Coordinator, Project EXCEL
Loraine.Delaney@msj.edu
(513) 244-4768