Disseminating Disability Resources: Constructing a Statewide Wiki

1. Disseminating Disability Resources: Constructing a Statewide Wiki Lauren Cifuentes, Ph.D. Sanser Bulu, Graduate Assistant Laura M. Stough, Ph.D. Amy N. Sharp , Ph.D. J. Aaron Resch, Graduate Assistant

2. People with disabilities, their families, and their support systems can click on a region to locate resources according to categories of need

3. Agenda Center on Disability and Development and its partners Rationale for creating the Directory What is a wiki? Theoretical and philosophical underpinnings The Resource Directory Contributing to the Directory

4. Center on Disability and Development One of 63 University Centers on Excellence on Developmental Disabilities that focus on research, education, and community service related to the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families Texas A&M University is one of the newest centers funded in October of 2005 by the U.S. Administration on Developmental Disabilities

5. Center Partners

7. Texas Cooperative Extension�s Role TCE�s collaborative role with the CDD is to link families with disabilities and/or special needs with information, education, and resources. This is accomplished via dissemination and education.

8. Rationale Problems the CDD encountered Texas Cooperative Extension Agents lacked a fundamental awareness about disabilities and were, therefore, limited in their ability to be advocates. Awareness involves understanding the special needs individuals with disabilities have. Advocacy involves being able to refer people to resources that address their needs.

9. The Solution Through a Directory of Community Services by region and category of need, county agents and future teachers and service providers will be able to-

10. How do we broadly facilitate awareness and empower stakeholders to inform each other of resources as they identify them? By creating a Statewide Resource Directory using wiki technology

11. First of all, what is a Wiki? Wiki wiki (or wiki for short) is a Hawaiian word meaning �fast.� The �backronym� What I Know Is.

12. What is a Wiki: Collaborative software first designed by Ward Cunningham. (WikiWikiWeb, 1994) Online workspace where visitors and collaborators can add and edit content that has already been published on the web.

13. Controversy �Most people, when they first learn about the wiki concept, assume that a website that can be edited by anybody would soon be rendered useless by destructive input. It sounds like offering free spray cans next to a grey concrete wall. The only likely outcome would be ugly graffiti and simple tagging, and many artistic efforts would not be long lived. Still, it seems to work very well.� (retrieved from wikipedia, Lars Aronsson)

14. Philosophical Framework- Community Transformative Potential Everyone together is smarter than any single person �Soft� security conducted by the community who cares Halavais (2004)- It took 2 hours for his 13 intentional errors to be fixed. BY, FOR, AND OF THE COMMUNITY

15. Learning Theories Distributed constructionism (Papert, 1991; Resnick, 1996) Distributed cognition (Saloman, 1994) Connectivism (Siemens, 2004) Assert that learning can be achieved by creating meaningful products in collaboration with diverse, geographically separated members of a learning community

16. The CDD has created �A workspace where, using wiki technology, individuals with disabilities and their families, educators, and other professionals are constructing a statewide resource directory.

17. The Resource Directory is Divided into 12 Regions Panhandle South Plains Rolling Plains North East Far West West Central Central South East South West Costal Bend South

18. Intricately Defined Resource Categories: Advocacy and Support Autism Health and Medical Services Early Intervention and Early Childhood Education Primary and Secondary Education Services Post-secondary Education Services Employment and Financial Assistance Daily Living Support Housing Mobility and Transportation Psychological and Counseling Services Recreation and Leisure Summer Camps Communication Assistive Technology Additional Listings

19. Contribution Facilitators Laura M. Stough, Ph.D. � Texas A&M, College Station Amy N. Sharp, Ph.D. � Texas A&M, College Station Marty Harris � Texas A&M, Texarkana Barbara Morganfield � Southern Methodist University Silvia Ramirez � UT Pan American

20. Overview of Contribution Experience WIKI directory project presented to the EPFB Field-based class as an assignment Objective 1 was to orient the students to the taxonomy of services that may be needed by families as well as the broad area the state of Texas covers (urban, rural, suburban) Objective 2 was to expose areas of the taxonomy and of Texas that are lacking in supports Secondary objective was to pilot the directory

21. Process Students were presented a grid: vertical axis composed of the taxonomy, horizontal axis composed of the Texas regions identified by the WIKI Students were able to select an area and a support area to find five suitable supports Students were then required to enter the data into the WIKI This process gave the students ownership of the area/support they self-selected

22. Results Pilot data was entered successfully and the WIKI became partially populated Many students were forced to identify 2nd and 3rd areas due to lack of supports for the area they initially selected (good for students to realize that some areas lack supports) Entry process was confusing for those who did not pay attention to detail Double entries were possible

23. Verifying and Expanding the Directory A graduate class in special education was assigned regions to evaluate the information posted by the undergraduates in the directory Graduate students were asked to find a minimum of 15 resources per region In addition, to vet the existing resources and provide feedback on the quality of entries

24. Learning from the Experience Students summarized their findings in a short report A presentation was given to the graduate class Students in the class discussed regions of concern in the state The final exam asked students to locate resources as part of a case study of a person with multiple disabilities

25. Coastal Bend Angela Wills Laura Doehrmann

26. Overall Impressions A variety of services available to individuals with disabilities Information regarding services is easily accessible A lot of services are geared towards children with disabilities i.e. camps, recreation

27. Examples of General Categories Services to the Blind and Deaf Housing Support Groups Advocacy Groups Health Services Educational Programs

28. Service Providers State Mental Retardation Facilities MRA: Gulf Bend MHMR Center The Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (TDMHMR) Corpus Christi Area Council for the Deaf Blind and Impaired Services LMS Concepts Inc � Group Homes Coalitions of Texas AUTISM PARENT MENTORING GROUP FAMILIES WITH ILLNESS SUPPORT GROUP Driscoll Children's Hospital

29. Service Providers 11. Pops (Parents offering Parents Support 12. Corpus Christi Disability Education Coalition 13. Coastal Bend Autism Advocacy 14. Local Refugee Voluntary Agency Offices 15. City and County Health Department 16. Delmar College 17. Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority 18. Coastal Bend TopSoccer Program

30. Service Providers 19. The Rise School of Corpus Christi 20. Bay to Bay ECI Program 21. Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital 22. Muscular Dystrophy Association 23. Coastal Bend Down Syndrome Advocates (CBDSA) 24. The Center for Independent Living 25. Advocacy Inc. 26. The ARC 27. Corpus Christi State School 28. Aid to Disabled Children 29. Family Counseling Service � Corpus Christi 30. Camp Aranzazu

31. Making the Wiki Grow Texas A&M University students identify and contribute resources to the Directory. Forty-six special education faculty members of colleges around the state Special education specialists in the state�s twenty Educational Region Service Centers County Cooperative Extension agents Stakeholders Now You

32. Let�s Contribute a Resource! http://disabilityresources.tamu.edu/

33. Evaluation and Testing Usability testing has been conducted on the Directory through one-on-one, small group, and field testing formative evaluation procedures. Findings are that users enjoy learning by studying, using, and contributing to the Directory. They find the content to be accurate and applicable to the curriculum and find making directory entries straight forward. The graphical interface is attractive, bug free, and effective. Because the Directory uses wiki technology, the developers and the community who cares most are able to keep track of the evolving nature of the Directory�s content and use by visitors.

34. Evaluation and Testing By using one of the functionalities of the wiki software, we keep track of created links (pages) in a given time period. This gives us an idea of how quickly the directory�s content is evolving. We also keep track of visitor information by using Google Analytics. Google Analytics gives use information for any given time period (hours, days, months or years) about overall and specific hits of the Directory. It also provides information related to visitors, and overall statistics about total page visits.

35. Evaluation and Testing During the month of January the site had 87 visits and 1254 page views. 86 % of the visits were from Texas and there were also 3 separate visits from European countries. During the month of January, 34 new pages were added to the Directory, evolving from 505 pages to 539 pages.

36. Evaluation and Testing During the month of June the site had 99 visits and 445 page views. 70% of the visits were from Texas and there were also 5 visits from European coutries. During the month of June, 22 new pages were added to the Directory, evolving from 697 pages to 719 pages.

37. The Future of the Directory Several issues have arisen from use of the wiki. For instance, although the Directory is visited by many users per month and hundreds of people have been invited to contribute to the site, the broad learning community is not contributing resources to the site to the degree that we hoped. The developers recommend an investigation characterizing members of user communities and identifying both how members of a community use the site and what barriers interfere with interest in making contributions.

38. Wiki Maintenance There are two types of maintenance that need to be done for the wiki-based Directory. Maintenance of wiki software on the server to ensure security and efficiency Backing up and editing directory content to ensure safety and accuracy

39. Wiki Maintenance The Directory was developed using PM Wiki software that is regularly updated every three to four months as additional functionality is added. Optional functionalities include password protection, discussion boards, responsive comments, or different styles and formats. Keeping the software up to date and bug free is very important to avoid security problems and software errors. Since there is always the possibility of loosing Directory content due to uncontrollable server problems, it is important to backup directory information that is continuously updated by users. Users can create unwanted links and content in the system that should be managed to eliminate spam, provide for better user experience, and control information accuracy.

40. Conclusion The goal is to build awareness and provide access to resources The power of community A faith that we can collectively create high quality services entrusted to only a few in the past Each entry is collaboratively produced through negotiation on correctness, meaning, relevance, etc. You have power to edit the Directory and make it better

41. How You Use and Contribute to the Directory of Community Services? Open the following website address in your browser: http://disabilityresources.tamu.edu. Click on the Directory for Individuals with Disabilities and their families in Texas If you can recognize your region from the Texas map, then click on your region to locate resources or to add a resource to your region. If you cannot recognize your region, you can locate your region by county name or zip code by clicking the �search for a region by using county name or zip code� link at the top of the map. Once you are on a region page, you see a list of categories of resources. Click on the category under which you want to enter information.

42. Instructions Continued: (1) To get started- Check the current resources already posted to make sure the one you want to enter is not already posted. You can add information to the category by using the �edit� option from the main menu at the upper right of the category title. Enter the password: region.

43. Instructions Continued: 2) To add the name of the new resource to the list of available resources: Place the cursor directly after the category heading (e.g. Advocacy and Support groups) and hit return Type * and then the new resource name between double square brackets [[resource name]] Please do not delete previously entered content. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the �save� button once you type the resource name between the double square brackets.

44. Instructions Continued: 3) To enter information about a resource: You will see a page with a new link to the resource you just entered just after the category title, for example �Advocacy and Support Groups�. Click on the new link that you created.

45. Instructions Continued: Enter resource information by first typing the list below for each resource. For each new line that you want to start, press return/enter twice. Address: Phone Number: Web Address: Hours: Cost of Services: Eligibility: Spanish Speaking Staff Member, yes/no: Description of services

46. Instructions Continued: Press the �save� button. Repeat this process for each resource you want to enter. To view your entry you have to go to the region and category you visited to enter information To enter new information, go to the region you want to enter information either going back to your region from the menu at the left or using the �Texas Resource Directory Regions� menu item at the top of the category under that region.