Case study
Why One of the US’s Leading Regional Universities, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Made the Switch to the YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform
Background
An Introduction to YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform
Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) is one of the country’s leading regional universities. The institution was newer to the ed-tech accessibility realm when Lisa Friesen, the institution’s Director for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, was introduced to YuJa through a colleague at another regional university in Oklahoma.
They were using another accessibility tool, but “I didn’t feel like it was serving all the needs we needed to have served, and I didn’t feel like their tech support was where it needed to be,” Friesen explained, adding that when she started in her position, SWOSU did not have an accessibility solution. “We purchased the previous tool because we really had a need for accessibility, not only for students who were receiving accommodations, but for all of our faculty, staff, and students.”
100+
Degree Programs
3,600+
Enrollment (FTE SP24)
1901
Founded
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Locations
“It was a better tool than we had been using, so it was an easy decision to make the switch.”
About the Institution
About Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) is one of the leading regional universities in the country, with locations in Weatherford, Sayre, and Yukon, Oklahoma. SWOSU boasts one of the most diverse selections of academic college course options and offers 14 nationally-accredited academic programs—the most among Oklahoma’s regional universities.
Making the Switch
Making the Switch to YuJa Panorama was ‘An Easy Decision’
Friesen shared that initially, 10 to 15 instructors from various departments piloted YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform. “It was a better tool than we had been using, so it was an easy decision to make the switch,” Friesen said. “I was looking for a non-intrusive way to help with accessibility and I feel like YuJa Panorama is.”
Some of the many reasons for selecting YuJa Panorama over other accessibility platforms include:
- Ease of use: In the previous tool, users had to click and open a file to see any alternative formats available, Friesen noted. YuJa Panorama offers the icon directly in the LMS without opening the file. “That’s big, because I feel like any time we can save some clicks for our users, it’s a good thing,” she added.
- Training: YuJa Panorama has an intuitive user interface, which makes training easier.
- There is no bait and switch: Because of the robust features and tools, Friesen said she was initially concerned that the trial would be more extensive than what was included with the platform. “I wanted to have my eyes wide open,” she stated, explaining that what she had access to in the pilot really was what the institution was given access to after deployment.
- Attentive support: During the pilot phase of YuJa Panorama, Friesen said the YuJa team was attentive and responsive to questions. “Everyone has been wonderful to work with and great at explaining things in a way that I can turn around and explain it to faculty and students. “That’s priceless to me, because it makes my job a lot easier,” she remarked.
- Unobtrusive interface: The icon displaying in assignments and files is simple, yet effective. “It’s not locking faculty out of anything or blocking any kind of process, but it’s there, they can click on it to see the information they need, and get an explanation of how to fix it with easy-to-follow instructions,” Friesen said.
Integrating YuJa Panorama with Canvas was “very easy and seamless,” Friesen said. Instructors can quickly set up their courses using modules and chunk their courses by weeks, lessons, or whatever works best for their classroom.
“If you bring accessibility into a tool like we have, and it’s there at all times, slowly you start to use it and it becomes second nature.”
Instructor Use Cases
Instructors Appreciate YuJa Panorama Tools
Friesen, who teaches Data Analysis and Interpretation with the Reach Higher Program of Oklahoma, said she used Panorama’s Remediation Engine to remediate accessibility issues in her spring course. She enjoyed that instructors can easily remediate their courses, but if they don’t have time, they can add it to a storage area to either revisit later or have a teaching assistant work through.
YuJa Panorama has helped instructors not just fix accessibility issues, but learn how to create accessible files from the start, making it “second nature” as they continue to learn. “If you bring accessibility into a tool like we have, and it’s there at all times, slowly you start to use it and it becomes second nature,” Friesen said.
“The fact that you can bring documents up as a PDF has really helped stop the situation where students say, ‘I don’t know what’s going on. My version of Word can’t open this file.”
Student Use Cases
Students Praise Panorama Accessibility Platform Tools
Students have expressed that they like having options when it comes to formats. “I’ve heard from students who like using this tool because it gives them (alternative options like) PDFs,” Friesen said.
“The fact that you can bring documents up as a PDF has really helped stop the situation where students say, ‘I don’t know what’s going on. My version of Word can’t open this file,” Friesen said. “It has also helped open the door to them to explore those different formats that they may not have ever considered. They are versed in the formats that help them the most achieve their educational goals, but they may not be well versed in all of them, and if you do not receive accommodations, you may not really know about them.”
Others have shared that they like having content read to them while they commute, the ability to customize their experience, downloadable PDFs, and the immersive reader, which allows students to customize their reading preferences, grammar options, and text preferences while following along with audio playback.
“Adopting YuJa Panorama has been an educational process for us all – for faculty staff and students. It’s been a very beneficial process,” she concluded. “It’s a breath of fresh air.”
“Adopting YuJa Panorama has been an educational process for us all – for faculty staff and students. It’s been a very beneficial process. It’s a breath of fresh air.”
Highlights
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Southwestern Oklahoma State University leaders learned about YuJa Panorama through another regional institution when they were looking to replace their former accessibility solution.
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Instructors and students have found YuJa Panorama beneficial in terms of tools, support, and have said they appreciate ongoing innovation.
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The ease of use, user interface, and robust tool sets all were deciding factors in SWOSU’s decision to move forward with YuJa Panorama.
Adopting YuJa Panorama has been an educational process for us all – for faculty staff and students. It’s been a very beneficial process.”
Lisa Friesen, Director
Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
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