Email Page •
Print Page
The staff of Disability Resources works with all units at the University to ensure that every student has an equal opportunity to succeed at KU. They are here to help you whether your disability is physical, medical, psychological, or related to attention or learning. DR has specialists with expertise in the areas of Learning Disabilities/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders, Physical Disabilities, Psychological, Deafness & Hard of Hearing, and Blindness & Visual Impairment. This site will also inform you of community-based services and scholarship and employment opportunities.
Disability Resources has developed a web page that outlines procedures for students seeking disability accommodations for classes at the Edwards Campus. Library Services offers a guide for patrons with disabilities that provides information on library services provided, assistive equipment, access to facilities and more. Students are also encouraged to utilize services available throughout the campus such as the Academic Achievement and Access Center and Writers Roost through the KU Writing Center.
The Library Services home page provides you with some great resources and tips for doing research—including using EndNote and RefWorks software, using the library services, finding out hours and locations for the University's eight library branches, including the Regents Center Library on the Edwards campus. The University also provides an easy and helpful 12-point guide to important library information.
KU Online ID and Email Account
Once you have been admitted as a student to KU and received a KU ID login, sign in to get your KU Online ID. Your online ID allows you access to email, web space and internet service. Having your KU Online ID opens up a host of technology services provided by the University, from computer protection, to software support, to putting money on your KU Card to pay for meals, lab printing and more. For a list of computing services available to you as a student at KU, click on Technology and then click on Student Services.
Blackboard
Many of your instructors will use Blackboard, a web-based course management system that allows instructional materials to be easily delivered via the Web. It includes threaded discussions, file sharing, e-mail, chat, gradebook and other tools. IDS (Instructional Development Services) has put together several tools to help students get the most from Blackboard. The most useful tool is Blackboard Student Essentials, a guide to finding your courses, using the various tools, updating personal information, and much more. Blackboard has an online manual that you can access anytime you are logged into a Blackboard course. To do so, click on Tools and then Student Manual.
Besides reviewing the Blackboard Student Essentials document accessed above, students can watch a dozen or so instructional video clips on such tasks as checking assignment results, working in groups, and using the discussion board. Blackboard workshop registration and handouts are also available online. Click here to explore more of the IDS Blackboard site, and move down the site page to the Blackboard for Students section.
To log in and explore blackboard, click here. (Guests and prospective students can even view a list of the courses using Blackboard and preview the course information currently in each course. Not all KU classes use Blackboard, and varying amounts of information may be available to guests for different classes.)
Computer Labs
The University has 25 public computer labs located on both campuses. The KU Computer Labs web page will enable you to find the most convenient lab with the systems and software you need. Joseph R. Pearson Hall, is home to the School of Education and conveniently houses the Gayle Sayers Lab. The Library Cluster Lab at the Edwards Campus includes a disability workstation.
Support/Training
Technology support and training is offered through KU Library Instructional Services to assist with teaching and learning. Explore this site to find assistance in the following areas:
Writers need feedback, sounding boards, and other people to coach and guide them while they compose. That's where the KU Writing Center comes in. Their trained peer consultants are there to work with you to help you brainstorm, draft or edit your writing, from a literature review to thesis. Find out what on-site and online services are available for you as a Lawrence Campus or Edwards Campus graduate student!
Research and Graduate Studies Support Services provides courses and workshops for graduate students as well as thesis/dissertation writing tips, counseling and psychological services, support through the Writing Center and writing support groups.
The Student Success Directory is part of the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Success. This unit of the University is dedicated to helping students succeed in and out of the classroom. This Directory directs you to a wealth of University resources with links, contact information and brief descriptions of available services.
Gale Sayers Computer Lab 
The Gale Sayers Computer Lab is located off of the Learning Resource Center at 104 JRP. The link to this open-use lab will provide a listing of programs loaded on its PC and Mac terminals. Computer printouts will be charged at 8 cents a page to the student's KU Card. $8 worth
of printouts is automatically added to each student's card at the beginning of
each semester. To find out semester hours, link to the Learning Resource Center.
What's Your Project?
The adjacent Auxiliary Lab includes a new state-of-the-art poster color printer that prints 11" x 17" to 44" x 40" sheets. Poster printing for education students is free at this time, with a nominal charge for organizations. A laminating machine and scanner are also available free of charge to education students. Atomic Learning is also included in the Lab; this online tutorial speeds up learning and project completion through its two-to-three minute tutorials that demonstrate each action available for a particular software program.
Special Education Assistive Computer Station
Located just outside the Gale Sayers Computer Lab is an Assistive Station that highlights computer technology and software designed to assist students with various disabilities. The station gives student teachers the opportunity to explore and become familiar with these incredible tools. Be sure to take advantage of this great resource.
Learning Resource Center
The Learning Resource Center offers a broad range of resources helpful to education students. New technology for education student use is one of these services. Wireless laptop computers are available to students to check out by students for one-week periods. While students provide their own Iinternet account, each computer is equipped for dial-up, DSL and wireless connections. Other equipment available for student use are digital camcorders and cameras and a copy machine, which costs 10 cents per page.
The LRC includes areas dedicated to picture books and poetry for younger readers, young adult fiction, professional materials, educational journals, textbooks, and activity kits. Also included is a good assortment of educational videos, DVDs and child-related feature films. Other helpful features are a comfortable collaborative area for reading and working on projects and an LRC online catalog that allows students to look up resources from school or home. To find out the library's open hours, check the right-hand sidebar of the LRC site.
Upon admittance, the Department of Special Education Admissions Committee determines and informs you of your advisor in your notification letter of acceptance into the Special Education program. To learn more about your advisor and other Department faculty, click on the KU Special Education Contact Sheet and their current Office Hours or look in the Faculty & Staff Profiles section of our site to view faculty vitae and watch an autobiographical recording of each faculty member explaining their academic specialty area.
While many of the Special Education faculty are world-renown and even special education legends, you'll find each one of our 23 tenure-track faculty to be caring individuals committed to learning and innovation, quality performance and respect for others. They are each dedicated professionals passionate about the work they do. They are genuinely committed to efforts that help enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families.
Throughout the year, the Department and the University of Kansas Professionals for Disability student organization (KUPD) host a variety of professional and social activities to bring together students and faculty with interests in the disability field. Explore the KUPD page to take advantage of the many opportunities for networking, information sharing, professional development and entertainment with your Special Education colleagues and faculty from the Department.
