How Do I Use This Guide?
Reading time: approximately 4 minutes.
Who Is This For?
This guide is intended for instructors as well as students and anyone interested in facilitating the ACTon Student PowerHour and the ACTon interactive videos with a group of higher education students. The guide was developed for use by all departments and disciplines. These resources are provided with the understanding that we are all at different places in learning; therefore, the activities presented can be adapted to meet different learning levels and strengths. Some parts of this guide, such as the optional assessment activities, may not fit your needs, and that’s okay. We refrained from offering concrete lesson plans and suggest multiple discussion prompts as well as activities. We encourage facilitators to choose which sections are appropriate for their group and build their own lesson plans accordingly.
What If I Am Completely New to Disability and Accommodations?
Welcome, we’re glad you found this resource!
This guide should be of use to you, but you may want to focus on some of the written content of the ACTon Hub before progressing to the videos. We encourage you to explore additional resources outside of this project as well.
How Do I Use This Guide?
Read through the guide and familiarize yourself with its different sections. Think about the group you intend to work with and identify the learning objectives that you want this group to meet. The activities can be adapted for individual reflection or group-based discussion. Identify which sections you want your group to engage with (you can go through all of them, or select one or two). We have attempted to provide you with all the information you might need to plan, implement and assess a PowerHour workshop. Still, there may be areas or topics that you are unclear about. Highlight areas that may require further research or resource development. You can also design your own activities around the video content as well.
Where Do I Start?
The materials are intended to be used in the order laid out in the Facilitation Guide, but you can also use the materials in the way that works best for your group.
You may also choose to watch the videos before interacting with the rest of the content. You can watch the videos together as a group, or separately.
The following chart provides you with a summary of key points, activities, and a time frame for the ACTon Preparatory Resources and the Student PowerHour sections to help you plan your facilitation activities.
ACTon Preparatory Resources
| Chapter | Key Points | Time |
| Intro to ACTon Project/ Choosing the Resource That Is Right for You | Explains the importance of this project. Describes the resources available in the ACTon Hub, as well as how the project and videos were developed. | Reading: 5-6 min
Discussion: 10 min |
| Character Bios | Provides biographies of the characters in the videos. Each of the characters is based on experiences that came out of the research. | Reading: 3 min
Discussion: 20 min |
| Definition of Disability Accommodations | Reviews what the Ontario Human Rights Code defines as the duty to accommodate. There are links to videos that explain the duty to accommodate and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Each video has its own time count. | Reading: 2.5 min, not including the video resources
Discussion: 20 min |
| Disabled Students or Students with Disabilities | Explains our terminology choice. | Reading: 1 min
Discussion: 10 min |
| Intersectionality and Disability Tip Sheet | Discusses intersectionality, ableism, microaggressions, and what to consider in placement. | Reading: 4 min
Discussion: 20 min Activity: week-long journalling |
Student PowerHour
| Chapter | Key Points | Time |
| Choose Your Own Adventure (Student Stories) |
Contains a link to the student video. Design elements include interactive decision points and reflection questions. | Choose your own adventure: 30 – 45 min
Worksheet time: 30-60 min |
| Communicating About Accommodations: Benefits and Risks | Discusses disclosure and its benefits and risks to students. | Reading: 3 min
Discussion: 5 min Activity: 20 min |
| Communicating About Accommodations: Student Tip Sheet | Lists tips for communicating about accommodation needs. | Reading: 1 min
Discussion: 5 min |
| Reflection Worksheet: Communicating and Disclosing Accommodation Needs | Fosters reflection on upcoming or current placement experiences in a specific space or organization. This sheet is useful if you or your group has been assigned placements. |
Reading: 2 min
Discussion: 5 min Activity Prep: 10 min Activity: 30 min |
| Student FAQs | Provides answers to student questions about interactive videos, accommodations, learning objectives, disclosure, and stigma. | Reading: 10 min
Discussion: 15 min Optional activity: 20 min |
| Cellphilm Guide | Provides a step-by-step guide to cellphilm-making steps, which individuals or groups can follow to create their own cellphilms. | Reading: 15 min
Prep time: 30 mins – 1hr Activity: 3 hrs |
