Meet your students: Drew

Data driven persona

Drew

Age: 23 years old

Work: Works nightshifts at the hospital doing security

Major: Nursing

Family: Single, has an older brother and a younger sister

Challenge: Post-concussive syndrome

Location: Milford, ME

Where is home? Cleveland, OH

Pronouns: he/his

Assistive Technology: Glean note taking platform

A bit about them:

Drew is a senior in the school of nursing at UMaine. He suffered a severe concussion a few weeks ago and need to rest to allow his brain to recover. He met with Student Accessibility Services and is using the Glean note taking platform on his laptop as a temporary measure to help him stay on top of courses. He anticipates that he will need to request incompletes for his courses this semester so he can catch up with the work once he has fully recovered.

What are his frustrations so far?

"I was doing well in my classes but with this accident I had at work, I am getting behind and I am afraid that I will not be graduating on time with my cohort. This was supposed to be my last year! I also worry about the financial implications of staying an additional semester."

"I have to ask for breaks in my courses because I can't stay focused for very long and I get tired. This is making group work particularly difficult right now."

"My note taking tool is great but when the course is about demonstrating skills, I am missing out a lot of the visual information that is not described out loud."

Five teaching strategies focused on digital equity that will help Drew succeed:

Allow students to make reasonable use of technology in the classroom (note taking, assistive technology, emergencies)
Ability to record lectures or review videos/materials after class
Breaks during class
Allowing extensions or flexible deadlines
Make sure students know that their instructor understands the complexity of their lives.

Many more students can benefit from these teaching strategies. Learn more about who benefits from these strategies.

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