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Opening Doors or Slamming Them Shut? Online Learning Practices and Students with Disabilities
[journal article]
Abstract
Online learning has the potential to open doors to education for everyone who has access to the technology required to participate. Or does it? When it comes to social inclusion in online learning, who are the "haves" and who are the "have-nots?" Some online learning practices erect barriers to indi... view more
Online learning has the potential to open doors to education for everyone who has access to the technology required to participate. Or does it? When it comes to social inclusion in online learning, who are the "haves" and who are the "have-nots?" Some online learning practices erect barriers to individuals with disabilities - uncaptioned videos are not accessible to students who are deaf, content presented only within graphic images is not accessible to individuals who are blind, unorganized content cluttered on a page creates barriers to some students with learning disabilities and attention deficits, web pages that require the use of a mouse are inaccessible to those who cannot operate a mouse. This article explores the question, "What online learning practices make social inclusion possible for individuals with disabilities?" The author answers this question with lessons learned from her own teaching experiences as well as those presented in research and practice literature. She also shares overall characteristics of distance learning programs that promote the social inclusion of students with disabilities in their courses. The author points out how making courses welcoming to, accessible to, and usable by individuals with disabilities may promote the social inclusion of other students as well. She recommends further dissemination and future research regarding inclusive practices in online learning. (author's abstract)... view less
Keywords
learning method; virtual university; computer-aided instruction; student; university; social integration; computer aided learning; cooperative learning; disability; deprivation; electronic learning; learning difficulty; learning environment; instructional technology
Classification
Sociology of Education
Sociology of Science, Sociology of Technology, Research on Science and Technology
Curriculum, Teaching, Didactics
Document language
English
Publication Year
2015
Page/Pages
p. 69-79
Journal
Social Inclusion, 3 (2015) 6
Issue topic
Inclusive Technologies and Learning
ISSN
2183-2803
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution