E-learning and disability

Eleonora Guglielman EC-TEL 2010 Doctoral Consortium

E-learning and disability:accessibility as a

contribute to inclusionEC-TEL 2010 Doctoral ConsortiumBarcelona, 29 september 2010

Università Roma Tre - Facoltà di Scienze della FormazioneDottorato di Ricerca in Pedagogia e Servizio Sociale - Sez.

Pedagogia XXIV Ciclo

Eleonora Guglielman


Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand.

(Native American Proverb)


The research themesDigital inclusion

Access to ICT, digital skill for all

E-accessibility

Access to HW, SW, web, e-learning for disabled people

Existing standards for e-learning

Standards for accessible HW, SW, web and contents (WAI, IMS, etc.)

Technological

Pedagogical

??? Missing…

Accessibility: the degree to which a product, device, service or environment is accessible by as many people as possible


University and SEN2.600.000 disabled people in Italy

11.407 students with Special Educational Needs attending Higher Education courses

The number of online courses in HE is dramatically increasing

Access to e-learning must be guaranteed to all students, addressing accessibility both technically and pedagogically


What kind of accessibility?

Technological Pedagogical

Access to HW and SWAdaptive and assistive technologyAccessibility of websitesAccessibility of e-learning platforms (e.g. Atutor, Moodle)

Access to contents, resources, documentsAccess to interaction and collaboration tools: chat, forum, wikiAccess to learning activities: labs, group works, debates, peer practices, etc.


ACCESS TO PLATFORM

Actions:LoginNavigateRead advices

Support:Platform interface

ACCESS TO CONTENTS

Actions: Read textConvert contents in another formatDownload contents

Support:Documents PDF-DOCPresentationsMultimedia

ACCESS TO ACTIVITIES

Actions:InteractCollaborateShare knowledgeCollectively build new meanings

Support:ForumChatWikiSocial tools

What level of accessibility?

LOW HIGH


The research question: work hypothesis and objectives

The assumption: e-learning can contribute to the inclusion of disabled students, on condition that it promotes participation and interaction.E-learning courses not addressing a wide accessibility (technical + pedagogical) limit or impede participation and interaction, discriminating students with SEN

Objectives: • To outline the meaning of accessibility • To explore and describe experience of

students with SEN in online courses• To define guidelines (reference model) for

fully accessible courses


The approach to designUniversal Design and Design for All:Objects and services must be designed to allow access to all users: inclusion as a forethought rather than an afterthought

Participatory design:The design cycle should involve all stakeholders, including end users: in our case, students with SEN

Context: University Roma Tre,School of Education

Since 2009 delivers blended courses on Moodle platform

Methodology: constructivist-based interpretive research


Problem domain and Status ArtisResearch domain: Special Education, with a multidisciplinary perspective touching e-learning theories/models, education technology, universal design, etc.

Many studies deal with technical accessibility (standards, parameters, rules…); only in the last few years some authors begin to concern with pedagogical accessibility.They propose holistic models…. But they don’t say how to design and implement inclusive online activities!


The preliminary results

PRE-DESIGN DESIGN TECHNOLOGICAL DESIGN

THEORETICAL FRAME

USERS

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

PEDAGOGICAL MODEL

ACTIVITIES AND CONTENTS

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN

VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Project ConstrainctsCourse objectivesCurriculum

Typologies of usersNeeds analysisUsers’ requirements

Didactic Methods and strategies

Assessment tools

Planning of learning courses

Contents organization

Choise of tools and instruments standard

Pedagogical support

Interface design

Accessibility and usability standards

Choise of tools and instruments

HW and SW supports

A framework for designing accessible e-learning courses


Elements of innovation• First accessibility model and guidelines for e-

learning courses in italian universities• Make students with SEN co-designers of courses, so

their special needs are adequatelly addressed• Make support workers acquire the strategic

competencies to scaffold students with SEN in online courses

• Build a model of inclusive e-learning for HE courses that could be successfully transferred in other learning contexts and course levels


Thank you for your attention

[email protected]

http://www.guglielman.com/

mailto:[email protected]