Open AccessExpectations for success: Auditing opportunities for students with print disabilities to fully engage in online learning environments in higher education
Author(s) -
Melissa Cain,
Melissa Fanshawe
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
australasian journal of educational technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1449-5554
pISSN - 1449-3098
DOI - 10.14742/ajet.6449
Subject(s) - psychology , audit , higher education , learning disability , learning management , educational technology , pedagogy , blindness , special education , medical education , mathematics education , developmental psychology , medicine , management , political science , optometry , law , economics
The rapid digitalisation of learning has had demonstrable impacts on access to education for students with a print disability. In higher education contexts, learning management systems (LMS) have become the predominant method for distributing content. This conceptual article addresses how students with print disabilities such as vision impairment, blindness, dyslexia, and visual fatigue experience their education through online engagement. Using Redmond et al.’s (2018) online engagement framework for higher education, the authors analyse the cognitive, social, emotional, behavioural, and collaborative needs and expectations of these learners. This article provides a contemporary picture of the barriers students with print disabilities currently encounter and the possibilities for access available through the use of accessible and assistive technologies. Recommendations for equitable access, including a range of actionable strategies, are provided to assist teacher educators, higher education providers, higher education disability support advisors, and LMS designers.