Tag: access

In this article, written by Dr. Mike Kent, it discusses how online students with learning disabilities can have potential issues of accessibility in higher education.  Open Universities Australia (OUA) is a consortium of seven Australian universities and brings together 15 different institutions teaching higher education to students, online, across several different fields; graduate and postgraduate levels.  Students at OUA are given the option is disclose that they have a disability as a part of the enrollment process, however this information is not passed to the specific institutions where that student(s) is studying.

A survey was conducted in 2014 to look into the attitudes and conditions of students with disabilities.  The survey focused on two topics, the first focused on accessibility of the different online platforms used for teaching and learning.  The second topic focused on a student’s level of disclosure; how forth coming would the student be with their disability and if an accommodation was made, was it affective.

After the study was conducted, it was found that only 15 percent of students reported having a mental illness.  However, in the study conducted by Dr. Kent, 46.3 percent of students that took the survey, responded that they have a mental illness or other learning disability.

Mike, Kent. “Disability, Mental Illness, and ELearning: Invisible Behind the Screen?” The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, 17 Dec. 2015, jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/disability-mental-illness-and-elearning-invisible-behind-the-screen/.

This article explains how online students with disabilities can have issues of accessibility in higher education.  Open University Australia is an organization of seven universities and fifteen institutions teaching higher education to students fully online across undergraduate and postgraduate programs.  Students are given the opportunity to disclose any disabilities to OUA during enrollment; however due to privacy legislation, OUA does not pass the information on to the institution where the student is studying.  At OUA, an emailed survey was conducted with students who had registered for support.  The survey examined two areas; how accessible the online platforms used for teaching were, and what motivated the students to disclose their disability or not.  The study found that 46.3% of OUA students responded as to having a mental illness.

The article then examines the advantages of eLearning and those with a disability.  Kent states that the biggest advantage is that online information can be made available in a variety of formats that best suit the person trying to access it.  Information can be formatted visually through images or text, audio as spoken words or sound, or touch through wearable technology.  Kent mentions that design can make or break student accessibility with eLearning.

Mike, Kent. “Disability, Mental Illness, and ELearning: Invisible Behind the Screen?” The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, 17 Dec. 2015, jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/disability-mental-illness-and-elearning-invisible-behind-the-screen/.

The Embodied Classroom: Deaf Gain in Multimodal Composition and Digital Studies

The article gives several opinions on the school system in todays world and how children are being taught. So much of being taught is based solely off of verbal communication. This article goes to suggest that the teaching ways of using modes discussed in class and be beneficial in the teaching environment. Mostly commonly seen is gestural. The way someone will deliver their words whether it be through body language or hand gestures. Communicating without the use of words can be important in a young persons life as it helps them become more interactive and be exposed to a new way of teaching as well as learning. By changing the way we are taught, it is believed it can open up a different level to the education system. Face to face interaction between students and teachers becomes important for their ethical knowledge and adds value to the experience. We are more susceptible to learning and gaining more of an experience when there is a higher level of interaction as opposed to being glued to a chair the whole time. This meaning that we could see new forms of teaching, as well as different areas of teaching in the very near future.

This article describes how schools and educational institutions can accommodate those students who had requested disability support for mental illness, so that studying online can be better suited for them. Kent explains that students who identifies with a disability are often invisible when there is consideration for online schooling. The Open Universities Australia (OUA) consisting of several Australian universities requests that upon registration students can include information about any disabilities they might have, and possible distribution of their medical information causes them to be reluctant to disclose their disability. Students in these institutions received a survey containing a variety of questions, including some about the accessibility of online learning and their effectiveness. Students who accepted the option of an interview about their impairments and the impact they had on the students’ learning ability, and some also accepted to participate in any further research. Kent noted that trying to accommodate for one impairment could hinder the other, so it is difficult to find a good balance of accessibility. From the interviews, it was found that many students suffered from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and OCD, and some identifying with both; the interviewees described how the stigma around these mental illnesses had made them reluctant in disclosing their disabilities. This results in them feeling invisible and helpless, as they do not feel that their disabilities are being taken into consideration even when their information is disclosed. The stigma of mental illness as being something they just have to “push through” makes it even more difficult for the students to find the motivation and will to continue their education and their work. eLearning as an online system to accommodate those with disabilities has been developed by many different institutions to give access to more people. Although the invisible feeling still remains in some, this online study still has some way to go in regard to being accessible to all students with many different disabilities, and with the help of the students will make this eLearning system more effective.

Edit:

Kent, Mike. “Disability, Mental Illness, and ELearning: Invisible Behind the Screen?” The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, Cuny Academic Commons, 17 Dec. 2015, jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/disability-mental-illness-and-elearning-invisible-behind-the-screen/.

There is a fear of online students with disabilities being invisible and not being attended to properly, which is the problem in Australian higher education (universities). At OUA, a university in Australia, a survey was emailed to students who have registered for disability support; regarding how accessible online platforms used for teaching by different institutions were, and what motivated the students to disclose their disability or not. The study found that 46.3 percent of students responded as having a mental illness. The article talks about how eLearning can help those who have a disability and are studying in a higher education. One advantage that comes with online courses is that the information can be accessible anywhere in any format. The articles states that the students are attracted to eLearning because of three attributes accessibility, flexibility, and disclosure. Students do not have to face the problems they would if they were in a physical classroom and can change their environment if needed. The article claims that students have their own ideas on eLearning and institutions should find a way to make it easy for them to share these ideas. The students want their voices heard it is just the matter of doing it properly without discouraging them. The article claims that change needs to happen, students with disabilities should not be left out or disappear behind the screen. When the numbers of the surveys are released and acknowledged hopefully that is enough to shed some light into this topic.

The article “Disability, Mental Illness, and eLearning: Invisible Behind the Screen?” covers a study done through an online college program at an Australian university. It notes the relationship between online college students and disabilities; those who stated they had a mental disability went through an interview stage. Online education programs offer a lot of advantages such as flexibility and independence. In some eyes, they have limited access to resources for those with disabilities. Students noted that they felt “unimportant” within their higher education community. Technology is also not adaptive or inclusive enough. The article mentioned examples of videos materials that do not supply captions or subtitles and instances when screen-readers do not function correctly. The article’s overarching message is that the online classroom experience is fairly new and hasn’t been fully developed enough to be accommodating for students with disabilities. The article also stated that more research is needed to create more accurate results.

Based on my experiences, these downsides in online education are nothing compared the challenges faced in in-person classes. I have a severe hearing impairment and mental illnesses, and I have been faced with obstacles that wouldn’t have happened if the class was online. During lectures, if I miss what a professor says, I’ll have to ask to repeat it. The professor with either repeat it or blame me saying that “I should have been paying attention” or another variation of that. Online classes often have videos that can be replayed over  with volume that can be adjusted. During a time when my mental health drastically impacted my day-to-day life, I found it a struggle to leave my bed, leave my room, and attend class. Several professors have refused to accept “mental health” as an excused absence. If the class was online, I can get my work done without leaving my room; I can even work on my phone for certain assignments, so I don’t even have to leave my bed. FOr my personal experiences, online classes have been more beneficial, however I recognize that certain disabilities are less flexible than others.

The introduction for the issue began discussing disability’s and technology. It maintained that technology is important in the lives of those with disability’s because these people use it to help them in their daily lives. It urged people to explore the bond between technology use and those with special needs. However, before unleashing the reader on the articles in the issue it cautioned the reader that an important consideration is that one must focus on the user of the technology more than the technology itself.
I chose to read the article entitled “Disability, Mental Illness, and eLearning: Invisible Behind the Screen” by Mike Kent. This article discussed a study in which he focused on those individuals with mental illness. He found a large portion of college students that he interviewed self-identified as mental illness and from those he interviewed each individual. He then continues to assert that the problem with mental illness and why there is not more treatment and help is since there is still a stigma around it. There is a negative reaction when people say they have a mental illness rather than a willingness to help.

As social justice gains popularity in technical communication, teachers are trying to incorporate that in the classrooms. The researchers conducted a pedagogical study, considering disability in social justice technical communication. They achieved this through service-learning and action research, allowing students to apply what they’ve learned to benefit disabled communities. The researchers’ hoped that students developed Aristotelian virtue ethics. Students learned to communicate accessibly, considering various disabilities of potential readers when writing. This is inclusive communication so as to empower the audience for usability and diverse representation. Throughout the study, the researchers routinely checked on students’ awareness to make sure that they were engaged in the assignments. At the conclusion, students learned the importance of inclusive communication and became better technical communicators. Students also realized that it’s an attractive skill to employer when looking for a job. Some even expressed wanting to continue improving inclusive communication and some are now more aware of social justice concerns beyond disability.

Colton, Jason S., and Rebecca Walton. “Disability as Insight into Social Justice Pedagogy in Technical Communication.” The Journal of Interactive Technology & Pedagogy, 17 Dec. 2015, jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/disability-as-insight-into-social-justice-pedagogy-in-technical-communication/.

The article discusses the findings of a study about college students with disabilities who attend college online in Australia. Students with disabilities might choose online schooling because it allows them to avoid issues that they would face in a physical class. They are also able to have more flexibility to complete assignments because their mental illness might affect their ability to complete things at certain times. Also, they can withhold from disclosing their disability to anyone by taking an online class. Researchers conducted a study to determine the accessibility of specific online platforms, and the students’ level of disclosure of their disability. Students had to classify their disability as one of the following: hearing, learning, mobility, vision, medical, intellectual disability, acquired brain impairment, or mental illness. Then, they were asked demographic questions and questions about their disability. For example, the accommodations the students received and how accessible the technology was for students. Researchers found that many people with a mental illness also had one or more other impairments. With the data, they found students with disabilities had the most difficulty accessing Echo 360, Blackboard, Lectopia, University Websites, and Blogger. However, the students spoke highly of Blackboard because of its discussion feature, ease of navigation, communication options. They also found online learning is good at allowing students to use different accessibility features without disclosing their disability. Based on the results, they found eLearning needs to be made more accessible for all students. Schools could do a better job assessing students and making group work more accessible. Students with disabilities want their voices to be heard, so universities should listen to comments and suggestions from their students to help accommodate them.