A BRIEF Review of the Impact of Disability
in Online Learning
Let's explore how disability may impact on the activities associated with online learning
that are quickly becoming commonplace. Remember, these descriptions are not meant to
be exhaustive, only illustrative! There are many more concerns to be addressed.
Common Issues
There are some aspects of online learning that seem to create issues for a variety
of students with disabilities. Chief among those is the question of online testing. Some
faculty still want students to come to campus, or to some designated site, to take tests in
their online classes (and this is also typically the case for hybrid classes). Not only does
this potentially complicate things for the student with a disability (who may be taking the
class online precisely because getting to campus is difficult), but it creates significant
issues in determining appropriate accommodations for testing, since the accommodations
the student needs and has used online may be different than those needed for this onetime visit to campus. The larger problems, however, are created by online tests with set
time limits (usually arranged through the course management system so that students
have a limited time from the time they access the test until it must be returned. The same
problems we face in the classroom, determining how much extended time to give and
how to provide it, are complicated by the virtual nature of our contact with students
online.
The use of "chat room"
technology, or other forms of
synchronous communication that allow
class members to interact with each other
and with the faculty member presents
another challenge to many students with
disabilities. Note that many of the "help
desk" functions available to students
online (from technology help, to online
library assistance, and even online
tutoring) typically use the same
(inaccessible!) coding as do chat rooms,
shutting students with disabilities off from the immediate online assistance available to
others.
Students Who Are Blind/Visually Impaired:
In addition to the general issues of concern such as those highlighted above,
students who are blind or visually impaired (generally abbreviated as BVI) face a
significant number of challenges in using web-based technology and resources. Chief
among those challenges is the question of available technology to help them read the text
and decipher the images presented to them online. There are two sides to the problem:
having the right technology on their end, and having the information they are trying to
access presented in a form that will work with that technology. Neither is a given. We
will discuss the assistive technology issues over the next few days. Then, too, students
who cannot read the standard textbook will still need to work through the Disability
Services office to have those text materials translated into alternate media for their use.
That takes the same amount of time, preparation, and advance notice as it has always
required for students on campus.
Students Who Are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing:
One of the misconceptions of online learning held by both students and
staff/faculty is that because the online experience seems so closely tied to the visual
representations and presentation on the
computer screen, not being able to hear won't
be an issue. Unfortunately, as our technology
capabilities expand, the new options that we
adopt to provide "more" to the typical student
may end up meaning "less" for students who
are deaf or hard-of-hearing (D/HOH).
Ironically, we tend to think about these
advancements in the context of "new bells
and whistles" – and in this case the reference
to auditory enhancement is well taken! The
ability to easily post a narrated PowerPoint
presentation to the class web site offers new
possibilities to the faculty member teaching
online, and creates new difficulties for the
D/HOH student. The Internet provides a wealth of resources for the instructor to put at
the fingertips of students, including links to snippets of a lecture given by an expert in the
field, or a How-to video of some new technique posted on a company web site or as a
YouTube offering. Adding sound to a presentation can enhance the interest level it holds
for the typical student – and leave the D/HOH student without the benefit of some subtle
cues that are critical to full understanding. But it isn't only the auditory elements of
online learning that are at issue for this population. It may be the huge volume of reading
and writing involved that makes online learning more difficult for some deaf students.
Students with Learning Disabilities:
Students with learning disabilities (LD) are the single largest group of students
with disabilities identified on most campuses today. It would be disingenuous to suggest
that all students who bear the label of "LD" can be expected to perform in the same way
or face the same challenges in learning. Rather, LD is an umbrella term that is used to
identify a range and degree of difficulties. Nevertheless, there are some commonalities
among many of these students that are worthy of note as they impact on the experience of
learning online. Generally speaking, students with learning disabilities are not masters of
vicarious learning (!) and may have difficulty grasping concepts or skills that are not
specifically taught through instruction or demonstration. Much of what is needed to
simply be part of the online experience is assumed knowledge, or relies on cross-over
skills that may not come easily for LD students. For some LD students, their processing
problems lie in their ability to read and comprehend the written word. If it was a problem
for them when they took a traditional class, it is going to be doubly a problem online,
because there is so much more to be read. Many LD students rely heavily on access to
instructors for clarification of misunderstood points. Not only is direct feedback from
faculty more difficult in online learning (and rarely instantaneous, as it is in the
classroom), but depending on how the class is structured online (that is, whether the
instructor replies to all student queries in some form of open forum, or simply replies to
individual questions with a return post to the individual student who asked), students may
miss out on the learning that comes from hearing responses to the questions of others –
questions that the LD student did not think to ask!
Students with Attention Deficit Disorders:
Like deaf students, many students with Attention Deficit Disorders (ADD) or
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) believe that online learning will solve
problems for them when, in fact, it may exacerbate their problems. Some students
believe that the ability to go back and review materials at will (presented onscreen
through the class web site) will help to
alleviate their difficulties in maintaining
attention on a task because it affords
them the opportunity to stay with the task
for as long as they need to. If your
attention drifts during a lecture in the
classroom, you may miss vital
information. If your attention drifts while
you are reading material online, you can
go back and pick up where you left off
when you are ready to refocus. While
working outside the classroom, with its
imposed time constraints, may be helpful
in this respect, there are also some
important elements that help to focus
attention which are lost when learning
takes place in front of a computer terminal instead of in front of a living, breathing
person. The college classroom is generally a controlled environment. Everyone sits in
their seat (and stays in their seat!), everything has been done to cut down on extraneous
noise (cell phones off, please!), only one person speaks at a time (raising their hand and
waiting to be called on), and your attention is clearly directed to the instructor. If the
faculty member is talking, there is no doubt the student is supposed to be listening!
Contrast that mental image with the physical environment in which many students access
their online classes or class components! Moreover, for the typical college student, the
vast information resources of the internet provide a wealth of resources for their learning;
for some students with attention problems, the internet provides a myriad of distractions!
Students with Physical Disabilities:
Students who have lower body mobility
impairments (for example, the student who
uses crutches, or a cane, or a manual
wheelchair that they can propel
independently) are much like their
nondisabled peers as they sit before their
computer. They may have little difficulty
accessing online classes and the online
elements of their hybrid classes. Of course,
not all the aspects of an online class are
conducted online! If there are requirements
for traveling to activities necessary for class (for example, touring a related facility or
interviewing a working professional) there may still be issues of transportation or
architectural access that need to be addressed. For students with upper body mobility
problems (such as someone with cerebral palsy or those who are quadriplegic), issues of
speed and dexterity can have tremendous impact on their performance in online classes.
Imagine the effort that goes into typing a 5-page paper when you type at 12-15 words per
minute. Now imagine the effort that goes into all the writing that is necessary to keep up
with a class that relies on the written word! There are also issues of the physical effort
needed for multi-tasking and of technology match for assistive technology that need to be
considered.