ERIC Number: EJ860448
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1436-4522
EISSN: N/A
Disabilities and e-Learning Problems and Solutions: An Exploratory Study
Fichten, Catherine S.; Ferraro, Vittoria; Asuncion, Jennison V.; Chwojka, Caroline; Barile, Maria; Nguyen, Mai N.; Klomp, Ryan; Wolforth, Joan
Educational Technology & Society, v12 n4 p241-256 2009
This study explored e-learning problems and solutions reported by 223 students with disabilities, 58 campus disability service providers, 28 professors, and 33 e-learning professionals from Canadian colleges and universities. All four groups indicated, via online questionnaires, problems with: accessibility of websites and course/learning management systems (CMS); accessibility of digital audio and video; inflexible time limits built into online exams; PowerPoint/data projection during lectures; course materials in PDF, and lack of needed adaptive technologies. Students also mentioned technical difficulties using e-learning and connecting to websites and CMS, problems downloading and opening files, web pages that would not load, video clips taking too long to download, poor use of e-learning by professors and their own lack of knowledge working with e-learning. Disability service providers, too, mentioned the poor use of e-learning by professors as well as poor accessibility of course notes and materials in many formats. E-learning professionals noted difficulties with inaccessible course notes and materials. Professors identified mainly problems raised by the other groups. Sixty-seven percent of students, 53% of service providers, 36% of e-learning professionals and 35% of professors indicated that at least one of their three e-learning problems remained unresolved. We discuss how the different roles and perspectives of the four participant groups influence their views, and make recommendations addressing identified common e-learning problems. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Electronic Learning, Learning Problems, Management Systems, Economically Disadvantaged, Disabilities, Computer Uses in Education, Special Needs Students, College Students, Questionnaires, Web Sites, Computer Software, Audiovisual Aids, Computer Assisted Testing, Educational Technology, Academic Accommodations (Disabilities), Student Needs, Teaching Methods, Computer Literacy, Teacher Qualifications, College Faculty, Time Factors (Learning), Foreign Countries
International Forum of Educational Technology & Society. Athabasca University, School of Computing & Information Systems, 1 University Drive, Athabasca, AB T9S 3A3, Canada. Tel: 780-675-6812; Fax: 780-675-6973; Web site: http://www.ifets.info
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A