Throughout the pandemic I have been responsible for designing online learning and teaching activities that consider the individual student. Though the use of reasonable adjustment is available to students, it is also vital to consider the context and challenges facing the students. Many educators have had difficulty implementing these online activities, and have needed guidance in understanding pedagogical applications, learning new technology skills, and processing their new mode of delivery. The students have also been challenged by their environmental factors, internet connections, and the situated and social context of where their learning occurs (Norton, 2019, p. 66).

I consider that student’s increasingly have additional needs for accessibility and inclusivity. Instructional designers must consider the “cognitive, sensory, symbolic, and physical needs” of the student cohort. The use of text-to-speech, visual assessments, captions, and voice recognition enable accessibility and inclusivity by considering the individual needs of the student (Beetham, 2019, p.39). I also factor the students access to their learning; many are not comfortable having their cameras on as they may be in noisy share houses or balancing work/life commitments. This may be a challenge to instructors who consider student interactions as verbally based and must reassess their traditional perceptions of engagement (Norton, 2019, p. 67).

Online activities improve learning for the educator and student with increased diversity in accessible modes of delivery, innovative learning strategies, new skills, and embedded online resources which encompass a range of learning styles (Coxon et al., 2020, p.166). Learning activities that are collaborative, though not dependent upon verbal interactions, can encompass a variety of students with different levels of comfortability in online learning. Effective and inclusive online learning is heavily dependent upon “authentic learning”; by combining technology and student-centred facilitation,  supportive relationships which respond to the learner’s individual needs are established (Coxon et al., 2020, p.165).

 

 

                                                                            References.

Coxon A., Arico F., Schildt J. (2020) Accessibility and Inclusivity in Online Teaching. In:McKenzie S., Garivaldis F., Dyer K.R. (eds) Tertiary Online Teaching and Learning. Springer. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1007/978-981-15-8928-7_15

Beetham, H., & Sharpe, R. (Eds.). (2019). Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Principles and Practices of Design (3rd ed.). Routledge.  https://doi org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.4324/9781351252805      

Norton, C. (2019) Online Instruction during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Inclusivity, Accessibility, Challenges, and      Opportunities, Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 24(3-4), 65-68, DOI: 10.1080/10875301.2021.1916670