Higher Education, Information and Communication Technologies and Students with Disabilities: An Overview of the Current Situation

Abstract

This chapter provides context for the issues discussed throughout the book to justify why the issue of students with disabilities using technology to support their studies in higher education continues to be both important and problematic. To do this, the chapter: (1) reviews current statistics regarding enrollment and success of students with disabilities in higher education; (2) examines the role and prevailing use of

‘Dreaming in colour’: disabled higher education students’ perspectives on improving design practices that would enable them to benefit from their use of technologies

“…Our research revealed a similar blurring or blending of technology use to that identified by Seale et al (2008) and Fichten et al (2020). Participants reported using a variety of both mainstream and specialist (AT) technologies.…”

“…There is also evidence to suggest that disabled students view many mainstream technologies as 'assistive' and don't necessarily find it helpful to distinguish between mainstream and specialised assistive technology (Seale et al 2008). Fichten et al (2020) argue that disabled students are blurring the divisions between mainstream and assistive technologies and that this gives them access to a vast arrange of technologies from which to choose.…”

“…Disabled students also appreciate the flexibility that technologies can offer, through the provision of distance learning opportunities (Hammer et al 2007). When lecturers make materials available on a course web site or a course management system or online education platform this allows students to interact with learning materials outside of the lecture room this can be particularly beneficial for those students with mobility impairments and mental illness as they can access the course from home and still feel part of the learning community (Fichten et al 2020). In the United Kingdom, Disabled Students' Allowances (UCAS 2018) are available to eligible students.…”

“…Despite these potential benefits, there is a significant amount of evidence to indicate that technology can also have a negative influence on the study experiences of disabled students. A commonly reported technology-related barrier to positive experiences is the technical inaccessibility of learning platforms (Brandt 2011;Policy Connect 2018), online courses including MOOCs (Roberts et al 2011;Iniesto et al 2016;Sanchez-Gordon and Luján-Mora 2018), websites (Kimmons 2017;Seale 2014;Alahmadi and Drew 2017), text-books (McNaught et al 2018;Fichten et al 2020), lecture material such as pdfs and PowerPoint slides (Fichten et al 2009) and social media (Asuncion et al 2012). Other reported barriers reported include: difficulties obtaining technologies (Reed et al 2006); unanticipated time demands required learning how to use assistive technologies (Hanafin et al 2007); technology use being contested or valued differently by lecturers (Claiborne et al 2011); being recommended technology based on disability labels rather than need (Stodden and Conway 2003) and lack of availability of adapted computers in campus-based computer laboratories (Fichten et al (2010a(Fichten et al ( , 2010b.…”

“…The phenomenon of technology both mitigating and exacerbating the disadvantage that disabled students experience has been labelled a 'double-edged sword' (Seale 2006:p25). It was first identified in the late 1990's and has continued into the twenty-first Century (Fichten et al 2020).…”