Buggey, Thomas A.  Accommodating Students with Special Needs in the Online Classroom. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Spring 2000, Vol. 84, p.41-46.

           

            In Thomas J. Buggey’s 2000 article, “Accommodating Students with Special Needs in the Online Classroom”, he focuses on the need for all classrooms, including on-line courses, to offer reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities.  Due to recent advances in assistive technology and number of people diagnosed with disabilities who are enrolling in online courses, professors must realize the need to design online courses that can accommodate students with a range of disabilities.  The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 have forced universities and colleges to make changes to physical structures and to establish support systems for students with disabilities, including providing equal access to computers on campus for all students.  However, online courses are not directly addressed in federal laws. In an effort to ensure equal access to all forms of multimedia the government made an amendment in 1986 to the Rehabilitation Act to develop accessibility guidelines for all electronic and information technology purchased by public universities.

            Professors need to be aware of assistive technologies that enable online participation for disabled students.  Assistive technology “allows Stephen Hawking, the Isaac Newton Chair of Mathematics at Cambridge University who has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, to continue his research into the physics of the beginning of the universe” (Buggey, 42).  Some hardware adaptations are special ability switches, touch or light activated keyboards, magnification screens, and specially designed chairs and workstations. 

            When it comes to designing actual web sites and portals such as the one we are using for this class, professors are urged to “keep it simple” when developing online courses.  Additions such as animated clip art and sound that most people find “cute” can create significant barriers for the disabled.  Page layout should be consistent and navigating the site should be easy.  There should be an email link for those who experience difficulty or have questions about using the site as well as a page that provides access instructions for the site. According to Buggey, “the most common disabilities limiting college students’ access to computer are impairments of hearing, vision, and mobility.”  Therefore accommodations are required when movie or audio clips are part of an online course.  For people with visual issues, test should have a sharp contrast against background colors.  Backgrounds should not be distracting and audio tracks should be available for multimedia presentations.  One of the best strategies is to provide a text-only version of the course.  Providing actual alternate activities for the disabled is considered discrimination unless these activities are presented as an option for the entire class.

            Special software is available to check for disability compliance such as “Bobby” (www.bobby.org), which evaluates sites for accessibility.  Bobby can give professors a line-by-line analysis with recommendations for better accessibility.

            This article aligns with TF-VI.B.:”Apply technology resources to enable and empower learners with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities. Candidates:

• Assist teachers in selecting and applying appropriate technology resources to enable and empower learners with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities.
• Identify, classify, and recommend adaptive /assistive hardware and software for students and teachers with special needs and assist in procurement and implementation”

An interesting quote by the author states, “The computer can be a great equalizer” (Buggey, 46).  People who have disabilities that prevent them from leaving their homes or attending classes on campus have the opportunity to learn in a safe environment.  There is truth in this statement but one must also consider the digital divide that exists, even for students who are not disabled.