Education Commons^™

Designing For Accessibility In Online Learning: A Design Case, Mohan Yang, Victoria Lowell, Yishi Long, Tadd Farmer

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Despite laws in the United States (e.g., Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and its 2008 Amendments), students with various disabilities continue to experience access barriers to instructional content and inclusion in course activities. Online learning environments can present especially challenging circumstances for disabled students despite the advantages they could potentially bring. In this article, we present the design and development of three self-paced e-learning modules following a three-phased design process to prepare instructional design students to create accessible online learning content. The instructional design planning and development process can provide …

Hype-On-Campus: A Pilot Online Learning Program Designed For Helping Youth On The Path To Employment (Hype), Sam P. Lenox

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

Helping Youth on the Path to Employment (HYPE) is a research-based program housed at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The program aims to provide support and services to young adults with mental health conditions as they identify meaningful career paths and achieve goals for sustained employment. HYPE has developed a multi-stage trial program called Hype-On-Campus (HOC) that will expand the HYPE model to colleges and universities across the United States beginning with the fall semester of 2020. Graduate-level Student Practitioners, selected to participate in the initial HOC feasibility trial, will be enrolled in an HOC online distance training program …

Ilt To Mobile Elearning Design For At-Risk Populations, Jacqueline R. Tomrdle

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

This capstone assisted a non-profit company to produce mobile learning for the vulnerable, at-risk population they serve. A fellow University of Massachusetts Boston Instructional Design Program graduate created an eLearning visual brand guide laying the foundation for a consistent accessible brand for the company. As a result, this author used the tools of analysis, instructional design, development, implementation and evaluation to create deliverables of six workshop modules. The non-profit company is one-step closer to their goal of online support for their graduates and promotion of their program to a larger audience reach in Massachusetts.

How Can Libraries Move Towards A More Inclusive Model Of Reference? A Practical Approach To Serve Distance Students, Lauren Puzier, Camille Chesley, Amanda M. Lowe

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Research consultations are a valuable service offered by academic libraries for students who are able to visit the library, however, many students enrolled in online degree programs or considering enrollment have limited access to campus services. We designed and tested a virtual reference consultation service for distance learners and graduate students. This interactive poster outlines a practical approach for designing and initiating a virtual research consultation service to offer equitable access to library services and a positive user experience for distance learners.

Staff Accessibility And Online Engagement With First-Year Students: An Autoethnographic Reflection, Andrew Kelly

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Studying online is becoming an increasingly attractive option to prospective students worldwide, yet external completion rates tend to be considerably lower than those enrolled on campus. Through an autoethnographic critical reflection process of teaching 27 first-year online students at a regional Australian university, this article considers methods for increasing accessibility and student engagement as well as managing personal challenges supporting online students from non-traditional backgrounds. Among seven key implications for practice, this article argues the need for genuine and open-ended interaction with online students at the early stages of a semester. It also recommends that teaching staff consciously recognize the …

Pedagogy For A Plugged-In Age, Independent Study 2017, Andrew Hladkyj

Publications and Scholarship

This is an independent study for Hladkyj's graduate studies in Strategic Foresight and Innovation (MDes) at OCAD University. The study’s goal is to establish a “lay of the land” informing how technology and pedagogy might be designed in the Web Design Graduate Certificate program Hladkyj spearheaded at Sheridan College.

The research consists of a literature review validated by primary sources, composed of four 30-minute, semi-structured expert interviews with college-level design educators, administrators, and students (both current and former).

A modified, “human-centred” STEEP V (Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Values) framework provides context to the findings.The output is actionable and threefold: …

Design With Diversity In Mind: Online Information Literacy Instruction For Nontraditional Students, Holly Mabry, Natalie Bishop

Dover Library Faculty Professional Development Activities

Web-based, online learning options through Blackboard, Moodle, Desire2Learn, and other learning management systems are increasingly popular for students and library patrons who are unable to attend traditional face-to-face courses on a college campus due to geographical, financial, or family obligations. Librarians are also retooling their information literacy courses to adapt to the rapidly evolving online learning environment. Just like in a physical classroom or library that provides assistive technology and interpreters, online information must be accessible for a variety of backgrounds and abilities. Inaccessible online courses that aren't developed with plain language, good color contrast, captions or alternative text formats, …