Education Commons^™

A Study Of Kentucky School District Websites: They’Re Colorful And Informative….But Are They Ada Compliant?, John A. Huss, Shannon Eastep

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

An often-overlooked component of a school district website is the necessity for that website to be accessible to those with disabilities, while following the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Workforce Rehabilitation Act. This study investigated the accessibility of school district websites in Kentucky by selecting a random sample of 50 school districts and analyzing their home pages using WAVE (Web Accessibility Versatile Evaluator), which reports accessibility violations by annotating a copy of the page that was evaluated and presenting embedded icons and indicators to disclose breaches with ADA. Out of 50 districts, …

Resources Review: Adaptive (Podcast), Montreal*In/Accessible (Mobile App), Accessible Arcade Tables (Diy Project), Giuliana Cucinelli

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Thisresourcesreview spotlights a variety of DIY (do-it yourself) innovative media projects. Examples of these projects include: a podcast series on adaptive technologies, building mobile applications that allow participants to publish images, text and sound recordings, an interactive map that documents disability discrimination in the certain cities and the DIY creation of accessible arcade tables.

The social production of disability is seen in barriers created by society to restrict access to certain places or even certain cultural forms. The internet offers a space to share media productions and social media initiatives that use digital media to intervene, creatively, in theableistassumptions embedded …

Access Denied: Ending The Exclusion Of Disabled Students From Media Production Courses In Higher Education, Jayne Cubbage

Journal of Media Literacy Education

As the acceptance of media literacy increases among educators, media producers and consumers, one group is often missing from the dialogue—persons with disabilities. This absence is witnessed in the marginalized media depictions of the disabled. To gain entry into the media professions, some form of higher education is required. Using muted group theory as a backdrop, this work, a narrative analysis of the author’s experience with students with disabilities in media production courses, explores the de facto exclusion of persons with disabilities in such classes, due to the poorly outfitted and non-compliant nature of audio and video production facilities.

The Book Trailer Project: Media Production Within An Integrated Classroom, Karen Festa

Journal of Media Literacy Education

A special education co-teacher in an integrated elementary classroom describes key aspects of media literacy pedagogy for all students, including opportunities for critical analysis and creative media production. After elementary school students learned about author’s craft, purpose, theme/message, three types of writing, and target audience, they began looking at these elements using Super Bowl ads and participated in rich discussions which demonstrated their analysis and reflection on advertising. Students created a book trailer project, working in small groups to create videos to promote a book written by a local author and illustrator. Such work bridges gaps in social-emotional development, communication …

Barriers To Fanfiction Access: Results From A Usability Inspection Of Fanfiction.Net, Jayne C. Lammers, Nicholas P. Palumbo

Journal of Media Literacy Education

As researchers encourage teachers to bring fanfiction into classrooms, questions remain about whether online fanfiction communities are accessible to all students. This paper presents results from a practitioner-oriented usability inspection of FanFiction.net, investigating challenges students with disabilities might encounter as they participate. Operating this website with screen reader assistive technology reveals navigation, social connection, and reading barriers users may face when trying to engage in typical fanfiction practices. This study offers implications for media literacy educators to consider as they work to bring online media into classrooms without further marginalizing students with disabilities.

Digital Media Production To Support Literacy For Secondary Students With Diverse Learning Abilities, April Marie Leach

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Producing digital media is a hands-on, inquiry-based mindful process that naturally embeds Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles into literacy instruction, providing options for learning and assessment for a wide array of students with diverse learning abilities. Video production learning experiences acknowledge the cognitive talents of some students labeled “disabled.” For some, the discovery of personal abilities activated when learning through the production process may motivate deeper learning. Although challenges of access, quality of teacher preparation and assessment strategies represent significant challenges, digital media production learning experiences offer diverse learners a rich, socially interactive environment that models open communication and …

Breaking Down Barriers: Successful Transition Planning For Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Students, Kara F. Halley, Michelle Terese Trujillo

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

While transition services provided to the majority of students with disabilities may be seen as beneficial and as having the potential to lead to positive post-school outcomes, involvement and expectations of several students’ families are taking a backseat to the involvement and expectations of professionals in this process. Discrepancies between family and school expectations and desires can only lead to the failure of students’ transition plans. It is increasingly more likely that service providers who develop individual education plans and collaborate on transition planning teams will work with culturally and linguistically diverse students and families. Despite growing diversity in our …

The Importance Of Extracurricular Stem Activities For Students With Disabilities, Karin Fisher

Proceedings of the Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching and Learning Conference (2017-2019)

Students with disabilities are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers (National Science Foundation, 2015). The underrepresentation is a problem because the nation’s competitiveness depends on diverse individuals with STEM knowledge, skills, and abilities to drive innovation that will need to new products and economic growth (Business higher Education Forum/A Policy Brief, 2014; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016; National Science Board, 2016). The author discusses the importance of engaging students with disabilities in informal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics activities.

The Correlation Between Extracurricular Stem Activities And Students With Disabilities, Karin Fisher

Proceedings of the Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching and Learning Conference (2017-2019)

Students with disabilities perform below their non-disabled peers in science (National Science Foundation, 2015). The purpose of the exploratory research was to determine if informal science learning activities offered in Florida districts make a difference on the performance of students with disabilities (SWD) on the 2015 8th grade Florida science assessment using quasi-experimental research methods. After determining a statistically significant difference does exist on the difference between students with and without disabilities on the 8th Grade Florida Science Assessment, the researcher determined if STEM personnel track the number of students with disabilities who participate in STEM activities. The number and …