Online Learners with Disabilities | Origin: EL111
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
Assistive Technologies for the Online Learner --> Online Learners with Disabilities
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it. Feel free to post questions and comments too.
Hidden disabilities play a major part in learning. As faculty and designers, it is essential that these possibilities are defined and dealt with.
I learned that disabilities are many times hidden and health conditions, like diabetes -- which I'm very familiar with because of family members -- are also considered disabilities. Never would I have considered things like diabetes to be disabilities, especially in a school setting, as it seemed like a separate health condition to be managed as best as possible by those affected.
I have learned that it is very important to teach according to each students learning .
I learned that accessibility isn’t an “add-on” for a few students, it’s core quality and safety for everyone. The module reframed disability for me: many needs are hidden, cognitive load matters, and reactive accommodations can’t fix barriers we designed in the first place. The UDL principles, multiple ways to present information, demonstrate learning, and engage, map naturally to nursing values of equity, patient-centered care, and clear communication.
In my courses, I’ll apply this by front-loading accessibility: locking due dates, posting weekly “Top 3 takeaways,” chunking major projects into milestones with rubrics, and offering equivalent, keyboard-friendly assessments (no mouse-only “hot spots”). All media will have captions/transcripts; images will include alt text; slides will be readable without narration or heavy effects. For students with anxiety or speech/hearing differences, I’ll pair live sessions with asynchronous options, sentence starters, and small-group forums, plus brief 1:1 check-ins when patterns of struggle appear. Beyond the classroom, I’ll model this in nursing practice making patient education materials plain-language, multimodal, and predictable, so inclusivity becomes standard, not special.
I learned that surprisingly 75% of disabilities are hidden. This is something that is really incredible, knowing this number will help me to see closer with intent of noticing more then I have noticed before. BTW, this link provided on a webpage: The Center for Universal Design - is broken. But the working page - https://www.cast.org/what-we-do/universal-design-for-learning/ - is great!
I learned that accessibility is a crucial part of designing online courses and that assistive technologies like screen readers and captioning tools help ensure all students can engage with the content. I plan to apply this by reviewing my course materials for accessibility and making sure I'm using tools and formats that support students with different needs.
Very informative. It is important to make possible accommodations for students with disabilities to assist in learning and understanding the material. I have two sons and a daughter that has accommodations. It is important to support a students success in learning.
I find it shocking that "schools find about 5% of their students self-report and 10-12% students with disabilities are anticipated from a national standpoint." This is important to note in order to generate content that is accessible to everyone, even if some students do not self-report.
Very informative topic about students with learning disabilities. I learned that accomodations make it possible for students with disabilities to truly learn and understand the material.
Instructors should be cognizant of disabilities of students when putting together course content
I have learned to provide multiple ways for students to engage in content. I also will now be more conscious about sticking to the outline and timings I set out at the beginning of the semester, as pivots and changes could be difficult for many students.
I must admit individuals with varying disabilities in an asynchronous environment really never crossed my mind especially with GAD or MDD.
CTC....Even students only "disabled" by language could have issyes
I didn't realize the varied types of learning disabilities we might encounter as instructors. In order to engage all students well, it is important to address these differences in our online pedagogy
I didn't realize the varied types of learning disabilities we might encounter as instructors. In order to engage all students well, it is important to address these differences in our online pedagogy
Knowing your student population and assisting them with accomodations to make the course accessible.
Understanding that many impairments that require accommodations are not those that are outwardly obvious.
The Americans With Disabilities Act requires that we, as educators, are inclusive, in terms of the different types of learners we may encounter in the classroom. The course provided insightful information as to the different techniques that may be applied, depending on the type of disability a student may have. The course also stressed the importance of making an effort to understand each of our students abilities, so that we may promptly address any issues that may fall under a given category of the ADA.
Having an understanding of our students, learning types is critical in order to maintain an inclusive classroom. The training was very informative in providing technological solutions and teaching techniques that may help ease any difficulties that students may have in an online setting.
I will make sure all the material are available for these students.
