- Policy Issues
- Easing in a New Era: OEB-Workshop on the “European Digital Education Agenda”
- Copyrights – Who Owns What on the Web?
- Education and Training Reforms in the Mediterranean Region
- London’s Local Authorities Save over £100m for Education
- E-Learning for Defence and Security
- Learning Anytime, Anywhere, And at Any Age – How the United Kingdom Is Promoting Lifelong Learning Concepts
- Promoting Inclusivity in E-Learning
- Back to main
E-Inclusion – Managing Diversity
Learning and training opportunities should be equally accessible for all, according to the EU’s Lisbon Agenda, but the ‘one-size-fits-all’ model is not suitable. Inclusivity incorporates the idea that every individual has unique needs and preferences, and this is particularly applicable to learning and training. The European Commission supports several activities that promote inclusivity and has developed policies and strategies to fulfil the goal of the 2000 Lisbon Agenda. In a conference track, ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN features several European projects that promote e-inclusion as well as initiatives from organisations and institutions worldwide that are dedicated to the needs of disadvantaged or disabled people.A recent study of the Statistical Office of the European Communities revealed that 37% of people aged between 16 and 74 in the EU25 had no basic computer skills – 39% for women, and 34 % for men. This average percentage hides serious variations, depending on the Member State of reference, age group, and educational background of the surveyed population. In all Member States for which data are available, the education level plays a crucial role in improving e-literacy. Among students of the EU25, the majority of respondents claimed to have medium or high level skills (41% and 43% respectively).
This survey highlights the urgency of renewed "e-Inclusion" commitments on the part of European authorities. E-Inclusion not only targets people who are disadvantaged: There are several non-dominant groups in society that all have special needs, and schools, teaching, and learning have to be organised in a way that each student has a learning experience that ‘fits’. ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN is dedicating a conference track to the topic of inclusivity in e-learning, which means understanding and involving different potentials, needs, and resources of all students.
What does inclusion and e-learning, for example, mean for the dyslexic learner? ‘Dyslexic children’ – to quote Professor John Stein from the University of Oxford, UK – ‘have many talents that just do not happen to include reading and writing’. Exclusion for a dyslexic learner means being judged relentlessly on the skills he or she simply does not have or is weakest in – reading and writing and having to face failure and negative feedback on a daily basis until, not unexpectedly, despondency and anti-social behaviour set in. Prof. Stein is member of the scientific advisory committee of Dyslexia International - Tools and Technologies (D·I·T·T), a non-profit organisation that intends to create and promote tools and technologies that enable dyslexic learners to succeed.
Tackling the crux of the problem, the BBC producers of ‘The Mystery of the Lost Letters’ tri-lingual CD ROM called on the champion cartoon detective Tintin to accompany dyslexic learners through a series of adventures. Here they meet positive role models, all dyslexic themselves, receive encouraging feedback, and are given the chance to gain control over their learning style. They can then link to www.ToSuccess.org - the site where useful software selected by dyslexic learners, their teachers, and parents can be found that allows users to work at their own pace in privacy and develop their skills freely. Best practice for dyslexic learners will be presented at ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN by Gudrun and Rolf Dziallas from DITT.
According to statistics, one in seven children has a learning disability. The primary goal of the e-Europe 2005 Action Plan is to assist people with disabilities so that they can participate in the Information Society. A seminar lead by Dr. Vladimir Matvievskij, Innovative Educational Center, Moscow, Russia, focuses on the personal growth and personal development of children with the most severe disorders: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism, Infantile Cerebral Paralysis. It seems strange, but children with such disabilities are very much aware of the lack of and the need for personal growth, personal development.
An estimated nine million people in the EU have some level of visual impairment. Their access to any audio-visual medium is difficult, including the use of digital technologies. The use of so-called assistive and an easily accessible, multi-sensory design of hard- and software can compensate for disadvantages. Chris Stevenson from the UK’s Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) will present an innovative method of communicating visual graphics such as maps, diagrams, graphs, and charts to visually impaired computer users. “Talking tactile” uses sounds and touch (audio haptics) to convert visual images, a process that in the past invariably demanded the assistance of a trainer to explain the tactile diagram or the addition of voluminous Braille notations. This application can be extremely useful for the teaching of business studies, biology, or physics, three disciplines that employ an enormous amount of graphic content, such as charts, figures, diagrams, and pictures.
Jochen Dreher, who has completed a Masters of Commerce in Business at Macquarie University in Australia, will share the experience of his studies with the support of the Macquarie Customised Accessibility Services (M-CAS). His co-presenter will be Sharon Kerr, Assistant Director of the Center for Flexible Learning and Head of M-CAS. Jochen is blind and was one of the first clients of M-CAS, a centralised national service established in 2004. It is an effective approach to meeting access needs, customising learning and teaching materials for immediate clients’ requests. M-CAS recognises that learners are unique and have their own needs and preferences. The clients are studying various subjects from law to psychology at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and have a range of disabilities including sight or hearing impairments, mobility or other physical disabilities.
E-Learning modules especially conceived for the needs of seniors have been developed by the European project eLSe. FIM-NewLearning at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, together with six partners, amongst them the University of the Third Age (U3A) from the UK, have initiated the project to develop an appropriate e-learning environment for older people. eLSe puts emphasis on easy-to-handle layouts and a careful and detailed introduction to the media. Since the eLSe learners are often not accustomed to digital facilities, existing fears have to be overcome. eLSe will be introduced by Esther Paulmann from FIM NewLearning and Elaine Williams from U3A.
Understanding accessibility requires the understanding of software usage by people with disabilities, says Jan Eric Hellbush, author of two books on accessible web design. In his presentation, Hellbusch will discuss various aspects of software design for accessible websites including standard compliance and the legal situation in Europe. He will demonstrate the various scenarios that arise when people with disabilities use web applications and show possible solutions for the production of web applications.
The sessions on Promoting Inclusivity: Facilitating Access for the Elderly and the Disabled will take place on Friday December 1. For all other presentations on the topic of inclusion, please click here.
/bk
