Democratizing Higher Education: The Use of Educational Technologies to Promote the Academic Success of University Students with Disabilities
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. The Use of Technological Resources for Inclusive Learning
1.2. Facilitating Learner Accessibility and Participation through the Use of Technology
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. The Spanish University Context
2.3. Instrument and Data Collection Procedure
2.4. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Different Technological Resources to Respond Successfully to the Diversity of Students
“Apart from Power Point, I play videos, or adverts that are on the Internet as well...”(P1)
“I make use of different resources. Internet, of course I do. Videos, songs, short clips, films... That has a brutal richness”(P24)
“Prezi, sometimes PowerPoint... It’s just that each one has its own characteristics. Real case studies, recordings of children reading...”(P28)
“They always have texts to go to, whether I hang them up for them, or they are in the library referenced, always. I try, of all possible subjects in sport psychology, there is not always one, but I try to make sure they have audiovisual material, videos that I have made, videos that I know other colleagues have that are linked on their websites, on YouTube... there are very good videos for dissemination, and that is why they are there and why they are used. This year I have started to use podcasts and they are working really, really, really well”(P31)
“I keep changing and depending on each session, I try to introduce new things. Last year I used two tools: Kahoot, which is like a trivia game, so you pose a question with four answer options and you have to, over a period of time, give them the options that are represented by colours, and the answer percentage comes out, and of course it has music so it’s very encouraging, and afterwards we always comment on the results that have come out. So, in reality we are playing, but we are talking about very serious things, about what the aims of social sciences are; and Socrative, which serves more or less the same purpose, but I use it to detect their previous ideas and their final ideas regarding a problem, and then they have to compare what they thought at the beginning and what they thought at the end and see what they have learned”(P3)
“I use Socrative as a continuous assessment tool. I create continuous assessment questions, not just the ones we do in class”(P34)
“Classes, virtual classroom, YouTube, social networks like Facebook, Twitter...”(P4)
“With Facebook, the truth is that I worked really hard. The activity was too abstract, but it was cool, it was cool. They had to use their Facebook biography...the part that they put on their personal Facebook, like their social identity”(P39)
“I work with films, with documentaries, with short films, with YouTube... Now I am even starting with blogs and YouTube channels, with certain youtubers”(P12)
“I have always used digital resources because I am attracted to the world of technology, I am interested in it, and I have always signed up for courses of this type. So, I use all kinds of tools, such as forums, Wikis, etc.”(P16)
“The collaborative classroom diary is like a Wiki, it is built from the first day of the class, and it is designed as a Wiki so that one person is in charge of collecting everything that happens in the class, and the rest of the people can also make their interventions if they see it necessary. In addition, we ourselves as faculty members can also participate. It becomes a diary where everything that happens in each of the sessions is written down, where both the contents that have been worked on and the activities that have been developed or concerns that arise as a result of the contents that are put into action are recorded”(P18)
“Nowadays we are hooked on technology, in this case smartphones, as we can access them easily and we are thinking about the subject, the contents of the subject, as we can participate in the forums from our smartphones. I use a smartphone application called Remind. I put any resource there, and it is immediately sent to the smartphone”(P5)
“I encourage them to participate with their tablets and smartphones...I encourage them to bring tablets, to bring smartphones...”(P39)
“I use the Moodle platform. It is convenient. As far as paper is concerned, well, I have stopped using copying, except for some very, very specific questions that may require filling in something and it is required on paper. But if not, that’s the economic saving and the usefulness. Everything is there, you can download it, and it is convenient”(P14)
“I use Drive. This year we participated in a service-learning project and I shared everything with the group through Drive. I use videos, etc.”(P15)
“We also use...a web page for the subject, so that apart from the virtual classroom they also have their own web page for the subject”(P4)
3.2. Use of the LMS to Support Learner Participation and Accessibility
“I use it just to deposit notes, because it is convenient for me, because it is practical, because it also allows me to have... for example, the Power Points that we see in class, I leave them after class”(P7)
“The platform, because I use it as a repository, they send their work, but I don’t assess them through the platform, but I do it personally because I like to look them in the eye, a more personal approach. I don’t like the platform... as a repository, yes”(P19)
“Moodle, which is our platform, because I don’t give it all the use and all the potential it has. I simply use it as a repository”(P32)
“I know it has a lot of features, ..., but I only use it to post material and make announcements”(P26)
“I keep it (the platform) quite minimised. And I only use it to post resources and materials or for announcements... I only use it for announcements, for uploading documents, for notes and little else”(P30)
“To upload materials for them to download. Also, to inform them every time I upload some material. To call some tests that we do during the course, etc. That is, as a means of communication and to leave the material”(P34)
“We have forums, the forum contains news, not only mine, but also theirs. If they have seen a video on Facebook or something that has to do with the previous session, they post it and we all talk about it”(P17)
“I always try to include reflection activities with forums”(P31)
“All the assignments are posted in the virtual classroom, I don’t want paper assignments, I don’t want them to be sent to me on paper, also avoiding unnecessary expense, so everyone is on their own site to post those assignments, and I assess them there, I assess them on those assignments in the virtual classroom, on the computer, I leave the assignment, I give them the mark and I also post the mark in that section. And everyone knows at the time, the rate for each of these sections”(P21)
“I use e-learning. Not only to post the material, but also for the evaluation of the activities. The activity is delivered through e-learning. I have sometimes used forum and chat tools to discuss with the class some activities that have not been clear. I usually use the messaging tool to get them to communicate with me. And that’s it. I don’t think I use anything else within the platform. I also post the videos or the links, rather the links to the videos, so that they can watch them at home”(P12)
3.3. Actions of Faculty Members to Promote the Inclusion of University Students with Disabilities
“I try to ensure that the videos I show in class are subtitled, I work with other types of audiovisual resources and if I have any needs I also put subtitles and audio in voice, I put it in large letters so that people with disability.... In other words, I try to adapt the material to the multiple realities that may exist in my classroom”(P12)
“When we start teaching the subject and we are preparing a Power Point we think about all the students, we are thinking about the background, we are thinking about the subtitles, or videos and we are thinking about using different materials... so, if I find out that there is a student with a disability, then I will surely think about whether the PDF is accessible or not, which normally, we have always tried to make it accessible”(P18)
“The material is always available on campus, from the beginning of the class, everything, because everyone has their own pace and wants to start when they want. So, we have all the resources, all the documents, all the audios... Everything is uploaded on the platform from the first day of class and is free. So, each student has access to this information when they want to, let’s say”(P17)
“Many times, for example, blind people tell me <I need this material not only before, but digitalised, so that I can have it on the computer>. So we have to provide them with this material well in advance”(P35)
“I believe that the more senses we bring into play, the easier it is for information to enter. So, for example, they have the auditory and visual material, which, in many cases, like the Power Point presentation, can be voiced. They have more channels to access the content”(P9)
“The combination of resources allows for richer learning due to two factors that I think are closely related: motivation and learning. In other words, the most innovative resource, for example, augmented reality, always impresses on the first day, but if you only use augmented reality, it ceases to exist”(P14)
“Something that we take care of and that we look for when we are going to advance in different blocks is to provide them with information through different ways, and also that they produce it through different ways. For example, when we use the parable of the dinner guest, they have it in written form, we see it in the presentation and we transfer it to audio”(P18)
“I use many resources because I think they offer a different way of learning, not just reading a text and the faculty explaining it to me, but if a text is supporting an idea, then I reaffirm it more because I have seen this video or this song. I really like the educational accompaniment and that is an idea that is difficult to put into practice”(P24)
4. Discussion
Limitations and Future Research
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Sex | Male | 17 (40.5%) |
Female | 25 (59.5%) | |
Fields of knowledge | Social and Legal Sciences | 17 (40%) |
Arts and Humanities | 13 (31%) | |
Health Sciences | 7 (17%) | |
Science | 5 (12%) | |
Average age of participants | 41.2 years | |
Teaching experience of the faculty members (average) | 15.8 years |
Dimension | Category | Subcategory | Codes |
---|---|---|---|
Faculty actions | Resources and technological media used | Technological resources | Digital presentations |
Digital/online texts | |||
Audiovisuals | |||
Gamification Apps | |||
Social networks | |||
Wikis/Blogs | |||
Mobile devices | |||
Technological media | Virtual learning platforms | ||
Google Drive | |||
Course website | |||
Utility of Learning Management Systems | Virtual learning platforms | Repository | |
Announcements/Communications | |||
Forums/Chats | |||
Submission of activities and online assessment | |||
Educational Inclusion through ICT | Faculty actions to promote accessibility and participation | Material adaptations | |
Arrangement of material | |||
Combination and use of a variety of technological resources |
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Sanchez-Diaz, M.d.l.N.; Morgado, B. Democratizing Higher Education: The Use of Educational Technologies to Promote the Academic Success of University Students with Disabilities. Societies 2023, 13, 57. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13030057
Sanchez-Diaz MdlN, Morgado B. Democratizing Higher Education: The Use of Educational Technologies to Promote the Academic Success of University Students with Disabilities. Societies. 2023; 13(3):57. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13030057
Chicago/Turabian StyleSanchez-Diaz, Maria de las Nieves, and Beatriz Morgado. 2023. "Democratizing Higher Education: The Use of Educational Technologies to Promote the Academic Success of University Students with Disabilities" Societies 13, no. 3: 57. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13030057