Stephen Hawking, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, is one of the world’s foremost intellectuals and known for his use of assistive technologies.

Over the last decade, online learning has made earning a degree possible for millions who had previously been left at the gates of upper education. Included in this group are countless disabled individuals for whom pursuing higher education presented a serious challenge and often an even larger financial burden. Indeed, thanks to divers new technologies, online learning environments are being adapted to meet their needs–everything from customized input devices to text-to-speech programs.

 

Without a doubt, online degree programs have proven to be a huge boon for the physically disabled, as essentially any environment can be turned into a classroom with the help of a computer. Moreover, specialized input devices are offered by a variety of vendors to assist those unable to use a traditional mouse or keyboard.

 

The challenge of adapting online learning interfaces to those with learning disabilities has been tackled from a variety of different angles. For those with difficulties reading small text, a computer represents the ideal medium for interacting with educational materials, as it allows virtually unlimited levels of magnification. This represents a substantial improvement over the past, when those who couldn’t read small text had to use cumbersome magnification devices.

 

Similarly, the blind or severely vision-impaired can benefit from text-to-speech software in utilizing online materials. Over the last several years, the most popular screen readers have been Window-Eyes and JAWS. This may soon change with the University of Washington’s 28 June release of WebAnywhere, the world’s first web-based screen reader. WebAnywhere’s revolutionary potential lies in its ability to make any browser environment on any machine instantly accessible to the blind, for free. Prior to the release of this web-based service, users would have to buy expensive ($895-$1095) licenses to install screen readers on every machine they used.

 

For the deaf, text-based online courses represent a substantial advantage over traditional institutions of higher learning, where lectures tend to be the dominant instructional medium. Additionally, online universities frequently utilize instant messengers for one-on-one interactions with professors, further facilitating an easily accessible learning environment for deaf students.

 

Finally, the student-defined pace of online learning is also especially helpful to those with temporary or permanent disabilities who may need to budget time for treatment or physical therapy.

 

Additional Resources:

WebAnywhere Press Release

Microsoft Press Release: Online Learning Helps Make College Accessible to Students with Disabilities

 

Tags: Learning Technologies, Non-Traditional Students, Online Education