TY - GEN
T1 - Virtual Learning Accessibility Barriers Experienced by Engineering Students with Disabilities in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic
AU - Figard, Rachel
AU - Carberry, Adam
N1 - Funding Information:
This study is based on work primarily supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those are the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect those of the NSF.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 IEEE.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - This Work in Progress, Research paper aims to address the well-documented discrimination against people with disabilities regarding the use of technology in education. Poor accessibility standards, a lack of administrative support, and numerous other barriers have contributed to the ever-present digital equity gap for students with disabilities. The digital equity gap has continued to widen as schools continue to increase the use of virtual or distance learning in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research aims to better understand students with disabilities' barriers in accessing online undergraduate engineering education by addressing the following research question: What barriers do engineering students with disabilities face in an online learning environment? The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework guides the research questions, data collection, and data analysis. A fixed item survey has been developed and is currently being used to capture the experiences of students with disabilities in engineering who participated in online learning at four-year colleges and universities across the United States. The identification of these students' barriers will be used to inform accessibility improvements and considerations to engineering online learning.
AB - This Work in Progress, Research paper aims to address the well-documented discrimination against people with disabilities regarding the use of technology in education. Poor accessibility standards, a lack of administrative support, and numerous other barriers have contributed to the ever-present digital equity gap for students with disabilities. The digital equity gap has continued to widen as schools continue to increase the use of virtual or distance learning in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research aims to better understand students with disabilities' barriers in accessing online undergraduate engineering education by addressing the following research question: What barriers do engineering students with disabilities face in an online learning environment? The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework guides the research questions, data collection, and data analysis. A fixed item survey has been developed and is currently being used to capture the experiences of students with disabilities in engineering who participated in online learning at four-year colleges and universities across the United States. The identification of these students' barriers will be used to inform accessibility improvements and considerations to engineering online learning.
KW - COVID-19
KW - distance learning
KW - equity
KW - students with disabilities
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85143758871&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85143758871&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/FIE56618.2022.9962642
DO - 10.1109/FIE56618.2022.9962642
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85143758871
T3 - Proceedings - Frontiers in Education Conference, FIE
BT - 2022 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, FIE 2022
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 2022 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, FIE 2022
Y2 - 8 October 2022 through 11 October 2022
ER -