Despite laws in the United States (e.g., Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and its 2008 Amendments), students with various disabilities continue to experience access barriers to instructional content and inclusion in course activities. Online learning environments can present especially…

Interest in accessibility has grown recently. Despite this, we have found that most people focus too much on compliance and often on the fundamental elements of creating compliant online courses. Instructional designers and online educators often turn to popular quality assurance frameworks to help them design and develop quality online courses.…

This study employs legal research methods to explore how federal protections for individuals with disabilities apply in the context of postsecondary extended reality (XR) learning, such as for classes taught in virtual reality. Other examples include the use of 360 degree, interactive videos in online courses and activities that leverage digital,…

This study examined the level of readiness of faculty in designing and delivering accessible online courses to meet the needs of all learners, including students with disabilities. A total of 182 tenured/non-tenured full time, part-time, adjunct and clinical faculty from three public universities of different sizes were surveyed to gauge their…

With the growth of online learning, as well as the use of technology to supplement in-person learning, technology has enabled many opportunities for creating highly interactive and highly accessible learning environments. However, it is important to design learning environments to be accessible to diverse learners and learners with disabilities.…

Shifting demographics within the state of California and more specifically within the California Community College System have created a need for equitable processes to promote the success of students. Students who enter community colleges should be afforded the same level of support whether they enter virtually or in-person. The development of…

Increasing prevalence rates and legislative mandates imply that educators, parents, and Extension agents will need better tools and resources to meet the needs of special populations. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service addresses this issue by using e-learning tools. Extension agents can take advantage of these courses to gain critical…

Accessibility is a hot topic in online education these days. Despite the increased focus on accessibility, most discussions of creating "accessible" online courses and elearning simply focus on adding alternative text to images and captions to video. In this article, we argue that online educators and workplace learning professionals…

For students with disabilities to have the same opportunities to succeed as their nondisabled peers, access to educational technology and digital content is critical. It is essential that higher education boards, administrators, faculty, and administrative staff understand why accessibility must be on the forefront of our educational programs,…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how the principles of universal design can be implemented by faculty and course designers to help give all learners access to equivalent information. It describes how information communication technologies can create barriers to information access, particularly when course content is rich in…

Increasingly, students with visual disabilities are pursuing higher education. The students need to face the challenges and difficulties of disorganized services and technology to be independent learners. Institutions should provide the support services to meet the requirements of the students. Such students in the United States expressed their…

Online education has become an accepted part of the educational landscape over the past two decades. Digital resources are the norm in classrooms. The expectation is that all students will benefit from technology some way. In order for that to be the case, however, sometimes more overt action is needed to ensure that all students do in fact get…

Although both the number of online learning opportunities and students with disabilities in higher education has increased over the last two decades, students with disabilities may be overlooked. The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes toward requesting accommodations in the online learning environment among college students with…

This research details the methodologies that could be used to better deliver online course content to students with learning disabilities. Research has shown how the design of the course affects the students' attitudes and performance. This article details the methodology and pedagogical side of the delivery including instructional methods that…

This Issue Brief, an update of "Authorizing Virtual Charter Schools: Rules of the Road on the Digital Highway" by Gregg Vanourek, is part of NACSA's Cyber series, which addresses issues in policy and practice that concern authorizing online schools and blended learning. It aims to improve authorizer understanding and oversight of online…