Universal Design: Online Educational Media for Students with Disabilities (Research Report) (Report‪)‬

For students with disabilities, using the online educational media employed in most general education classrooms may be challenging, since much mainstream programming is not accessible. Online educational media take the form of integrated learning modules that contain content to enhance students' learning and support teachers' instruction. For students, each integrated learning module typically includes a full-length educational video and additional educational materials (such as still images, related articles, links to relevant web sites, self-study assessments, and activities). For example, the sample integrated learning module in the Universal eLearner (the Internet-based educational materials that are discussed next) contains a vocabulary list, a story, a story quiz, a video, three student activities, and a unit quiz. These online activities are designed to provide a comprehensive learning unit on a topic or to supplement traditional classroom instruction. Research has underscored the effectiveness of integrated learning modules in improving test scores in math (Taylor, 1999) and science (Cantrell, Pekcan, & Itani, 2006), but such modules are available in almost all content areas and at all educational levels from elementary school to postgraduate programs. The Universal eLearner is an online integrated learning module, under development, that incorporates accessible technology, universal design for learning, and best practices for online education. The American Foundation for the Blind and Bridge Multimedia have just completed a three-year grant through the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education, to develop and test the latest version of the Universal eLearner. The Universal eLearner, although not a finished product, has been developed and fieldtested with students with disabilities (including those with visual impairments, hearing impairments, orthopedic impairments, and learning disabilities), as well as students who are English language learners and typically developing students.