Archive for the ‘Accessibility’ Category

The Historical Development and Adaptation of Open Universities in Turkish Context

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has a long history, one marked by the emergence of open universities, which was a critical development in the ecology of openness. Open universities have taken on significant local and global roles within the framework of meeting the needs of their respective regions of influence, and as such, their roles […]

Open Education… Is Closed

Last weekend, at the Open Education Conference in Phoenix, David Wiley, chief academic officer of Lumen Learning and the conference’s organizer for 16 years, announced that this would be its last gathering, or at least the last with him at the helm. The conference, which grew from 40 attendees in 2003 to 850 this year, […]

Where Online Learning Goes Next

Charles W. Eliot, who served as President of Harvard University for a record 40 years, charted a roadmap for education in his seminal essay, The New Education. Written in 1869, it made the case for continuously updating how and what students learn, so education could evolve in step with society. That approach remains just as […]

5 Innovations Added to Our Higher Ed Digital Course Materials for the 2019-2020 School Year

The fall semester has begun and we wanted to share some exciting updates we’ve made to McGraw-Hill technology platforms for the 2019-20 school year. Each is designed to help more students succeed and to help instructors save time and get better results. Check them out below! McGraw-Hill

Teach Access Addresses the Accessible Technology Skills Gap

Teach Access offers networking and experiential learning opportunities for students and curriculum development grants for faculty to help address gaps in accessibility technology skills in the workforce and move accessibility into the mainstream. EDUCASUE Review  

A Case Study of a Foster Parent Working to Support a Child with Multiple Disabilities in a Full-Time Virtual School

With increases in the number of students enrolling in virtual schools, increases in students with disabilities can also be expected at virtual schools. Further, not all of these students enrolling in virtual schools will live with their biological parents. As students with disabilities move online, they continue to be protected under the Individuals with Disabilities […]

Can Amazon Upskill Higher Education? A Beta Test

Amazon Prime Day came and went on July 15th, and by most accounts, it left smiling faces around the globe. But just a few days before this annual shop-a-thon, Amazon announced a gift of its own: a pledge to spend more than $700,000,000 to train and upskill 100,000 employees , about a third of its […]

Buffalo schools build Wi-Fi network targeting ‘homework gap’

A school district in Buffalo, New York, has announced a $1.3 million project to bring Wi-Fi connectivity to thousands of students’ homes in two of the city’s most poorly connected neighborhoods. edscoop

From Proprietary Textbook to Custom OER Solution: Using Learner Feedback to Guide Design and Development

This study presents the initial needs analysis and formative evaluation of the beta version of an open educational resource (OER) textbook solution. The OER textbook, created by the authors, replaces a proprietary, paper-based textbook and is delivered to students digitally, within a learning management system. Findings show that students are concerned about cost and convenience, […]

Taking IT Way beyond Accessibility: 5 + 4 = 1 Approach

We all agree that accessibility is the right thing to do. What concrete steps should IT professionals take in order to support access for learners, faculty, and staff across our colleges and universities? EDUCAUSE Review