Collaborative Online Learning and Accessibility

Abstract

This chapter looks at how the issues of accessibility have developed over a number of collaborative learning projects that have investigated the use of various technologies to provide effective communication mechanisms between students in various virtual learning scenarios: 1. Occupational Therapy Internet School (OTIS) investigated the use of a graphical virtual college environment to allow occupational therapy students to discover how practice differed in various European Union countries. 2. MOBIlearn investigated the new opportunities offered by mobile devices to develop a new paradigm of mobile learning. 3. The Health Informatics module allows Foundation Degree students working in Health Informatics to discover the different aspects of their various roles and to reflect on the way in which they interface with clinical and other professionals and their role within the wider National Health Service (NHS) agenda. The use of different technologies has raised various accessibility issues that need to be addressed if this type of learning is to be adopted more widely and accepted best practices are to be followed. These are discussed and indicators are given as to how they may be addressed systematically to provide an effective learning experience for all.