The Inclusive Design Research Centre has published a paper titled “Inclusive Design for Learning: Creating Flexible and Adaptable Content with Learners”, written by Caren Watkins, IDRC Director Dr. Jutta Treviranus, and Dr. Vera Roberts. This paper addresses the issue of exclusion of persons experiencing disabilities through application of inclusive design practices.
The paper can be openly accessed on the SNOW website (HTML, Word, and PDF formats) and on the Commonwealth of Learning (PDF format only).
Abstract
Globally, children with disabilities are disadvantaged in the school environment. Some studies have shown that they are also disproportionately represented among out-of-school children (Saebones et al., 2015). Inclusive Design for Learning provides a means to address this crisis of exclusion of persons with identified and unidentified disabilities, which may be permanent or episodic. Through the individualisation and adaptation of learning materials enabled by open education practices and the flexibility of digital resources, excluded or struggling learners can be included, to the benefit of all learners. This Knowledge Series paper introduces the dimensions of inclusive design as it applies to learning and focuses on the design of diverse learning experiences to help optimise learning opportunities for all learners.