Hybrid learning can be an equaliser for an unequal society
But many online learning platforms do not cater to people with disabilities in their design
When looking at the barriers to education that marginalised learners in South Africa face, learners with disabilities are often on the periphery of the conversation. This according to Sandisiwe Buthelezi, a Learning Consultant and Special Needs Educator in Johannesburg. She says mainstream society often overlooks the limited access that people with disabilities have.
“Our learners with disabilities are barred access to basic necessities and privileges enjoyed by the ‘normal’ learners, and the gap in equality and access to quality education was widened by the introduction of blended and remote learning,” she says, adding that South Africa was undoubtedly underprepared for the transition.
Buthelezi says that in conversations about barriers to blended or remote learning, the focus has always been on the poor — lack of access to devices, reliable internet connectivity and poor power supply. “The challenges faced by these learners are often also true for learners with disabilities, but they are only one aspect of the barriers that exist for these students.”
Even for learners that do have access to the
means, resources and technologies needed to engage in online education, many online learning platforms and virtual meeting tools do not cater to people with disabilities in their design. “Screen readers may provide people with visual impairments access information audibly, but designers of websites often carelessly place texts and have a monotonous, synthesised output speech that does not encourage participation.”
People with limited motor and movement impairments have difficulty navigating sites with poor layout and minuscule links and buttons, which means that access to and interaction with online modalities are often solely dependent on a learner’s ability to get external physical help. “People with auditory impairments rely on the visibility of written text and a reliable and accurate translation of spoken word into written texts, and these features are not always developed well enough for such impairments.”
She says learners with intellectual impairment are exposed to different forms of dangers when learning online, as they may be exposed to unfiltered websites, online scams, and the sharing of private information, in addition to being hindered by difficulties in navigability. “Educators and carers rarely know how to ensure their safety and easy access.”
In an ideal world, she says marginalised learners would have limitless access and enjoy the experience of having access to digital support: “It would supplement face-to-face learning instead of replacing it, and would minimise inaccessibility instead of increasing it. Learners would have readily available support to access educational material, and online learning opportunities would encourage collaborative work with peers instead of isolating learners.”
For this to happen, teachers need training and ongoing education on the use of different virtual platforms of learning, and facilitation of access for marginalised learners. Buthelezi says here, the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns came as a blessing in disguise: “The Department of Education provided a subsidy to make provision for the digital needs of learners with disabilities. For example, there were learning support programmes, where teachers were given access to data to provide educational material for home. At schools we were provided with finances for printing for learners who do not have internet access. Part of the subsidies were used for assistance devices like motorised wheelchairs, and communication devices were procured for learners who needed them.”
Another barrier to online education is the fact
that the government has not yet adjusted the curriculum to digital support, and the muchneeded training that is needed for this support to be realised. “Adjustments are also needed in terms of the curriculum, as our curriculum still largely relies on outdated methods of teaching and learning,” she explains. “Everything is dependent on pen and paper, even as technology develops and expands daily; very little room is made for such changes and the many new different forms of sharing information, assessing and learning.”
The benefits of online learning to expand — rather than diminish access — are endless. “Digital learning and support systems enable you to make your learning experience personable; you can adjust the pace and the content according to your abilities and interest,” she says. “You are no longer confined to a space and time, and it allows learners the flexibility of learning anywhere or anytime, and social channels expand opportunities of both learning from peers and collaborating with them in the learning experience.”
If these barriers can be overcome, then hybrid learning modalities have the potential to change the game and level the playing field for marginalised learners, especially those with disabilities.