Access all areas: disability, technology and learning

Within the student groups that we work with or support it is increasingly likely that some will have a disability. The changing climate within further and higher education is such that meeting the needs of disabled students can no longer be seen as an optional extra that some of us provide if we have some personal experience of the disability in question or are feeling 'charitable'. Changes in legislation mean that meeting the needs of disabled students should now be a core activity of all further and higher education providers.This book is designed to outline and describe how technologies can be used to meet the needs of disabled students. It will focus on two important issues. Firstly, how assistive technology can facilitate access to learning resources and teaching material. Secondly, how e-learning materials and learning technologies that utilise the Web need to be carefully designed so that all students can benefit from using them. The book will provide an overview of these technologies, how they can be used by disabled students and also how their design could be improved to benefit all students, not just those with a disability. This overview will be placed within the context of UK and European legislation and will also include some illustrative case studies.