Is online course-taking helping or hindering students with disabilities in U.S. community colleges?

Students with disabilities in U.S. community colleges continue to disproportionately experience lower degree attainment compared to students without disabilities. Furthermore, students with disabilities are twice as likely to choose community colleges for postsecondary education compared to four-year colleges. Students with disabilities in postsecondary education endure learning barriers including inflexible instruction, inaccessible content, and intimidating and unsafe learning environments. The purpose of this study is to address the increasing achievement gaps for students with disabilities in community colleges. Specifically, this study intended to answer the question to what extent, if at all, does online course-taking impact degree attainment for students with disabilities in U.S. community colleges? Even though the current study did not find statistically significant results, there was a directionality for the odds of positive degree attainment when students with disabilities participated in online course-taking, specifically for certificate and associate’s degree. Since online course-taking can be a conceivable option to help students with disabilities, the researcher points to previous research for educational policy makers to consider: online learning can provide flexible instruction, accessible content, and a safe learning environment. Recommendations for postsecondary education policies are discussed. Implications of this study has global impact because the number of people with disabilities around the world are increasing. Because disabilities disproportionately impact poor and developing countries, it is proposed that globally responsible organizations consider online learning to be a part of existing inclusive education initiatives such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4. Recommendations for global education policies are discussed

Multiple intelligences and network affordances: can videos enhance students' perceptions of their learning experience, learning outcomes and subject engagement?

In conjunction with the arrival of emerging technologies, many universities are encouraging their educators to rethink and reframe their teaching approaches and delivery methods. Integrating different types of media to enhance delivery of subject materials to higher education students is growing in national and international importance. As a response to the technology-enhanced approach, a more student-centered experience that actively engages students is promoted. This mixed-methods research focuses on students' and lecturers' perceptions of the value of online videos in relation to student's learning experiences and engagement with respect to the effect of multiple intelligences. This helps to clarify whether there is a relationship between students' multiple intelligences scores and their age, gender, learning experience and motivation. This study also reports on interviews conducted with both lecturers and students. It seeks to answer how and why students use online videos, and how this might influence engagement in their subjects. It provides a clear voice on their views concerning the benefits, and challenges of online video use, along with any positive or negative suggestions regarding their experience of the technology. It also reports whether employing various types of videos within a subject could increase and support learning needs and intelligences of students. Furthermore, lecturers' perceptions of different modes and purposes for online videos and their views, understanding, and challenges of the learning and teaching environment in a flipped classroom approach are investigated. Analysing the quantitative data, a number of important insights were obtained. For example, it was revealed that students are higher on Intrapersonal intelligence and lower in Existential intelligence. Bodily-Kinesthetic and Musical-Rhythmic intelligences were other highly developed intelligences of students. Based on the lecturers' responses, there seems to be distinctive similarities and differences between two disciplines in the extent of video integration and types of videos that they use. The most visible similarity between these participants is in terms of incorporating different kinds of short YouTube videos. As for Tech-literacy, unlike participants from Behavioural Sciences who relied on videos from YouTube and other online resources, all Educational Science participants could create their own videos by using Camtasia, and not having a reliance on the available online sources. Moreover, there seems to be certain tech-literacy differences between baby boomers and Generation Xers. Considering lecturers' perception on the flipped classroom approach, the study revealed some challenges in their teaching. According to the data gathered from interviews, it seems that the challenges are around the use of Camtasia, rigidity (clunky platforms), technology access and funding, technology mastery, upskilling in latest technological change and innovation, the structure and the pedagogy and the types of activities that they implement. The findings also revealed many advantages in successfully implementing the flipped model. For instance, the participants claimed that offering subjects in this approach provides students the opportunity to view lectures at home; thus freeing class time for demonstrating problem solving and deeper discussion-based face-to-face learning and understanding of the material. Students' interview findings revealed that the videos were perceived to be beneficial for students' engagement and motivation. The results also revealed that interest plays a major role for students who are keen to watch the topics that intrigue them. Based on their responses, it seems that they were dissatisfied with monotonous video lectures that failed to make their learning interesting. It seems that students are no longer interested in too much reading, and prefer easier and less demanding modes of learning, i.e. watching videos which denote a change in their desired mode of internalizing knowledge to an easier one. Desire for brevity, conciseness, and to the point videos with no additional materials were also found more attractive and engaging for them. They enjoy the flexibility to be able to watch videos with no time and place restrictions. Variety is perceived to be important to Net-Geners in particular, and music and visual aids seem to be their preference and a significant motivational stimulus. Animation and simulation make their learning easier. They like cognition forming and cognition sharing as a team work strategy and have the higher stimulus of interactive communication. Lastly, it seems that videos could be used as new modalities for changing the life for people with various learning disabilities. Based on students' responses, it seems that they were mostly satisfied with the video integration as they reported positive experiences from the videos uploaded and shared by lecturers. The results revealed the interactivity of videos and students' preference toward games and pleasure and interest sparked by video integration. The results indicated that visually attentive students would be more intrigued and motivated if the lecturer had incorporated a visual modality. Video integration has made them free from the burden of note taking and paying attention to the lecture at the same time. Videos have provided them the opportunity and flexibility to refer back to what is being said by the lecturer with no time and place restriction and with the benefit of documentation once it is downloaded. The findings also revealed that videos cannot stand entirely by themselves and need supplementary material or tutoring on the part of the teacher. The students addressed the necessity of their lecturers' need for familiarity with the latest Apps, as well as the lecturers' need to overcome a lack of technology literacy, in particular, in the psychology discipline. In conclusion, this study found that, with regard to online video materials, students also reported that videos could address their various intelligence types and abilities. Because students have different combinations of abilities and intelligences, they are attracted to various video activities based on different reasons, such as note taking, auditory and music, visuals, playing games, interactive discussions and questions, entertainment, and practical examples of real life experiences. Therefore, the existing video materials are sufficient to supplement the lesson curriculum and to address their intelligences