Learners learn in different ways. The goal of education is to support learners to realize their full potential. Although part of the educational process challenges learners to promote their growth, many learners encounter restrictions, if not impossible, on accessing certain learning resources. When thinking about inclusion in education, all learners may face learning disabilities. These can be seen as a product of a mismatch between the needs of the learner and the learning experience and environment.

Last year, there was an unprecedented upsurge in online teaching, learning, and work. There was an unprecedented upsurge in online teaching, learning, and work. The covid-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated the trend of online learning. Unfortunately, for various reasons, this has led to increased exclusion and inequality. Many people cannot simply transfer their learning and teaching to the Internet, or they can do so, but the conditions are far from ideal. This has a negative impact on the learning experience. Many people try online learning for the first time in these very unusual situations and find it very negative. In many cases, this makes them feel excluded. The most important point of inclusive learning is to change the equality and inclusiveness of the online learning experience. The responsibility lies in everyone who creates or controls the learning environment and experience.

​​When we do inclusive design, we often capture the needs of a wider population than we initially thought. This is particularly important in learning design, because in addition to learners who know they have special access needs, many learners may have undiagnosed disabilities, which will affect their ability to access learning content. Therefore, as learning designers or educators, we can’t wait for someone to tell us clearly, “I need this” or “I need that”. We should design learning content and courses as easy to access and inclusive as possible.

Reference

University of Victoria: Educational Technology. (2021, May 5). National #AccessAbility Week. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/national-accessability-week/

University of Victoria: Educational Technology. (2021, May 5). Inclusive Learning Design. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/inclusive-learning-design/