Abstract
The TeSLA project, with its new, innovative approaches for e-assessment, offers a great possibility for increasing the educational equality and making higher education studies available for all. It has been estimated that 10–15% of students in higher education institutions have some disabilities or special educational needs. At online universities or in online programmes, the number is even higher. These numbers emphasise the importance of the universal design for learning as a leading principle while developing the digital learning environments and e-assessment procedures. In this chapter, we describe the key elements of ensuring the accessibility of the TeSLA e-assessment system during the TeSLA project. In the cooperation among seven universities participating in TeSLA pilots, different national or institutional rules and ways of meeting the students’ individual needs have been recognised. The main goal of the project, in terms of accessibility, has been developing an instrument that is accessible and easy to use for all types of students. We also discuss technical and pedagogical solutions that support use of the TeSLA e-assessment system by diverse students.
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Abbreviations
- ADHD:
-
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- AU:
-
Anadolu University
- ICT:
-
Information and Communications Technologies
- ISO:
-
International Organization for Standardization
- JYU:
-
University of Jyväskylä
- LTI:
-
Learning Tools Interoperability
- OUNL:
-
Open University of the Netherlands
- OUUK:
-
Open University United Kingdom
- SEND:
-
Special Educational Needs or Disabilities
- SU:
-
Sofia University
- TUS:
-
Technical University of Sofia
- UDL:
-
Universal Design for Learning
- UOC:
-
Open University of Catalonia
- VLE:
-
Virtual Learning Environment
- WAI:
-
Web Accessibility Initiative
- WCAG:
-
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
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Ladonlahti, T., Laamanen, M., Uotinen, S. (2020). Ensuring Diverse User Experiences and Accessibility While Developing the TeSLA e-Assessment System. In: Baneres, D., Rodríguez, M., Guerrero-Roldán, A. (eds) Engineering Data-Driven Adaptive Trust-based e-Assessment Systems. Lecture Notes on Data Engineering and Communications Technologies, vol 34. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29326-0_10
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