Digital inclusion and accessibility considerations in digital teaching and learning materials for the second-level classroom

• Published in: Irish educational studies 2022-01, Vol.41 (1), p.161-169
• Main Authors: Marcus-Quinn, Ann, Hourigan, Tríona
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access to Information; accessibility; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Digital inclusion; digital teaching and learning; Distance learning; Educational Environment; Educational materials; Educational Needs; Educational Research; Educational technology; Electronic Learning; Handbooks; Inclusion; Inclusive education; Instructional Materials; Longitudinal Studies; Material Development; Open Educational Resources; Pandemics; Schools; Secondary education; Student Needs; Teacher Developed Materials; Teaching; Web Based Instruction
• ISSN: 0332-3315; 1747-4965
• DOI: 10.1080/03323315.2021.2022519

This article aims to explore the challenges associated with providing digital resources to stakeholders and identifying the obstacles and barriers to the successful design and exploitation of digital resources in the classroom and a wider learning environment. As a direct consequence of Covid-19 and the physical closure of schools we can now identify three specific content-producing cultures emerging within the educational community (Marcus-Quinn, A., T. Hourigan, and S. McCoy. 2019a. "'The Digital Learning Movement: How Should Schools Respond?'." Economic and Social Review 50 (4): 767-783). On the top tier we can see the independently developed resources by private educational companies that have been designed with accessibility hardwired into the resources. Such accessibility caters to the widest range of user needs. The second tier provides digital materials that have been produced by teachers in schools that have a 'tech-driven' agenda; such schools do not make it mandatory for teachers or students to use privately produced books. The third tier comprises teachers, outside of a formal community of practice, who use privately produced resources but modify them to suit their student needs better. There has been a rapid migration to digital learning as a direct response to the challenges posed by Covid-19 in schools (Mohan, G., S. McCoy, E. Carroll, G. Mihut, S. Lyons, and C. Mac Domhnaill. 2020. "Learning for all? Second-level education in Ireland during COVID-19." ESRI Survey and Statistical Report Series 92 June 2020.). As schools have scrambled to adapt to this ever-changing environment, digital inclusion has never been more critical as school communities now navigate these new learning experiences (Hall, Byrne et al. 2021; Marcus-Quinn, A., and T. Hourigan. 2021 . Handbook for Online Learning Contexts: Digital, Mobile and Open: Policy and Practice. Cham: Springer.; Murphy, C., A. Marcus-Quinn, and T. Hourigan. 2021a. "Exploring the Ripple Effect of 'Always On'Digital Work Culture in Secondary Education Settings." In Handbook for Online Learning Contexts: Digital, Mobile and Open, edited by A. Marcus-Quinn and T. Hourigan, 339-353. Cham: Springer, Murphy, C., A. Marcus-Quinn, and T. Hourigan. 2021b. "Technostress in Secondary Education Settings." Coping with COVID: Advancing Education. The Naace Journal 89: 17-23). To comply with European legislation passed in 2019, public sector organisations and private companies and organisations need to check the