UXPA Boston 2017 Conference

Online learning is booming. Users of online learning have one primary goal: to learn – for mastery, for a credential, for professional advancement, or just for fun. Online learners are not one-way consumers. They are active participants, communicators and demonstrators of knowledge. As they engage, converse, and share knowledge online, they rely on the features provided to them by online learning design and technology platform.

Persons with disabilities have become an increasing percentage of the online learning user base. In the field of education, accessibility experts have years of experience in understanding how students with disabilities use various modalities to read, write, think, and demonstrate knowledge. But we are just beginning to grasp how to make our online content accessible to students who are located remotely and connecting to courses via their own devices and technology.

In this presentation, I share current challenges and future opportunities emerging at the intersection of online learning, accessibility, and UX.