Performance of students with different accessibility needs and preferences in "Design for All" MOOCs

Area of Science:

• Educational Technology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Accessibility Studies

Background:

• Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) present significant accessibility barriers for students with disabilities.
• Lack of consideration for diverse needs in MOOC design, production, and delivery contributes to poor accessibility and learning outcomes.
• Existing MOOCs often fail to meet web accessibility standards and Universal Design for Learning principles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the impact of integrated accessibility features on the learning performance of students with disabilities in Design for All MOOCs.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of WCAG 2.1 compliance and Universal Design for Learning principles in an Open edX platform.
• To identify specific accessibility needs and preferences of students to inform future MOOC development.

Main Methods:

• A multilevel multiple logistic regression model was applied to data from 765 students completing graded assessments.
• Accessibility support was incorporated from the outset, ensuring platform and resource compliance with WCAG 2.1.
• Student accessibility needs were gathered through consultation, modeling schemes, and prior research.

Main Results:

• Students using screen readers demonstrated a statistically significant positive association with good performance (OR = 13.482).
• Students utilizing captions also showed a significant positive association with good performance (OR = 13.701).
• Students with low or very low vision exhibited a significant negative association with good performance compared to screen reader and caption users (OR = 26.817 and OR = 27.254, respectively).

Conclusions:

• Proactive integration of accessibility features, such as screen readers and captions, significantly enhances learning performance in MOOCs.
• Despite integrated accessibility, students with low vision face challenges, indicating a need for further targeted support.
• Designing MOOCs with Universal Design for Learning and WCAG 2.1 compliance is crucial for equitable online education.