Abstract
E-Learning and Disability in Higher Education: Accessibility Research and Practice (2nd ed.), by Jeane Seale (2014), is a critical examination of the e-learning and disability accessibility research conducted since the first edition’s release in 2007. This multidisciplinary critique reconsiders accessibility through a constructivist lens, and the author is intent on making sense of the gap between voices and silence in accessibility research. This is not a how to book but an analysis of current practices, which will be new to readers of the first edition. Seale defines e-learning stakeholders beyond students with disabilities to include lecturers, professors, instructional designers, learning technologists, student support services, staff developers, and senior managers and administrators. The book is well organized and divided into four parts—contextualizing, surveying, critiquing, and re-imagining the scene—standing independently, but methodically building on one another over 13 chapters.
Part 1 of the book contextualizes the current models of accessibility from the author’s perspective, focusing on engaging readers in the conversation. Seale (2014) explicitly defines common terms (e.g., e-learning, disability) in context, making the text applicable and accessible to traditional and non-traditional practitioners. The text’s cornerstone is the thorough critical analysis of current practices, including the authors’ work as an academic. The author shares a critical reflection of her previous work, which highlights the breadth and depth of the thoughtful work readers will encounter in the chapters that follow. In this section, she encourages readers to consider the term disability as subjective and loaded. Multiple stakeholders cannot engage in the same dialogue if they view disability through more than one lens. This section’s most salient point is the impact of variance and inconsistency on each individual learning experience. Yes, there should be universal accessibility standards, but each disabled student needs individualized planning, tailored to unique learning styles.
Part 2 critiques current practices, and Seale (2014) uses her “crossing the rainbow bridge” metaphor from the first edition of the text to suggest different viewpoints on accessibility in education. Specifically, different people may see the same rainbow differently, but still believe in the inherent beauty of the phenomenon. In much the same way, stakeholders may have different points of view but share the same beliefs about education. Seale suggests disagreements are resolved when stakeholders commit to the same goal and put student interests at the forefront of the discussion. Since the publication of the first edition, multiple accessibility models have been proposed; yet the same one size fits all standard continues to be used, which Seale interprets as inaction and lack of accountability.
Part 3, aptly titled “Critiquing the Scene: Making Sense of Voices and Silences,” untangles the relationship stakeholders have with universal design and the silence surrounding its credibility and effectiveness. Seale (2014) sets the stage with a brief literature review in Chapter 8, which challenges readers to reconsider what they think they know about the experiences of disabled students. This section also captures the silenced voices of stakeholders in higher education. If stakeholders are uninvolved in the research process, what is the validity of existing work? The literature review scrutinizes the existing body of research and most of the current trends in e-learning accessibility. Understanding these trends sets the stage for readers to consider the silenced critical voices of universal design. The author is searching for the divide between the evangelism of universal design adopters and those who quietly adopt alternative accessibility models.
Seale (2014) concludes her critique by proposing a fluid, inclusive accessibility model and offers a variety of strategies instead of focusing on a one size fits all approach. She also illustrates a new way of thinking about accessibility discourse through a digital inclusion lens. This book is a must read for educators at every level, including students and instructional designers focused on professional development and/or working with adult learners in the classroom. Seale has torn off the e-learning accessibility band-aid and made it impossible to plead ignorance or look the other way. Rarely do we encounter a book on accessibility with so much promise to reach professionals at every level in the e-learning field. If, at a minimum, readers contemplate their own pedagogical philosophy, this book will surely ignite a revolution among practitioners in the field.