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Assistive technology enables inclusion in higher education: The role of Higher and Further Education Disability Services Association

LYNER-CLEOPHAS, Marcia
August 2019

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Background: Using assistive technology is one way to foster inclusion of students in the post-school education and training (PSET) sector.

 

Objectives: Higher and Further Education Disability Services Association (HEDSA) enables the sharing of new knowledge about assistive technologies through its symposia, and making information available on its website. Additionally, it facilitates dialogue and collaboration amongst institutions in the PSET network using a listserv and newsletters, given that PSET institutions are spread countrywide.

 

Method: This is an article based on a presentation at the 5th African Network of Evidence-to-Action in Disability (AfriNEAD) conference in Ghana in 2017 that focused on the value of assistive technology for students pursuing studies in the PSET sector and the role played by HEDSA in South Africa.

 

Results: The positive gains and existing gaps in disability inclusion in the higher education sector in South Africa are highlighted, with reference to access to technology. All higher education institutions have internet access and can thereby make use of listservs to communicate information. MapAbility is a way that prospective students can gain a snapshot view of available resources at institutions of learning, using the internet.

 

Conclusion: An association such as HEDSA plays a critical role in the PSET sector to enhance disability inclusion using online tools to disseminate information.

 

 

African Journal of Disability, Vol 8, 2019

Information design and distance learning for international development

SHAW, Rod
2001

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[Publisher's abstract] This book presents an investigation by research into the ways in which distance learning is affected by the physical design of printed study materials. In particular, it examines the use of engineering drawing systems for illustrated, instructional texts concerned with technical aspects of infrastructure development. Part I comprises a review of literature on learning and adult education; international development and distance learning; information design for self-instruction; and research into illustration, with particular reference to the visual perception of engineering drawings and the implications for their cross-cultural use. Part II presents questions and hypotheses which emerged from the literature review. It also presents the research methodology designed to test comprehension of engineering drawing systems, along with the results of tests undertaken by five adult learning groups selected from pre-degree, undergraduate and postgraduate populations. Part II concludes with an analysis and discussion of the results of these tests. Part III presents the conclusions drawn from both the literature review and from the analysis of the research results. It concludes with proposals for further study

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