How inclusive is my digital classroom?

Abstract

A major impact of Covid-19 on teachers and learners in higher education across the globe has been to take them out of shared physical spaces such as classrooms, lecture theatres and even laboratories and studios, and put them in digital classrooms. Learners and teachers have all become distant online teachers and learners. For many, this was a quick transition that was not always easy. However, many institutions now see the use of digital technologies in teaching and learning as a more permanent change (Sangster et al, 2020).

While evidence shows that digital technologies can promote and enhance learning, this is dependent on how technology is used. For example, a review by Lillejord et al (2018), evaluating technology in higher education for Norway, concluded that higher education was still very teacher centred, and digital technologies were not being exploited to promote more learner centred and active learning environments.

Any learning environment must offer quality and effective learning. This is aligned with the UN sustainable development goal No. 4 for inclusive and equitable quality education and “inclusive and effective learning environments for all” (www.un.org). Quality learning is therefore tied to inclusion in the learning environment. In Norway the requirement for inclusion in education is enshrined in the Equality and Discrimination Act (2017).

However, a digital classroom is not the same as a physical classroom. I am aware of the principles of Universal Design for Learning in inclusion, and also have several years’ experience in using digital technologies in teaching and learning, I had not explicitly considered UDL in digital classrooms.  I evaluated my synchronous digital classroom from the perspective of UDL and inclusivity, using four diversity items from Nelson Laird’s (2011) inclusivity diversity model and relevant literature. I selected the items as relevant to a synchronous online classroom. These are concerned with pedagogy, classroom environment and adjustment. My evaluation suggests that while I have made some effort towards creating an inclusive online classroom, I should be doing more.