A hardly addressed characteristic of inclusive learning environments is the accessibility and usability of blended-learning tools. While there is consensus that media education offers special opportunities for inclusive classrooms, most of the blended-learning platforms currently on offer are not accessible by and thus not usable for, students with special needs. The purpose of the exploratory study is to collect qualitative data on the didactical requirements for inclusive learning materials from a teacher’s and producer’s perspective. Therefore the accessibility and usability of the most important blended learning platform for schools in Germany “Planet School” was investigated. The first focus was placed on the practical experiences with the learning materials in inclusive classrooms. On the basis of these results the responsible public broadcaster developed materials, modules and activities that shall fit better with the needs of inclusive education. Now the revised parts of the website address different types of learners and offer accessible and usable materials, including movies, television broadcasts, interactive and multimedia content for students with very different prerequisites for learning. The results of the exploratory study consist of criteria for developing accessible and usable blended learning content for inclusive education and show examples of their implementation.
09/2013 - 12/2014
Westdeutscher Rundfunk (Public Broadcasting Station)
Prof. Dr. Ingo Bosse
email: ingo.bosse(at)tu-dortmund.de
webpage of Planet School (German)