Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education

We designed and deployed automatic alt-text (AAT), a system that applies computer vision technology to identify faces, objects, and themes from photos to generate photo alt-text for screen reader users on Facebook. We designed our system through iterations of prototyping and in-lab user studies. Our lab test participants had a positive reaction to our system and an enhanced experience with Facebook photos. We also evaluated our system through a two-week field study as part of the Facebook iOS app for 9K VoiceOver users. We randomly assigned them into control and test groups and collected two weeks of activity data and their survey feedback. The test group reported that photos on Facebook were easier to interpret and more engaging, and found Facebook more useful in general. Our system demonstrates that artificial intelligence can be used to enhance the experience for visually impaired users on social networking sites (SNSs), while also revealing the challenges with designing automated assistive technology in a SNS context.

Automatic Alt-text: Computer-generated Image Descriptions for Blind Users on a Social Network Service

In this paper, we explore blind people's motivations, challenges, interactions, and experiences with visual content on Social Networking Services (SNSs). We present findings from an interview study of 11 individuals and a survey study of 60 individuals, all with little to no functional vision. Compared to sighted SNS users, our blind participants faced profound accessibility challenges, including the prevalence of photos without sufficient text descriptions. To overcome the challenges, they developed creative strategies, including using a variety of methods to access SNS features (e.g., opening the mobile site on a desktop browser), and inferring photo content from textual cues and social interactions. When strategies failed, participants reached out for help from trusted friends, or avoided certain features. We discuss our findings in the context of CSCW research and SNS accessibility as a design value. We highlight the social significance of photo interactions for blind people and suggest design practices.

How Blind People Interact with Visual Content on Social Networking Services

Today, the web constitutes an essential segment of higher education institutions. Using their websites, universities can effectively, efficiently, and satisfactorily provide information and services to their target groups, regardless of disabilities. As the number of disabled students in higher education rises, universities have to make the necessary design modifications to ensure web content accessibility. This paper presents an evaluation of accessibility, usability, quality performance, and readability aspects of all Turkish state and private university websites. The majority did not meet WCAG 2.0 accessibility criteria. Out of 110 state university websites and 69 private university websites, only 10 state and four private university websites attained conformance Level A. These results indicate low usability, quality performance, and readability that highlights the need for Turkish universities to devote more resources for making their websites more accessible, usable, high-quality performance, and readable for all their potential users.

Accessibility, usability, quality performance, and readability evaluation of university websites of Turkey: a comparative study of state and private universities

Background: A positive attitude towards inclusion has been considered as one of the most influential success factors for inclusive education in school. Thus, improving attitudes to inclusion in pre...

Changing attitudes to inclusion in preservice teacher education: a systematic review

Despite federal mandates to educate students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment, teachers continue to have mixed feelings about their own preparedness to educate students with disabilities in the general education setting. However, research has documented that teachers with more positive attitudes toward inclusion are more likely to adjust their instruction and curriculum to meet individual needs of students and have a more positive approach to inclusion. With inclusion becoming the norm in today’s schools, teacher educators are now faced with the challenge of making significant changes to educational programs in preparing pre-service teachers to be ready to meet the needs of all students. These programmatic changes mirror the continuous melding transformations in progress now in traditional general education and special education programs. However, there is limited information about how these new teacher educator programs influence pre-service teachers’ confidence or attitudes toward inclusive education as future teachers. To investigate this influence of teacher preparation programs on pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion, a survey method was used to collect data from pre-service teachers in one teacher-preparation program. The responses from pre-service teachers were analyzed indicating that pre-service teachers from this particular teacher preparation program in which general education curricula were infused with special education curricula in special education survey courses had improved positive attitudes and confidence toward inclusion. The implications of this study for practice and future research are discussed.

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Impacting Pre-service Teachers' Attitudes toward Inclusion

In the last 20 years, the World Wide Web (Web) has gone from being the means of disseminating information for a few scientists to a universal means of disseminating information across the globe. While the Web provides an unprecedented level of access to information for many, if not properly designed, Web sites can actually create a number of barriers to information access to persons with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accessibility of home pages of University Departments of Special Education. A total of 51 Special Education departmental Web sites were located using a popular online search engine and evaluated for accessibility. Two Web site evaluation programs were used to determine whether the Web sites meet minimum accessibility guidelines, and one of them was used to quantify the number of accessibility errors on each site. The results indicated that most (97 %) of the pages evaluated had accessibility problems, many (39 %) of which were severe and should be given a high priority for correcting. The good news is the majority of errors can easily be corrected. The work reflects a need for Departments of Special Education to examine the accessibility of their home pages. Direction for improving accessibility is provided.

Accessibility of American University Special Education Departments' Web sites

Roben Taylor is an assistant professor in the School of Education at Dalton State College, Dalton, Georgia. Alex Kumi-Yeboah is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice of the School of Education at the University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York. Ravic P. Ringlaben is an educational consultant, Atlanta, Georgia. about how to teach, what to teach, and best instructional strategies to adopt to teach. The city of Dalton, Georgia, is a prime example of the changing demographics in schools. Currently, Latinas/os are 48% of this city’s population or 15,891 of its 33,128 residents (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). Moreover, 69% of Dalton public school students are Latina/o (personal communication, Caroline Woodason). However, most teachers in Dalton’s public schools are White with a mono-cultural background and little experience in teaching culturally, linguistically, and underrepresented diverse learners. According to Wortham, Mortimer, and Allard (2009), longtime residents in NLD towns in the northeastern United States “often described Mexicans as unsuccessful in school and as unlikely to improve themselves through education” (p. 3), while recognizing them as model minorities in other realms, such as civic-mindedness and work ethic. Limited research has been conducted about pre-service teachers’ attitudes and perceptions towards teaching culturally, linguistically, and underrepresented minority students, especially regarding pre-service teachers from mono-cultural backgrounds. Our study provides significant information to teacher educators, policy makers, curriculum and development planners, and future teachers about the need to reform teacher training and multicultural education to make it an integral part of teaching and learning at all levels of education. Hopefully, reforms will create an awareness and special attention to culture as well as the realization that every student grows up in a specific culture. This study also provides teachers, pre-service teachers, and researchers in the field of education information about preparing pre-service teachers and other post-secondary students about the issue of culture and how it can influence student’s background context, which influences their response to learning in what can best be Introduction

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Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions towards Multicultural Education & Teaching of Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Learners.

In this study the authors investigated 80 pre-service teachers about their perception towards multicultural education and teaching of culturally and linguistically underrepresented diverse students. Participants completed a modified version of the Diversity Orientations Survey. First, results show that the majority of pre-service teachers largely agreed for the need for the inclusion of multicultural education to teacher education program with regards to teaching linguistically culturally diverse students. Second, participants indicate lack of awareness with regards to understanding of multicultural education in terms of cultural awareness in the teaching of special needs students. This paper conceptualizes pre-service teacher’s perceptions towards multicultural education in general and discusses the teaching of culturally, linguistically and underrepresented diverse learners in K-12 schools. The authors propose reforms in the curriculum of teacher education preparation programs in colleges of education of inclusion of comprehensive multicultural education course at each level of education.

https://ijier.net/index.php/ijier/article/download/434/352

Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions towards Multicultural Education and Teaching of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners

This study was an investigation of general education teachers’ knowledge and attitudes regarding students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). Of interest were (a) the extent of teachers’ knowledge about characteristics of AD/HD; (b) the extent of teachers’ knowledge of teacher skills appropriate for educating students with AD/HD; and (c) the extent of teachers’ willingness to accommodate students with AD/HD. There was an initial assessment of teachers’ knowledge and attitudes (pretest) followed by a workshop designed to increase teachers’ knowledge and improve their attitudes. An additional assessment of their knowledge and attitudes (posttest) was then administered. Results and implications for future research are discussed within this article. General Education Teachers’ Knowledge of and Attitudes toward Students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders in the General Education Classroom Recently, educators have witnessed a remarkable growth in the number of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). Several authors (Smith & Adams, 2006; Brown et al, 2008; Barkley, 2006) reported recent estimate rates and conclude AD/HD is a common disorder of childhood. This estimate is conservative; however, according to Smith and Adams, 2006, because assessment techniques are not uniform and systematic. DuPaul and Weyandt (2006) maintained many students with AD/HD remain underserved in our school systems. Much legislation has been enacted to prompt school systems to provide adequate educational services for the underserved population of students with special needs, including those with AD/HD. Specifically, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act provide legal protection for the provision of educational accommodations for students with special needs and extend specialized educational services to students with AD/HD. However, students with AD/HD only qualify under IDEA if their AD/HD adversely affects a student’s

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General Education Teachers' Knowledge of and Attitudes toward Students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders: Are They Still Being Overlooked and Underserved?.

Ravic P. Ringlaben

Papers

Impacting Pre-service Teachers' Attitudes toward Inclusion

Accessibility of American University Special Education Departments' Web sites

Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions towards Multicultural Education & Teaching of Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Learners.

Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions towards Multicultural Education and Teaching of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners

General Education Teachers' Knowledge of and Attitudes toward Students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders: Are They Still Being Overlooked and Underserved?.