[Air-L] e-learning and disability - signposts to research/literature

[ruth topol]

Hello learned Internet researchers!

I'd really appreciate some references to good research studies in *disability
and e-learning for adult learners*.

I am a PhD student in the UK and this is also a new area of research in the
department (of educational research) at my university. I'm particularly
interested in physical disabilities and the difficulties which learners
(and possibly their e-tutors) might face. To narrow this down, I am not
going to be venturing into the area of learning (cognitive) difficulties.

My thinking is taking me towards the route of investigating the use of
*adaptive/assistive
technologies* by these learners. (Do these technologies always work? are
the staff trained to use the software e.g. for magnification of text on
screens? Are the assistive technologies compatible with the e-courses? This
is where my thinking is right now, but I'm open to new avenues of research,
which would come through the literature review, hopefully!)

I'm going to be doing this smallish literature review (for a short taught
module) so that I can hopefully identify a narrowed-down, specific area of
research for the dissertation later on.

many thanks,

Ruth Topol
PhD student, UK