Abstract:

Online learning is opening new possibilities for the inclusion of students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in higher education (Fichten et al. 2009; Seale, 2015; UNESCO, 2016). Simultaneously, the use of technologies for learning is creating new barriers (e.g. accessibility) (Burgstahler, Corrigan, & McCarter, 2004; Kent, 2015; McManus, Dryer, & Henning, 2017). SEND students often require adaptations to complete the assessment activities and/or to attend in-person examinations. The use of technologies for the authentication and authorship may benefit SEND students as it helps to facilitate reliable e-assessments and, in consequence, to reduce the need for in-person examinations.

The EU H2020 TeSLA project aims to develop an adaptive trust e-assessment system for assuring e-assessment processes in online and blended environments. It pays particular attention to the difficulties and needs that SEND students may encounter when using security mechanisms for e-assessment. Seven universities participate in this project which is organised in three pilots and where the following authentication and authorship instruments are being tested: face recognition, voice recognition, keystroke dynamics, forensic analysis and plagiarism detection. This paper discusses the results of data obtained through two surveys, one focus group and interviews to students in the context of the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and Sofia University (SU) during the second pilot. The study analyses SEND students’ experiences, beliefs, and expectations about the use of a system like TeSLA for e-assessment purposes.

The research questions that oriented this study are:
1) Do the SEND students perceive e-assessment as a barrier or as an aid?
2) Did their perceptions towards e-assessment change due to the use of the TeSLA system?
3) Are there differences in SEND students’ perceptions towards e-assessment between blended and online contexts?

A total of 1387 students, including 30 SEND students, participated in the second pilot in the context of the UOC and SU. Among the SEND students’ sample, 28 responded the pre-pilot survey, 18 the post-pilot survey and 10 participated in the focus group or individual interviews. The SEND students comprised: blind or partially sighted (6), deaf or hearing loss (4), restricted mobility or motor disability (14), specific learning difficulty (3), psycho-social problems (2), and other (2).

The results show that the majority of SEND students perceive the use of the TeSLA system as an opportunity for making assessment more accessible and to avoid in-person examinations. Nevertheless, they believe that e-assessment may increase their workload when performing assessment activities and presage that they may encounter difficulties depending on their disabilities and the instruments used. Despite the challenges that students faced during the pilot, their attitudes remain positive and their perceptions invariable all along the pilot. No differences exist in regard to the teaching delivery mode.

In conclusion, the use of a trust-based system like TeSLA is perceived as an aid by SEND students whether if it is used in online or blended contexts. However, due to the heterogeneity of disabilities and special needs, it is necessary that the design of the e-assessment activities offers possibilities for the combination of TeSLA instruments, or alternative options, to ensure the accessibility of the system.

Keywords:

E-authentication, e-assessment, students with special educational needs and disabilities, accessibility.