For many learners with disabilities, technology is vital to their education. From screen-reading tools that convert documents for those who are blind or have low vision, to captioning for the d/Deaf and hard of hearing, to digitized class notes for the student with dyslexia, technology plays a critical role in leveling the playing field so that students with disabilities have the same opportunities for academic success as their peers. Students with disabilities are a vulnerable population in higher education, as their dropout rates are substantially higher and their graduation rates are significantly lower than those of nondisabled students.1  They experience barriers to education that many other students do not, and they can have both visible and invisible needs. Nineteen percent of undergraduate students in the United States reported having a disability in 2015–16,2  yet the real percentage is likely higher given that many choose not to disclose their disability to their institutions.3  The findings from our 2018 and 2019 student studies suggest that there’s a lot of work to be done to improve the IT support provided to students with disabilities. In 2019, only about half of student respondents who said they had a disability gave good or excellent ratings for institutional awareness (50%) and support (53%) of their technology needs, and about a quarter rated these as poor or fair.4  To better understand these quantitative data, we turned to the words of the students themselves.

In this report, we focus on the open responses collected in our 2019 student study from individuals who identified as having a physical and/or learning disability that required accessible technologies or accommodations for their coursework. These responses allow students to share, in their own words, what they need most from their instructors in order to improve their academic success. In our analysis we identified two overarching themes, as well as prominent patterns within those themes, that best explain and organize their answers. These include:

• Online Access to Materials and Resources
  • Class notes and slides
  • Assignments, tests, and quizzes
  • Recorded lectures
  • The LMS and the user experience
• Teaching with Technology
  • Mobile devices in the classroom
  • Training students and faculty in using technology
  • Multiple methods of presenting course materials
  • Engagement through the use of technology

In this report we share illustrative quotations concerning each theme and category, to shed light on ways faculty can use technology to improve the learning and overall success of their students with disabilities.

• Students want their instructors to make all course materials and resources accessible online, but class notes and presentation slides were the most commonly requested, followed by assignments/tests and lectures. Respondents reported that having online access is important because it lets them review the content both before and after class, complete their work in suitable environments, and catch up on information they miss when taking notes or if they are out sick.
• The learning management system (LMS) is considered key to providing access for students with disabilities to online course content, and they would like faculty to use it more. Students want an LMS layout that is intuitively structured, organized, clearly labeled, and updated so that they can find the materials they need with ease.
• Students want to use their mobile devices in the classroom to take notes. Most students told us that they would like to use their laptops to take notes, as they often can't handwrite notes fast enough to keep up with their instructors' lectures. They also reported that using devices in the classroom allowed them to more easily access online materials to follow along with lectures, make notes directly into the online PowerPoint, record lectures, take photos of any items on the classroom's board, or make voice memos.
• Students want training for themselves and their instructors on how to use the technology on their campus and for their classes. Many students reported that they needed training and direction in using software for their courses, as well as help in navigating the LMS. Students also observed that instructors needed to be trained in how to use the technology they expected their students to use.
• Greater use of videos or other media in the classroom and online can benefit students with disabilities by presenting course materials in multiple formats. Many students want course materials presented in alternative formats, such as video or pictures, rather than solely through lecture, reading, and PowerPoint. They reported that these modes assist in comprehension and could also make face-to-face classes more engaging and interesting.
• Students with disabilities want to have a more engaging classroom experience through the use of interactive technology. Students told us they want to have educational games and polling to foster a more interactive classroom rather than passively following lectures. Some indicated that gamification of course materials (e.g., Kahoot) could increase the interactivity of their classroom experience by allowing them to actively use their mobile devices for learning.
• Assistive/accessible technology such as captioning and text-to-speech software is important to their academic success, and students with disabilities would like instructors to account for this when developing their courses. By captioning videos, selecting digital materials that have an audio option, and/or formatting files so they are compatible with text-to-speech applications, instructors can offer students more ways to process information. Students also recognize that incorporating more of these options increases access to all learners and fosters a more inclusive environment.