Introduction
Proposing a conceptual framework for the design of virtual classrooms requires an appreciation for the tradition of inclusion within first-year college composition courses. First-year composition courses and writing centers are among the few, shared academic experiences at many institutions (Crowley, 1998). Although a student might select from several history or science courses, first-year composition uniquely connects students across the disciplines. Virtual writing spaces share this tradition and expand our ability to serve traditionally marginalized populations (Conrad and Donaldson 2004; Maeroff, 2003; Palloff and Pratt 2001).
Striving for inclusion of students with what we describe as disabilities helps all students by recognizing and honoring differences in learning styles and communication methods. No single design or design approach for writing spaces, physical or virtual, accommodates all students with special needs. Our designs reflect myriad writing pedagogies, further complicating any suggestions for planning writing spaces. This chapter thus offers a flexible framework for evaluating the designs of virtual classrooms for online first-year composition courses, while embracing the differences of courses and instructors.
After providing an overview of the increasing need to provide students with accessible composition courses in online settings, I propose a framework for inclusive design. First, I discuss the student community historically marginalized by inaccessible physical and virtual classrooms; this discussion offers a context for the framework. I then introduce the proposed framework for inclusive design and explore current adaptive technologies and the limits of those tools. I conclude by offering design recommendations based on the framework for inclusive design and the current limitations of adaptive technologies.
Composition scholars recognize that designs of physical writing spaces affect pedagogy, as spaces constrain our teaching methods (Bissell 2004; McGregor 2004; Weinstein 1979). Migrating to virtual composition classrooms potentially removes some barriers while foregrounding other barriers. Most scholarship addressing a “digital divide” focuses on issues of class (Monroe 2004), though scholars have extended the discussion to include issues of gender, ethnicity, and culture (Gurak 2001; Taylor 1997). There remains, however, a need to consider divides based on disability (Seale 2006).
College composition instructors aim to create spaces that foster inclusion and community, yet our virtual writing classrooms often present unintentional barriers for students with special needs (Seale 2006). To help students develop multiliteracies, we often include audio, video, and interactive features in our virtual composition classrooms and writing labs (Wysocki et al. 2004), media not accessible to all people. Composition class spaces should be inclusive, from the moment we outline the course content through the teaching of the course. We must move beyond “accommodating”—a term that stresses difference—and shift toward inclusive spaces.
Those of us with disabilities do not wish to be tolerated or accommodated; we seek inclusion. Unfortunately, the most common approach to addressing special needs is adapting or extending existing technologies and pedagogies (Seale 2006). Literature offers adaptive approaches to accommodation in physical and virtual spaces (Bruch 2003; McAlexander 2003). The assumption is that adapting existing practices sufficiently brings the disabled into the community, but such approaches highlight difference as an obstacle, despite good intentions. Consider the use of voice recognition software by students with physical limitations. When reviewing spelling and mechanics, would we be grading the student or the software? Yet, to ignore errors potentially caused by the adaptive technology might be unfair to other students. The student with an adaptive technology accommodation remains “different” from other students, including how he or she is assessed. Sometimes, there might not be an ideal path toward inclusion, but inclusion should always be our goal.
Too often, institutions promote the presence of students with special needs as evidence of accommodation, or even inclusion (Pollak 2009; Seale 2006). Genuine inclusion requires more than the presence of disabled students within a writing space, something composition instructors often recognize regardless of institutional pressures. Well-designed inclusive first-year composition virtual classrooms promote student retention and success (Higbee 2003). However, we also have to help students understand that we cannot eliminate all barriers, even with the best of technologies (Maeroff 2003; Pollak 2009; Seale 2006; C. Selfe 1999; Taylor 1997).
By increasing awareness of disabilities, just as we have increased awareness of other differences, we can foster a sense of responsibility and justice among our students. As the number of college students with special needs increases, we have an opportunity to be allies and advocates.