AMANDA HYNAN FINAL THESIS PDF

secure social networking tool called InBook (http://inbook.jisctechdis.ac.uk/). InBook
was running as a pilot scheme during the data collection period and reports will be
issued in due course by the project co-ordinators. The training resources are not
intended to be alternative social media sites for people with disabilities, but have been
designed to enable educational settings to teach young people (particularly those with
disabilities or learning difficulties) how to use social media safely before moving onto
mainstream unprotected sites. The training witnessed with the current research is a
relevant causal condition as Hoppestad (2013) states many people with developmental
disabilities such as cerebral palsy are often overlooked for training in how to use
computer technology despite the fact that being online may offer tangible benefits in
areas such as
“learning, entertainment, socialization or self-expression” (p. 191).
Seale and Cooper (2010) warn that the legal imperatives to ensure e-learning
technologies and content are accessible often places emphasis on the accessibility of
resources rather than the role teachers can play in adjusting online learning
environments. They state it is important to address pedagogical issues as well as
technical ones when it comes to supporting disabled learners. The InBook training
witnessed and reported on by the participants in the current study highlighted the
pedagogical nature of the approach. The project is not designed as a technological
exercise to replace existing social networking sites but to allow educational staff to
support students to learn the principles of how to use social media effectively and
safely so they have a more empowered approach when they leave the ‘walled garden’
environment of the training site.
5.3.4. Requesting to use the internet and online social media
The issue of requesting to use technology was identified as a causal condition for the
use of the internet and online social media although it will also be revisited as a
limitation later as some requests were unsuccessful (Strategies - section 5.7). Seale,
Draffan and Wald (2010) argue that by applying an
“expanded, conceptual framework to the analysis of a study designed to
explore the e-learning experiences of disabled students [they identified two
important concepts] digital agility and digital decision making” (p. 458).
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