Converging E-learning Technologies from Diverging Perspectives: Assistive and Educational Technology
In this cooperative inquiry, the authors examined the overlapping boundaries that are emerging between assistive technologies (AT) and instructional technologies (IT) in the context of new and ever-more powerful digital tools for learning and instruction. Similarities were revealed in disciplinary perspectives on definitions, adoption and use, research objectives, and growing emphases on human motivation and agency. Institutional barriers remain in bridging gaps, but potential processes and projects for developing new communities of practice are identified.
Assistive Technology in Higher Education
Assistive technology makes a task possible for an individual with a disability, while technology makes a task easier for a non-disabled person. Increasing enrollments of students with disabilities have challenged our institutions to provide opportunities to participate in higher education by having access to assistive technologies and universally designed instruction. Provision of accessible learning environments is a shared responsibility between disability services, information technology, and faculty. College students find themselves in an environment where they encounter negative attitudes and a need to self advocate for critical support services to insure access to learning. Recent trends hold promise for removing these barriers including universal design in instruction, mandated web accessibility, multiple technologies for e-learning, universal accessibility of learning tools, and opportunities for professional development of faculty and staff.
Marie Curie's doctoral thesis: Prelude to a Nobel Prize
This paper is a critical account for the most significant body of Marie Sklodowska Curie's scientific work, presented in the hopes that she be remembered for more of the "right" reasons. It also offers some new insights into her methods and results.