11 Unit 3 Inclusion, accessibility and the digital divide
Introduction to the unit
As digital technologies become increasingly embedded in education, ensuring equitable access and inclusive practices is more critical than ever. This unit examines the challenges and opportunities related to inclusion and accessibility in digital learning environments. We explore how societal inequalities and the digital divide impact learners’ experiences and outcomes, and how digital education can either reinforce or help bridge these gaps. Anchored in the principles of inclusive education and aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the unit highlights the importance of fostering digital competencies that empower all learners and educators to participate fully and meaningfully in a digital society.
PBL unit workflow overview
Individual warm-up activities
Activity 1: Familiarise yourself with literature around the digital divide (an example is Giavrimis et al. 2020). Select three recent related publications, including the one just mentioned in different parts of the world that study the digital divide. Also feel free to compare the situation in the UK (see for example The British Academy, 2022, Swinnerton, n.d.) and your home/another country. Discuss the selected publications with a few peers. This can happen in the reading group. If you wish you may also consider going to NotebookLM and insert the three publications as pdfs into the platform and engage in a dialogue about these. How does what you are reading about the digital divide relate to your own professional context, in your own country?
Activity 2: Familiarise yourself with the concepts of inclusive practice and accessibility (see readings). You are invited to create a short 2–3-minute video recording in which you talk about inclusive practice and accessibility and their importance in your professional context underpinned by literature. Prepare the video so that it could be used as a resource for professional development. What will you need to do, so that the video is accessible? Make it accessible.
Activity 3: When you have completed Activity 1 and 2 think about the future and alternative possibilities for equitable and inclusive practice in your professional context. Ask yourself 3 “What if” questions and attempt to answer these critically and creatively. Share these with at least one of your peers and engage in a conversation about these with them and their “What if” questions. To complement this inquiry you may wish to Microsoft Copilot and invite genAI to ask you three critical questions based on one of your “What if” questions and the response you gave. Avoid adding personal details into Copilot. What did this exchange enable? How did your engagement with Copilot compare to the conversation you had with your peer(s)? Revisit this activity after the group task for this unit.
Sharing
When you have completed the warm-up activities share these with your group and discuss. What do you notice? Capture three learning points.
Scenario
Choose a scenario from Part 2 that links with this unit or generate your own based on tailored parameters that closer align to your professional context as a group. You can do this manually or use GenAI. You will find instructions there.
You will need to save the scenario your group decides to use (e.g. the collaborative space in Teams). Add it to your collaborative learning space so that you can all easily access it.
Once this is done, continue with the tasks that follow.
What would you like to achieve as a group?
This will be really important to agree as a group as it will be driving what you will be working on as a group and put a plan together on how you can be successful in achieving what you set out to do. Consider using a coaching model such as GROW (Whitmore, 1996).
Group unit learning outcomes
After reading the scenario carefully and discussing in the group on which aspect of the scenario you will be focusing on, define your learning outcome(s)
LO1
LO2
Using Step 1: Focus, from the FISh model will help you with this (See section Working with FISh).
Module learning outcomes
Explain how your learning outcome(s) relates to the module learning outcomes.
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following Learning Outcomes (LO) relevant to the subject:
LO1: Critically assess key contemporary debates of digital technology, education and society in your professional context.
LO2: Apply specific learning theories relevant to digital education in your professional context.
LO3: Critically reflect on a range of digital technologies and practices in your professional context.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
SLO1: Critically reflect on the use of digital education in your own professional practice
SLO2: Expand your professional network of digital education practitioners and become an active and valued member of such communities both online and in person
SLO3: Collaborate effectively online using a range of digital communication tools with other digital education practitioners
SLO4:Use appropriate digital tools to present and communicate information
Group plan
Use this table to capture all information relating to your work linked to this unit. Using Step 2 and Step 3 of the FISh model will help you with this (see section working with FISh).
| What would you like to achieve as a group | |
| Timeline | |
| Who will do what and by when | |
| Digital tools needed/used | |
| Final output, format | |
| Assessment criteria for group evaluation
(Use the ones agreed for the module) |
|
| Group reflection and learning | |
| What resources can we use | |
| What other resources do we need | |
| How can the tutor support us |
Literature
Amor, A. M., Hagiwara, M., Shogren, K. A., Thompson, J. R., Verdugo, M. Á., Burke, K. M. and Aguayo, V. 2018. International perspectives and trends in research on inclusive education: a systematic review. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 23(12), 1277–1295. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1445304
Borah, C. The Need of Equitable Education in India through NEP 2020 in light of Sustainable Development Goals. International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research. 6(3). 1-6. https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2024.v06i03.23111
Giavrimis, P. F., Nikolaou, S.-M. 2020. Teachers’ Views on the Digital Divide in Greece: A Qualitative Approach. International Journal of Social Science Research, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.5296/ijssr.v8i2.16579
Nurlena, N., Utami, S. and Busnawir, B. 2025. The effect of education policy on accessibility and quality of learning. Indonesian Journal of Education (INJOE), 5(1), 172–178. https://www.injoe.org/index.php/INJOE/article/view/206
Pierce G. L. and Cleary P. F. 2024. The persistent educational digital divide and its impact on societal inequality. PLoS ONE. 19(4): e0286795. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286795
Swinnerton, B. n.d. Can digital technology open up university education for all? University of Leeds. https://spotlight.leeds.ac.uk/world-changers/digital-technology/index.html
The British Academy 2022. Understanding digital poverty and inequality in the UK. A summary of insights from our evidence reports. https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/4427/Understanding_Digital_Poverty_and_Inequality_in_the_UK_full_report_2.pdf
UNESCO (2020) Global education monitoring report, 2020: Inclusion and education: all means all – UNESCO Digital Library. https://doi.org/10.54676/JJNK6989
Veletsianos, G. and Houlden, S. 2020. Radical Flexibility and Relationality as Responses to Education in Times of Crisis. Postdigital Science and Education. 2, 849–862. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00196-3
Zhao, W. 2024. A study of the impact of the new digital divide on the ICT competencies of rural and urban secondary school teachers in China. 10(7). Heliyon. 15 April 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29186
Multimedia resources food for thought series created with our students
External multimedia resources
Food for thought clips here (2 in total)
The digital divide explained
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7PzD2m3ey4
Inclusive education – Education equity now
