Special Session 7: Accessible and Inclusive Technologies for Learners with Disabilities: From Preschool to Higher Education

 Description 

Educational technologies are transforming learning across all educational levels; however, their accessibility and practical value for learners with disabilities depend not only on technical innovation but also on inclusive design, usability, educational context, and stakeholder participation. This special session examines the design, implementation, evaluation, and lived use of accessible and inclusive educational technologies from preschool to higher education. It welcomes research on assistive technologies, digital learning platforms, AI-supported applications, Universal Design for Learning, accessible and multimodal content, and distance, online, and blended education. Contributions may address a wide range of learners, including learners with autism spectrum disorder, learners with intellectual disabilities or learning disabilities, and learners with visual, hearing, physical, motor, or multiple disabilities.
Rather than viewing technology solely as innovation, the session places particular emphasis on lived experiences of technology use and on the barriers, adaptations, and successful practices encountered in authentic educational settings. The session invites empirical, design-based, practice-oriented, and case-study research examining accessibility, usability, engagement, learning outcomes, technology adoption, teacher workload, family involvement, and equitable participation. Particular attention is given to how technologies are adapted and evaluated in authentic educational environments, how learners, educators, and families contribute to their design and implementation, and how accessible solutions support continuity and transitions across educational levels.
By bringing together researchers and practitioners from special education, educational technology, human–computer interaction, and disability studies, the session aims to develop an evidence-informed understanding of what effective inclusive digital education requires. It seeks contributions that identify barriers and facilitators, report promising practices, and offer transferable design and implementation principles for accessible learning environments.

 Session Topics 

The topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Accessible and inclusive educational technologies across educational levels, from preschool to higher education
- Distance, online, and blended education for learners with disabilities
- Technology use and adaptation for learners with disabilities, including physical, developmental, intellectual, learning, or multiple disabilities; sensory impairments; and autism spectrum disorder
- Usability, accessibility, and user experience of digital learning tools, applications, and assistive technologies
- Educators’ and families’ lived experiences of technology-supported education for learners with disabilities
- AI-supported applications in practice: design, adoption, use, and educational outcomes
- Universal design for learning (UDL) and accessible multimodal digital content
- Technology-supported educational continuity, transitions, and lifelong learning

 Submission Method 

Submit your Full Paper or your paper abstract-without publication (200-400 words) via Online Submission System, then choose Special Session 7 (Accessible and Inclusive Technologies for Learners with Disabilities: From Preschool to Higher Education)

 Session Organizers 

Asst. Prof. Halil Öztürk,
Ege University, Turkey
 
Dr. Halil Öztürk is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Special Education, Ege University, Turkey. He completed his undergraduate degree in Intellectual Disability Teaching at Ankara University, his master's degree at Dokuz Eylül University, and his Ph.D. at Anadolu University, where his doctoral dissertation proposed an innovative collaborative model for inclusive education among teachers, families, and specialists.
His research primarily focuses on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and extends to teaching reading and writing skills to students with learning disabilities, professional ethics in special education, applied behavior analysis and positive behavioral supports, parental education and transition processes, and stakeholder collaboration in inclusive education. In recent years, his work has increasingly centered on the use of artificial intelligence tools in special education.
He has published in journals indexed in SCI and SSCI and regularly presents at national and international conferences in special education. He has also taken part in various national and international research projects in the field.

 

Asst. Prof. Mustafa Doğuş,
Anadolu University, Turkey
 
Dr. Mustafa Doğuş is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at Anadolu University, Türkiye, where he works in the Division of Education for the Visually Impaired and serves as Head of the Division. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the education of individuals with visual impairments and his PhD in Special Education from Gazi University. His doctoral research focused on the design, development, and usability of an accessible web-based examination system.
His research interests include accessible and inclusive educational technologies, assistive and AI-driven technologies for learners with visual impairments, digital and examination accessibility, Braille literacy, tactile and multimodal learning, Universal Design for Learning, accessible STEM education, and the education of learners with visual and multiple disabilities. He has participated in projects addressing digital accessibility and examination accessibility in open and distance education. He is recently particularly interested in designing digital learning and assessment environments that support independent access and equitable participation.
His recent work examines AI-assisted materials in open and distance education, the online learning and assessment experiences of learners with visual impairments, and artificial intelligence and ethical issues in special education. He has published in national and international peer-reviewed journals, including the British Journal of Visual Impairment, and has contributed book chapters on assistive technologies, visual impairment, accessibility, and artificial intelligence in special education.