International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12
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 Volume 9, Issue 1 (January 2022), Pages: 34-40

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 Original Research Paper

 Title: Providing accessible distance learning for students with disabilities in Saudi Arabia

 Author(s): Yasir A. Alsamiri 1, Ibraheem M. Alsawalem 1, Malik A. Hussain 2, *, Abdulrahman A. Al Blaihi 1, Mashal S. Aljehany 3

 Affiliation(s):

 1Department of Special Education, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia
 2College of Medicine, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia
 3Department of Special Education, University of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

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 * Corresponding Author. 

  Corresponding author's ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8093-7631

 Digital Object Identifier: 

 https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2022.01.005

 Abstract:

After the COVID-19 outbreak, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education transformed the education system from traditional learning to distance learning (DL). The aim of this study is to share the Saudi experience including plans, policies, and programs regarding the use of DL for students at various levels of education. This is the pioneer study from Saudi Arabia, which evaluates DL impact on special students and provides recommendations for such students regarding DL. The Saudi Ministry of Education released one of the most powerful and diverse electronic systems with fully interactive technology options through the following platforms: Madrasati School, the IEN National Education Portal, IEN educational television, and virtual kindergarten. The same platforms are accessible for students with disabilities and we have found that such students can equally benefit from them with some modifications. These modifications are on the individual needs of special students. This article presents the details of various tools and programs available for DL to students in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, we have analyzed the suitability of these programs for special students in our discussion. Finally, we have made our recommendation and provided future directions to improve the DL experience for students with disabilities. 

 © 2021 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, Distance learning technology, E-learning universal design, Saudi Arabia, Special education

 Article History: Received 13 July 2021, Received in revised form 24 October 2021, Accepted 4 November 2021

 Acknowledgment 

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Scientific Research Deanship at the University of Ha’il, KSA [grant number RG-20 060].

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Alsamiri YA, Alsawalem IM, and Hussain MA et al. (2022). Providing accessible distance learning for students with disabilities in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 9(1): 34-40

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