OE Global 2019

Session Table Name: TRIESTE

More than a billion people live with some form of disability, and 80% of them live in developing countries. Disability is both a cause and a consequence of poverty: poor people are more likely to become disabled, and people with disabilities are among the poorest and most vulnerable groups of the global population. Disability and Accessibility are gaining whole new perspective in current shifting global status quo beyond the initial definition of intellectual, psychiatric, cognitive, neurological, sensory or physical impairment. It is extending to include economic imperatives caused by lack of lifelong learning, disabilities resulting of accident, illness, injury and the process of aging throughout life. That is in addition to disabilities caused by digital divide thus hindering the design for diversity through creating learning experiences that travel the globe. This has perpetuated a situation in which environmental barriers are still preventing persons with disabilities from accessing, participating and being fully-included in social, economic and political activities. To scale to the global education dilemma we have to scale the solutions.

In this session we shall try to broaden our perspective on what is considered a disability and the role of OER in bridging the gap of digital accessibility. We will try to grasp all the aspects of the challenges that face global education in general, open education, and OER from infrastructure to the quality of the resources and what makes them truly open and accessible and its potential in affecting global policies and economies. We will also try to investigate and design an inclusive roadmap that would highlight the role of OER in solving disability and accessibility issues through setting a collaborative session among teachers, administrators, legislators, state and federal leaders, parents and community members.