Receiving an Innovation Grant held by the Ministry of Education and Culture, Directorate General of Higher Education, a team of research lecturers from the Study Program of English Education, Faculty of Cultural Studies (FCS) Universitas Brawijaya (UB) consisting of Dr. Ive Emaliana, M.Pd., Irene Nany Kusumawardani, M.Li., and Alies Poetri Lintangsari, M.Li., produce materials and learning media that are accessible to students with special needs.
By doing the research entitled “Revisiting Textbook Accessibility: Application of Accessibility Principles and Universal Design Learning in Multi-Media Textbook Development”, this research produces several results.
The results of this study include (1) RPS (Semester Learning Plan), which is a teaching syllabus that is integrated with the implementation of inclusive education in Reading Comprehension and Critical Reading courses, (2) Critical Reading Module Books and Reading Comprehension textbooks that can be used by students with vision disabilities and non-disabled people who can be read by JAWS and/or Screen Readers, (3) Textbook Accessibility Checklist Infographics, (4) Digital Accessibility Handbooks, (5) four IPR (Intellectual Property Rights), and (6) Articles published in reputable journals.
Moreover, this research team also created a website called Among (Accessible Materials for Learning English) which is committed to providing accessible and inclusive English learning materials and carrying the values of local wisdom. This aims to take part in caring for and maintaining and introducing Indonesian wisdom and culture in the international arena through inclusive and global-minded English learning rooted in local traditional values. The page can be accessed via the link: https://among.guru/.
“The scheme we are participating in is indeed for the development of materials and media for teaching students with disabilities at College,” said Ive.
“The Ministry of Education and Culture organizes this annually so that more universities in Indonesia are ready to welcome inclusive learning. Therefore, this aims to encourage all universities in Indonesia to accommodate students with disabilities, because there is indeed a government regulation that asks universities to accept students with disabilities,” she concluded. [DTS]
