Providing accessible distance learning for students with disabilities in Saudi Arabia

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. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by IASE.