Accessibility of e-books for Secondary School Students in Ireland and Cyprus

Abstract

Abstract Across the EU, an increasing number of second-level schools are using digital materials (Baron in How we read now: Strategic choices for print, screen, and audio. Oxford University Press, 2021; Hsieh and Huang in Educ Inf Technol 25:1285–1301, 2020). Such resources must be inclusive and accessible (Marcus-Quinn and Hourigan in Irish Educ Stud 41:161–169, 2022). Accessibility is paramount if students, particularly students confronting disabilities or learning impediments, are to experience equitable educational outcomes. While a multitude of school textbooks presently offer electronic book (e-book) alternatives, tailored for download and engagement via digital platforms, a significant number of these lack purposeful adaptation for online dissemination, thereby undermining their optimal accessibility. Some studies of e-book use at third level have found that undergraduate students notice accessibility features that e-books do not offer, such as customization of text display, the facility to highlight and annotate text, or the inclusion of interactive features such as embedded media content (Pierard et al. in Undesirable difficulties: investigating barriers to students’ learning with e-books in a semester-length course, 2019). There have been few similar studies for other education sectors. Accessibility features play a crucial role in making the digital learning experience more successful and also help students succeed in their studies. This chapter discusses the imperative of accessibility in the context of e-books specifically produced for the second-level education sector in both Ireland and Cyprus. The chapter will explore accessibility features common to many school e-books and highlight problematic issues associated with e-books that have not been prepared with accessibility considerations as part of the publication process.

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