#42961
Speaker(s)
- Lynne Beveridge, Dr, Habitat Learn Ltd
Session Details
- Length of Session: 1-hr
- Format: Lecture
- Expertise Level: All Levels
- Type of session: General Conference
Summary
Supports for note-taking are a vital part of accommodations for neurodiverse students and an integral part of this support can be provision of summary notes. To have value to students' learning, information in the summary notes should be easy to locate: however, traditional search functionality has not been designed with neurodivergent cognitive workflows in mind. We are conducting research with neurodiverse students to understand how we can create new and novel search functionality.
Abstract
Note-taking support is a cornerstone accommodation for neurodiverse students in higher education. Whether through notetakers, lecture capture and captioning services, or AI-generated transcripts, these tools provide essential access to course content. Yet the value of any transcript or set of summary notes depends not only on its existence, but on a student's ability to revisit it and the information held within: for learning to be supported, students must be able to locate the right information, at the right moment, in a way that aligns with how they think and remember.
Traditional search functionality has not been designed with neurodivergent learner cognitive workflows in mind. Most search tools assume users can recall precise keywords, linear document structures, and exact phrasing: these are cognitive strategies that many neurodiverse students report as challenging. For a student with ADHD, dyslexia, or autism, a search bar that demands precision can itself become a barrier, transforming a support tool into a source of frustration and cognitive overload which can negatively impact learning.
This presentation reports on ongoing research conducted in partnership with neurodiverse students to explore how search within and between transcripts and summary notes can be fundamentally reimagined. Aspects such as different tagging systems and visual presentation of search results are being explored to find new and novel ways to support search activities for neurodiverse students. By exploring how neurodivergent students search, design principles for more accessible search experiences can be created.
Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how thoughtful search functionality design can transform note-taking supports from static records into dynamic, navigable learning tools.
Keypoints
- Traditional search functionality has not been designed with or for neurodivergent learners
- Ineffective search functionality can exacerbate barriers to learning for neurodivergent students
- Search can be made more accessible through innovation
Disability Areas
Cognitive/Learning, Psychological
Topic Areas
Artificial Intelligence, Assistive Technology, Captioning/Transcription, Uncategorized, Web/Media/App Access
Speaker Bio(s)
Lynne Beveridge
Recently, I presented at ATIA on the psychology of learning for neurodivergent and disabled students using AT. I have presented at Cambridge University in the UK on the use of AI to support disabled students and have published in multiple peer reviewed academic journals on topics surrounding disabled human / computer and AI interactions.