The study by Reyes and Meneses examines the extent to which online collaborative learning can truly be considered inclusive when students with disabilities are involved. The research starts from an important tension: online education offers flexibility and can reduce certain barriers, but collaborative activities introduce new demands related to interaction, accessibility, work organisation and emotional regulation.
To explore these challenges, the authors conducted a case study at a fully online Spanish university, based on semi-structured interviews with 12 instructors who had experience both with collaborative learning methodologies and with supporting students with disabilities.
The findings show that the main barriers do not depend solely on a student’s disability, but also on how activities, tools and communication channels are designed. Certain formats may make participation easier for some students while creating difficulties for others, while group work raises additional challenges when it requires inflexible working rhythms, forms of communication or levels of interaction.
In this context, instructors play a decisive role as mediators: they adapt activities, propose alternatives, organise groups, facilitate discussions and try to create an atmosphere of trust. The study also highlights the importance of socio-emotional factors, particularly in a digital environment where interaction can feel colder and more impersonal and where some students need greater support to participate fully.
The main conclusion is that collaborative learning does not become inclusive simply because it takes place in a digital environment or incorporates interaction tools. Inclusive collaborative learning requires accessible and flexible practices to be designed from the outset, participation to be possible through a variety of media and formats, and attention to be paid both to self-regulation and to the affective relationships among students.
The authors also stress that this responsibility cannot fall exclusively on instructors: institutions need to provide training, resources, support and policies that make it possible to anticipate students’ needs rather than improvise accommodations only when difficulties arise. The challenge, therefore, is to find a balance between the flexibility that supports inclusion and the social interaction that is necessary for genuine collaborative learning to take place.
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How to Cite: Reyes, J. I., & Meneses, J. (2024). Is collaborative learning inclusive? Case study on its application in a fully online university. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 27(2), 83–101. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.27.2.39072
