Inclusive Digital Communication in Higher Education: Information Accessibility for Low Vision Students in Bandung Raya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30656/lontar.v13.i2.11389Keywords:
Inclusive Communication, Digital Communication, Information Accessibility, Low Vision, Learning Management Systems, Higher EducationAbstract
Inclusive higher education in Indonesia still faces significant challenges in providing accessible digital communication for students with low vision. Learning Management Systems (LMS) are not only repositories of course content but also key mediated communication channels where lecturers, institutions, and students exchange information and feedback. When these platforms are inaccessible, the problem becomes communication inequality that restricts students’ rights to receive and express information. This study explores accessibility barriers experienced by low vision students in universities across Bandung Raya, focusing on their interaction with LMS interfaces, messages, and media formats. Using a constructivist paradigm and an intrinsic case study approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed with Miles and Huberman’s interactive model. Findings reveal three main communication-related accessibility issues: inconsistent visual layout and low-contrast interfaces, inadequate keyboard-based navigation, and the absence of screen reader integration and alternative formats such as audio or transcripts. Viewed through inclusive communication and the social model of disability, these barriers act as structural “noise” in mediated interaction. The study argues that LMS accessibility must be treated as a central component of inclusive digital communication, requiring user-informed design, assistive communication technologies, and participatory testing with low vision students as co-designers.
References
ADCET. 2022. “Inclusive Teaching: Blind and Vision Impaired.”
Becker, S., C. Coward, M. Creandall, and A. Ball. 2014. “Building Digital Communities: A Framework for Action.”
Bocconi, S., S. Dini, and M. Ott. 2007a. “ICT Educational Tools and Visually Impaired Students: Different Answers to Different Accessibility Needs.” in Computers Helping People with Special Needs. ICCHP 2006. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 4061. Springer.
Bocconi, S., S. Dini, and M. Ott. 2007b. “ICT Educational Tools and Visually Impaired Students: Different Answers to Different Accessibility Needs.”
Bourne, R. R., S. R. Flaxman, and T. Braithwaite. 2017. “Magnitude, Temporal Trends, and Projections of the Global Prevalence of Blindness and Distance and near Vision Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.”
Braun, V., and V. Clarke. 2006. “Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology.”
Burzagli, L., P. L. Emiliani, and P. Graziani. 2004. “Usability and Accessibility of E-Learning Tools.” International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction 17(2):209–25. doi:10.1207/s15327590ijhc1702_5.
Caruso, S. 2014. “Creating Digital Communities: A Resource to Digital Inclusion.”
Carvalho, I. C. 2025. “Digital Media and Feminist Activism: Reclaiming Inclusive Urban Spaces in the Post-Digital Era. Cidades.”
Chien, Hui-Jiuan, and Yi-Shan Wu. 2024. “Accessible Formats That Support Access to Information by Persons with Disabilities.” Journal of the Formosan Medical Association 123(1):305–6. doi:10.1016/j.jfma.2023.11.001.
Council of Europe. 2017. “Accessibility of Information, Technologies and Communication for Persons with Disabilities: Contribution to the Council of Europe Strategy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”
Creswell, John W. 2014. “Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches.”
Creswell, John W. n.d. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches. SAGE Publications.
Daugherty, Patricia J., Alexander E. Ellinger, and Dale S. Rogers. 1995. “Information Accessibility: Customer Responsiveness and Enhanced Performance.” International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management 25(1):4–17. doi:10.1108/09600039510080117.
Denzin, N. K., and Y. S. Lincoln. 2011. “Online or Face-to-Face Microbiology Laboratory Sessions? First Year Higher Education Student Perspectives and Preferences.”
Design, Qualitative Inquiryresearch. 1989. “STUDI KASUS ( John W . Creswell ) Oleh Yani Kusmarni.” 1–12.
van Deursen, A. J., and J. A. G. M. van Dijk. 2014. The Digital Divide Shifts to Differences in Usage.
Dwikardana, S., Djelantik, S., Triwibowo, A., Valerisha, A., Martha, J., Pangestika, F. E., & Afira, M. 2017. “Transformasi Strategi Diplomasi Di Era Digital: Identifikasi Postur Diplomasi Digital Di Indonesia.” Penelitian Hibah Monodisiplin (2014330012):1–99.
Fuller, M., A. Bradly, and M. Healey. 2004. “Incorporating Disabled Students within an Inclusive Higher Education Environment.”
Hamburg, I., and G. Lütgen. 2020. “Digital Divide, Inclusive Digital Innovation and Education.”
Holloway, S. 2001. “The Experience of Higher Education from the Perspective of Disabled Students. Disability & Society.”
Ionescu, D., and L. N. Moraru. 2023. “Inclusive Education and Digital Education. ELearning and Software for Education Conference.”
Kuzmina, A. M., and N. S. Khlebnikov. 2025. “Visual Inclusive Communication of Socially-Oriented Nonprofit Organizations on Social Media.”
Lawson, A. 2017. “Final Study: Accessibility of Information, Technologies and Communication for Persons with Disabilities.”
Lawson, Anna. 2017. “Final Study: Accessibility of Information, Technologies and Communication for Persons with Disabilities.”
Lefebvre, H. 2014. “The Production of Space. Oxford: Blackwell.”
Lopez, J. J. S., and L. A. R. Castaneda. 2015. “Digital Inclusion and Social Perspective – Critical Discussion Based on a Systematic Review of the Literature.”
Martens, C., F. Schaper, and A. M. Kamin. 2024. “ICT for Inclusion” for Educational Leaders: Inclusive and Digital Distributed Leadership.”
Othman, A., A. Almutawaa, A. Al Tamimi, and Al Mansouri M. 2023. “Assessing the Readiness of Government and Semi-Government Institutions in Qatar for Inclusive and Sustainable ICT Accessibility: Introducing the MARSAD Tool.”
Pascolini, D., and S. P. Marrioti. 2012. “Global Estimates of Visual Impairment: 2010.”
Patton, M. Q. 2002. “Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods.”
Perkins School for the Blind. 2023. “Classroom Technology That Benefits Low Vision Students.”
Pesudovs, Konrad, Van Charles Lansingh, John H. Kempen, Ian Tapply, Arthur G. Fernandes, Maria Vittoria Cicinelli, Alessandro Arrigo, Nicolas Leveziel, Serge Resnikoff, Hugh R. Taylor, Tabassom Sedighi, Seth Flaxman, Mukkharram M. Bikbov, Tasanee Braithwaite, Alain Bron, Ching Yu Cheng, Monte A. Del Monte, Joshua R. Ehrlich, Leon B. Ellwein, David Friedman, João M. Furtado, Gus Gazzard, Ronnie George, M. Elizabeth Hartnett, Jost B. Jonas, Rim Kahloun, Moncef Khairallah, Rohit C. Khanna, Janet Leasher, Julie Anne Little, Vinay Nangia, Michal Nowak, Tunde Peto, Pradeep Ramulu, Fotis Topouzis, Mitiadis Tsilimbaris, Ya Xing Wang, Ningli Wang, Rupert Bourne, Konrad Pesudovs, Van Charles Lansingh, John H. Kempen, Ian Tapply, Arthur G. Fernandes, Maria Vittoria Cicinelli, Alessandro Arrigo, Nicolas Leveziel, Paul Svitil Briant, Theo Vos, Seth Flaxman, Yohannes Habtegiorgis Abate, Mohammad Abdollahi, Mozhan Abdollahi, Ayele Mamo Abebe, Olumide Abiodun, Richard Gyan Aboagye, Woldu Aberhe Abrha, Hasan Abualruz, Hiwa Abubaker Ali, Eman Abu-Gharbieh, Salahdein Aburuz, Tadele Girum Girum Adal, Mesafint Molla Adane, Isaac Yeboah Addo, Qorinah Estiningtyas Sakilah Adnani, Muhammad Sohail Afzal, Shahin Aghamiri, Bright Opoku Ahinkorah, Aqeel Ahmad, Sajjad Ahmad, Ali Ahmadi, Ayman Ahmed, Haroon Ahmed, Ahmad Samir Alfaar, Abid Ali, Syed Shujait Shujait Ali, Awais Altaf, Hubert Amu, Sofia Androudi, Rodrigo Anguita, Abhishek Anil, Saeid Anvari, Anayochukwu Edward Anyasodor, Francis Appiah, Jalal Arabloo, Mosab Arafat, Damelash Areda, Reza Arefnezhad, Brhane Berhe Aregawi, Akeza Awealom Asgedom, Tahira Ashraf, Seyyed Shamsadin Athari, Bantalem Tilaye Tilaye Atinafu, Maha Moh’d Wahbi Atout, Alok Atreya, Haleh Ayatollahi, Ahmed Y. Azzam, Hassan Babamohamadi, Sara Bagherieh, Yogesh Bahurupi, Atif Amin Baig, Biswajit Banik, Mainak Bardhan, Saurav Basu, Kavita Batra, Nebiyou Simegnew Bayileyegn, Fatemeh Bazvand, Addisu Shunu Beyene, Devidas S. Bhagat, Akshaya Srikanth Bhagavathula, Pankaj Bhardwaj, Sonu Bhaskar, Jasvinder Singh Bhatti, Niloufar Bineshfar, Marina G. Birck, Veera R. Bitra, Tasanee Braithwaite, Katrin Burkart, Yasser Bustanji, Zahid A. Butt, Florentino Luciano Caetano dos Santos, Luis Alberto Cámera, Vera L. A. Carneiro, Muthia Cenderadewi, Eeshwar K. Chandrasekar, Vijay Kumar Chattu, Nitin Chitranshi, Hitesh Chopra, Dinh Toi Chu, Kaleb Coberly, João M. Coelho, Natália Cruz-Martins, Omid Dadras, Xiaochen Dai, Subasish Das, Ana Maria Dascalu, Mohsen Dashti, Maedeh Dastmardi, Berecha Hundessa Demessa, Biniyam Demisse, Diriba Dereje, Awoke Masrie Asrat Derese, Nikolaos Dervenis, Vinoth Gnana Chellaiyan Devanbu, Thanh Chi Do, Thao Huynh Phuong Do, Francisco Winter dos Santos Figueiredo, Arkadiusz Marian Dziedzic, Hisham Atan Edinur, Ferry Efendi, Joshua R. Ehrlich, Michael Ekholuenetale, Temitope Cyrus Ekundayo, Iman El Sayed, Muhammed Elhadi, Mohammad Hassan Emamian, Mehdi Emamverdi, Azin Etemadimanesh, Adeniyi Francis Fagbamigbe, Ayesha Fahim, Hossein Farrokhpour, Ali Fatehizadeh, Alireza Feizkhah, Lorenzo Ferro Desideri, Getahun Fetensa, Florian Fischer, Ali Forouhari, Matteo Foschi, Kayode Raphael Fowobaje, Abhay Motiramji Gaidhane, Aravind P. Gandhi, Miglas W. W. Gebregergis, Mesfin Gebrehiwot, Brhane Gebremariam, Urge Gerema, Fariba Ghassemi, Sherief Ghozy, Mahaveer Golechha, Pouya Goleij, Bárbara Niegia Garcia Goulart, Shi Yang Guan, Zewdie Gudisa, Sapna Gupta, Veer Bala Gupta, Vivek Kumar Gupta, Arvin Haj-Mirzaian, Aram Halimi, Shahin Hallaj, Samer Hamidi, Mehdi Harorani, Hamidreza Hasani, Demisu Zenbaba Heyi, Nguyen Quoc Hoan, Ramesh Holla, Sung Hwi Hong, Mehdi Hosseinzadeh, Chengxi Hu, John J. Huang, Hong Han Huynh, Segun Emmanuel Ibitoye, Irena M. Ilic, Mustapha Immurana, Md Rabiul Islam, Sheikh Mohammed Shariful Islam, Chidozie C. D. Iwu, Louis Jacob, Ammar Abdulrahman Jairoun, Manthan Dilipkumar Janodia, Shubha Jayaram, Har Ashish Jindal, Mohammad Jokar, Nitin Joseph, Charity Ehimwenma Joshua, Vidya Kadashetti, Laleh R. Kalankesh, Rohollah Kalhor, Sagarika Kamath, Himal Kandel, Rami S. Kantar, Ibraheem M. Karaye, Hengameh Kasraei, Soujanya Kaup, Navjot Kaur, Rimple Jeet Kaur, Gbenga A. Kayode, Yousef Saleh Khader, Himanshu Khajuria, Rovshan Khalilov, Mahalaqua Nazli Khatib, Adnan Kisa, Soewarta Kosen, Ai Koyanagi, Kewal Krishan, Mukhtar Kulimbet, Nithin Kumar, Om P. Kurmi, Chandrakant Lahariya, Tuo Lan, Iván Landires, Munjae Lee, Seung Won Lee, Wei Chen Lee, Stephen S. Lim, Julie Anne Little, Preetam Bhalchandra Mahajan, Sandeep B. Maharaj, Alireza Mahmoudi, Razzagh Mahmoudi, Kashish Malhotra, Tauqeer Hussain Mallhi, Vahid Mansouri, Emmanuel Manu, Roy Rillera Marzo, Andrea Maugeri, Colm McAlinden, Wondwosen Mebratu, Tesfahun Mekene Meto, Yang Meng, Abera M. Mersha, Tomislav Mestrovic, Le Huu Nhat Minh, Awoke Misganaw, Manish Mishra, Sanjeev Misra, Nouh Saad Mohamed, Soheil Mohammadi, Mustapha Mohammed, Hoda Mojiri-forushani, Ali H. Mokdad, Hossein Molavi Vardanjani, Mohammad Ali Moni, Fateme Montazeri, Maryam Moradi, Rohith Motappa, Parsa Mousavi, Admir Mulita, Christopher J. L. Murray, Ganesh R. Naik, Gurudatta Naik, Shumaila Nargus, Zuhair S. Natto, Biswa Prakash Nayak, Mohammad Negaresh, Hadush Negash, Dang H. Nguyen, Phat Tuan Nguyen, Van Thanh Nguyen, Robina Khan Niazi, Osaretin Christabel Okonji, Andrew T. Olagunju, Matthew Idowu Olatubi, Michal Ordak, Uchechukwu Levi Osuagwu, Nikita Otstavnov, Mayowa O. Owolabi, Jagadish Rao Padubidri, Ashok Pandey, Georgios D. Panos, Shahina Pardhan, Seoyeon Park, Jay Patel, Shrikant Pawar, Prince Peprah, Ionela Roxana Petcu, Alireza Peyman, Hoang Tran Pham, Mohsen Pourazizi, Nguyen Khoi Quan, Fakher Rahim, Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar, Mohammad Hifz Ur Rahman, Sathish Rajaa, Shakthi Kumaran Ramasamy, Premkumar Ramasubramani, Shubham Ranjan, Mohammad Mahdi Rashidi, Rama Shankar Rath, Annisa Utami Rauf, Salman Rawaf, Amirmasoud Rayati Damavandi, Elrashdy Moustafa Mohamed Redwan, Priyanka Roy, Koushik Roy Pramanik, Zahra Saadatian, Siamak Sabour, Basema Saddik, Umar Saeed, Sare Safi, Sher Zaman Safi, Amene Saghazadeh, Fatemeh Saheb Sharif-Askari, Amirhossein Sahebkar, Mohammad Ali Sahraian, Joseph W. Sakshaug, Mohamed A. Saleh, Sara Samadzadeh, Yoseph Leonardo Samodra, Vijaya Paul Samuel, Abdallah M. Samy, Aswini Saravanan, Siddharthan Selvaraj, Farbod Semnani, Sabyasachi Senapati, Yashendra Sethi, Seyed Arsalan Seyedi, Allen Seylani, Amira A. Shaheen, Samiah Shahid, Moyad Jamal Shahwan, Masood Ali Shaikh, Sunder Sham, Muhammad Aaqib Shamim, Mohammed Shannawaz, Bereket Beyene Shashamo, Maryam Shayan, Aminu Shittu, Ivy Shiue, K. M. Shivakumar, Seyed Afshin Shorofi, Migbar Mekonnen Sibhat, Emmanuel Edwar Siddig, Juan Carlos Silva, Jasvinder A. Singh, Paramdeep Singh, Eirini Skiadaresi, Yonatan Solomon, Raúl A. R. C. Sousa, Chandrashekhar T. Sreeramareddy, Vladimir I. Starodubov, Mohana Devi Subramaniam, Sri Susanty, Seyyed Mohammad Tabatabaei, Birhan Tsegaw Taye, Gebrehiwot Teklay, Mohamad Hani Temsah, Dufera Rikitu Terefa, Jansje Henny Vera Ticoalu, Temesgen Mohammed Toma, Aristidis Tsatsakis, Guesh Mebrahtom Tsegay, Munkhtuya Tumurkhuu, Biruk Shalmeno Tusa, Sree Sudha Ty, Chukwudi S. Ubah, Muhammad Umair, Tungki Pratama Umar, Rohollah Valizadeh, Jef Van den Eynde, Stephanie Louise Watson Watson, Tewodros Eshete Wonde, Guadie Sharew Wondimagegn, Hong Xiao, Yao Yao, Iman Yazdani Nia, Arzu Yiğit, Yazachew Yismaw, Dong Keon Yon, Naohiro Yonemoto, Yuyi You, Chuanhua Yu, Mikhail Sergeevich Zastrozhin, Hanqing Zhao, Makan Ziafati, Magdalena Zielińska, Yossef Teshome Zikarg, Mohammad Zoladl, and Jaimie D. Steinmetz. 2024. “Global Estimates on the Number of People Blind or Visually Impaired by Cataract: A Meta-Analysis from 2000 to 2020.” Eye (Basingstoke) 38(11):2156–72. doi:10.1038/s41433-024-02961-1.
Pllerin, M. 2013. “E-Inclusion in Early French Immersion Classrooms: Using Digital Technologies to Support Inclusive Practices That Meet the Needs of All Learners.”
Radanliev, P, D. De Roure, P. Novitzky, and I. Sluganovic. 2024. “Accessibility and Inclusiveness of New Information and Communication Technologies for Disabled Users and Content Creators in the Metaverse.”
Radanliev, Petar, David De Roure, Peter Novitzky, and Igor Sluganovic. 2024. “Accessibility and Inclusiveness of New Information and Communication Technologies for Disabled Users and Content Creators in the Metaverse.” Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology 19(5):1849–63. doi:10.1080/17483107.2023.2241882.
Resnikoff, S. R., D. Pascolini, and D. E. Etya’ale. 2024. “Global Data on Visual Impairment in the Year 2002.”
Rocha Lourenco, F., R. Oliveira, and O. Timoshchuk. 2025. “Social Media as a Tool for Promoting Inclusion: An Analysis of the Facebook and Instagram Pages of Inclusive Spaces.”
Rogers, Everett M. 1976. “Communication and Development: The Passing of the Dominant Paradigm.” Communication Research 3(2):213–40. doi:10.1177/009365027600300207.
Saha, P. 2018. “Assistive Technologies for the Visually Impaired.”
Sari, H., A. N. A. Nurhayati, S. Sulaeman, and A. Asrifan. 2025. “Language and Digital Rights: Fostering Communication Skills for Responsible Online Engagement.”
Swanson, E. B. 1992. “Information Accessibility Reconsidered.” Accounting, Management and Information Technologies 2(3):183–96. doi:10.1016/0959-8022(92)90015-K.
Tim, Y., J. Brooks, D. Zeng, and J. Huynh. 2025. “Towards Socially Inclusive Design: An Action Design Research Project Supporting Social Inclusion of Senior Citizens.”
UNESCO. 2011. “ICTs in Education for People with Disabilities: Review of Innovative Practices.”
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 LONTAR: Jurnal Ilmu Komunikasi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
By submitting an article to the journal, the author(s) agree to transfer the published article's copyright to the journal, which will act as the publisher. This means the journal will have the right to publish the article in various forms, including reprints. The journal will maintain the publishing rights to the published articles.
In line with the license, authors and third parties (readers, researchers, and others) are allowed to share and adapt the material. In addition, the material must be given appropriate credit, provided with a link to the license, and indicated if changes were made. If authors remix, transform, or build upon the material, authors must distribute their contributions under the same license as the original.
