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18 Int'l J. Educ. Tech. Higher Educ. 1 (2021)

handle is hein.journals/intjedth18 and id is 1 raw text is: Laamanen etal. IntiEduc TechnolHigh Educ  (2021)18:4
https-//doi.org/10.1186/s41239-020-00236-9

International journal of Educational
Technology in Higher Education

Acceptability of the e-authentication
in higher education studies: views of students
with special educational needs and disabilities
Merja Laamanen   , Tarja Ladonlahti2, Sanna Uotinen2, Alexandra Okada3, David Baheres4 and Serpil Ko dar5
*Correspondence:
merja.h.Iaamanen@jyu.fi  Abstract
' Faculty of nformation  Trust-based e-assessment systems are increasingly important in the digital age for
Technology, University
ofJyvaskyla, Box 35,      both academic institutions and students, including students with special educational
40014Jyvaskyla, Finland   needs and disabilities (SEND). Recent literature indicates a growing number of studies
Full list ofauthor information about e-authentication and authorship verification for quality assurance with more
is available at the end of the
article                  flexible modes of assessment.Yet understanding the acceptability of e-authentication
systems among SEND students is underexplored. This study examines SEND students'
views about the use of e-authentication systems, including perceived advantages
and disadvantages of new technology-enhanced assessment. This study aims to shed
light on this area by examining the attitudes of 267 SEND students who used, or were
aware of, an authentication system known as adaptive trust-based e-assessment sys-
tem for learning (TeSLA). The results suggest a broadly positive acceptability of these
e-authentication technologies by SEND students. In the view of these students, the
key advantages are the ability of proving the originality of their work, and trust-based
e-assessment results; the key disadvantages are the possibility that the technology
might not work or present wrong outputs in terms of cheating.
Keywords: Accessibility, Acceptability, e-Authentication, Students with special
educational needs and disabilities, Higher education, Personal data

C Springer Open

Introduction
The utilization of digital learning environments (DLEs) is increasing in the field of higher
education. Digitalization is one of the key solutions to current challenges: it adds flex-
ibility to higher education studies, and makes higher education studies available for all
students, regardless of their disabilities, personal life situations, geographical locations,
or exceptional local or global circumstances (e.g. COVID-19). Increasing the oppor-
tunities for diverse student populations is also in line with European higher education
policies. These policies indicate a strong commitment to enhancing the opportunities of
diverse learners (European Commission, 2010; European Commission, 2017). Further-
more, legislation related to online education and online services has been developed.
In the EU, new legislation for privacy and data transfer (General Data Protection Reg-
ulation, GDPR) and accessibility (Directive [EU] 2016/2102) has also come into effect,
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