The increasing cultural and demographic diversity among higher education students highlights the challenges regarding accessibility and inclusion. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift toward flexible, technology-based teaching practices. However, inclusive, and accessible pedagogical practices lack consistency, particularly when supporting students with disabilities or diverse learning needs. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Learning Design for Flexible Education (FLeD) Tool—a web-based platform developed to support teachers in designing flexible and inclusive learning scenarios. The research adopts a qualitative approach, featuring semi-structured interviews with two Portuguese experts in accessibility and inclusion. The experts analyzed three learning scenarios designed using the FLeD Tool, through the lens of Universal Design for Learning standards. The collected dataset was analyzed using thematic analysis to identify common issues, strengths, and opportunities for improvement. The findings show a gap between institutional policies and their practical application, mainly due to inconsistent teacher training and technical limitations. While the FLeD Tool supports more flexible and inclusive pedagogical designs, experts have identified key shortcomings such as the lack of automated accessibility checks and limited support for specific disabilities. Despite the reduced number of participants (two experts) and dataset (three learning scenarios), which limits the study’s generalizability, the conclusions draw attention to the pivotal role of systematic teacher training, embedded accessibility features and solid institutional policies in bridging the gap between policy aspiration and effective inclusive practice.

Open Practices in Public Higher Education in Portugal: faculty perspectives

Based on flipped learning, digital competence, and inclusive instructional design, this study employs a mixed-method approach (quantitative and qualitative) to evaluate the pilot and involves academics from six European universities. Teacher participants co-designed and implemented flexible learning scenarios using the FLeD tool, which integrates pedagogical patterns, scaffolding strategies, and playful features. Using a mixed-methods research approach, this study collected and analyzed data from 34 teachers and indirectly over 800 students. Results revealed enhanced student engagement, self-regulated learning, and pedagogical innovation. While educators reported increased awareness of inclusive teaching and benefited from collaborative design, challenges related to tool usability, time constraints, and the implementation of inclusivity also emerged. The findings support the effectiveness of structured digital tools in promoting pedagogical transformation in online, face-to-face, and hybrid learning. This study contributes to the discussion on the digitalization of higher education by illustrating how research-informed design can enable educators to develop engaging and flexible inclusive learning environments in line with the evolving needs of learners and the opportunities presented by technology.

A evolução tecnológica, particularmente a Inteligência Artificial, tem contribuído significativamente para mudanças relevantes em quase todas as dimensões da nossa sociedade, nomeadamente na Educação e, consequentemente, no Ensino à Distância. Tais mudanças exigem transformações significativas, especialmente no processo de ensino e aprendizagem, de forma a minimizar a incapacidade dos docentes e tutores responderem na totalidade às solicitações de suporte por parte dos alunos e, por isso, a enorme necessidade de potenciar as tecnologias existentes, com o objetivo de minorar essa dificuldade. Este artigo tem como objetivo caracterizar os agentes inteligentes e a sua importância pedagógica para a tutoria na educação online. A metodologia utilizada baseou-se no método dedutivo, resultante do processo de pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, em consonância com a investigação de doutoramento em curso sobre a temática dos tutores inteligentes. Como resultados, a literatura especializada tem destacado a enorme vantagem da utilização dos agentes inteligentes no ensino superior online.