Introduction

On 14 July 2020 we had a fantastic presentation in EDCI 565 regarding accessibility in education (specifically looking at accessibility in digital formats, including websites, communication tools, and writing editing / reading software) by Kim Ashbourne who’s twitter feed can be found here, and blog can be found here. This presentation really exemplified services that are, and should be available for everyone – especially within the realm of education. The use of standard digital tools is often taken for granted for those people without a disability, (myself included) without consideration for how challenging access may be for someone with an impairment. 

Importance of Accessibility

Growing up with a parent that had a hearing impairment made me acutely aware of how life-changing a service such as closed captioning can be. For programming that did not offer this service, the result was a television so loud that everyone else was uncomfortable, and that parent still needed to be fed constant information about what it was they were missing. This example, by no means touches on how frustrating it is for the individual with the impairment, to simply access the same level of service the rest of us are already receiving. It should be noted that this is but a small drop in the plethora of accessibility services that need to be made available for everyone. 

To meet this demand, organizations such as W3C are helping to set standards to improve accessibility with technology, in this case the world wide web. Other software such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom also have built in features such as speech to text, to make their platforms more accessible. It is important as we progress, that educators are not only using these accessibility options, but teaching their students how to access them. In fact, I have been guilty of not even knowing certain accessibility options even existed!

Future Considerations

The implications of accessibility are vitally  important to consider when looking at modern education. As we focus on delivering a meaningful and successful education for all students, we need to ensure our lessons are personalized and individualized. This means having the appropriate software that is accessible for all. Due to the recent Covid-19 pandemic and the transition to online learning, digital accessibility only becomes more vital. Within this transition, is my desire to ensure my lessons are delivered in a meaningful fashion to engage each and every student. This is definitely another piece of the puzzle that I must consider, moving forward.