The above statement triggered me into thinking about my priority learners who are blind, low vision and deaf/blind who face barriers to learning on a daily basis due to limited accessibility to class materials. I was forced to ponder over statements which I have heard recently from different people:
"They turned me down from the course because it wasn't accessible".
"He's decided to come back to school because the course he wanted to do wasn't accessible."
You would think by now if digital data was being produced and updated at a fast rate then accessibility would be well and truly embedded at the design stage of production. Alas, in many cases this is still not the case and impact of this is evident for our priority learners.
Stoop (2012) states successful schools focused on adapting systems, programmes and resources to meet the needs of priority learners, but didn't go on to say "how" they did this. What if those resources could be produced without needing much adaptation? This could mean time saved and teacher focus more on teaching and learning rather than hunting and adapting.
With the advent of technology use in BYOD classes I believe discussions need to be had about accessibility and the positive impact such could have on priority learners. Learning experiences could be easier for all with an increased ability for individual access to many resources so that true inclusiveness can happen in learning.
Enabling technology can still be a myth for many priority learners due to lack of accessibility. Web accessibility refers to the inclusive practice of removing barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to websites, by people with disabilities. These disabilities may include: vision, hearing, dyslexia, motor disorders, developmental delay and so on. When sites are correctly designed, developed and edited, all users have equal access to information.
Eight years ago when I first started supporting a low vision learner I remember being told off by the class teacher. I was whispering what was on the whiteboard. "Who is that talking?" she exclaimed as she turned from the board...(I laugh now).
At this time, and really it wasn't that long ago, access to whiteboards was limited and either required peer/teacher support and/or expensive technology. Laptops were often slow and cumbersome and the learner was usually the only one in class with an assistive device which was mostly used as a replacement for pen and paper. Oh how things have changed.
Most students have devices now. The internet has a huge potential to revolutionise how people with disability work and have access to information but if we are not careful we can be placing more obstacles in front of these learners. These obstacles can lead to disengagement and labelling as lazy or unmotivated.
Often web sites/digital documents are not made accessible. That is, they cannot be used, for example by screen reader users or for enabling large print. At leadership and teacher level we may not know or understand what accessibility really means or looks like for some priority learners and thus have never considered this when making or purchasing resources. At BLENNZ school we are still trying to get our heads around this too.
Many schools who are unaware of web and document accessibility and who promote certain "one size fits all" devices and programmes for ease of management may without realising it be making school less inclusive for some priority learners.
- Why isn't all data being made accessible at the design stage?
- Why aren't new laptops being made with built in default settings?
I wonder will I be asking the same questions in two years?
if you would like to find out how to make and check accessible documents follow the link
A very interesting read Janet! Making learning more accessible to our learners is something we are all trying to do but we need the resources, skills need knowledge to do this. I was talking to a teacher a couple of days ago who said she was notified the day before that she was getting a blind student in her class. It made me realise I would not be at all equipped to meet that student's learning needs (fortunately I know I could contact BLENNZ). But even for people skilled and knowledgeable in this area, it must be frustrating indeed to know that with so much need, technology has not stepped up. We need to make things easier for our priority learners and their teachers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Marion, I feel for your colleague who has gained a blind student with little notification,,, this happens so often and is again a reason why resources need to be made accessible at the design level so that teachers can focus on teaching. I hope your colleague is utilizing the support from BLENNZ and will get to relax a bit. We are there to support.
DeleteThe technology is there to help our priority learners it just needs the resources to be at the same level and accessibility put into best practice when creating new resource =)
90%!!! WoW!
ReplyDeleteYour discussion reminds me of the megatrend of individual empowerment. How can low vision learners be empowered to create media to meet their own needs? I can try to understand the frustrations and disappointment of not being able to access media for low vision learners with a very limited experience of my own eyesight deteriorating, but as a life long condition?! Incredible. How can we empower these learners to create media that is dynamic and accessible? Who is already doing this?
As a teacher I often control the digital tools my students use in the sense I say here it is, use this to do this. I need to offer a choice for students to make up their own mind what tools suit them or what tools they can create to meet their own needs! Thank you Janet.
You are right in regards to student empowerment but I don't think the answer is for students to create their own media. Currently they do learn in varying degrees how to use their devices to adapt learning materials but unfortunately there is often too much that requires adapting . I used to be of the mindset that learners, if they had the right device could adapt their materials... but that was in the days of work sheets and white boards. Now I am in the belief that at Ministry of Ed level this needs to be embedded in all teaching resource at the design level esp as digital technology is now a standard part of the classroom. We try to give the skills to the students but it is getting harder as technology and what schools do is changing so fast. In the good ol days schools tended to use standard text and resource could be produced and shared amongst students but times have changed. To enlarge a text for a low vision learner it can cost $30,000! I kid you not. Technology can alleviate this however to be successful it needs to be accessible.
ReplyDeleteTo try and empower students we now have technology days at BLENNZ to develop collaborative practices and upskill and problem solve the changes in tech which are happening oh too quickly but there is never enough time