How can digital learning be made more accessible to students with disabilities?

Sem sombra de dúvidas, inicialmente é extremamente importante entender as necessidades dos alunos com deficiência, é necessário gerar um ambiente digital mais acessível e atraente, quem gosta de navegar por uma plataforma sem comodidades como legendas, transições e autodescrição? impossível tornar uma experiência mágica, sem entender um pouco. Fundamental procurarmos profissionais para entendermos as melhora práticas, de quem já conhece e pratica.

I would provide text alternatives for visual and audio content like images, charts, video and audio clips. These alternatives allow assistive technologies like screen readers to convey information to blind students. Also, caption videos and provide transcripts for audio content to aid deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Individualization and a technology coach trained to help with specific learning modalities and deficiencies would be the first step. Through focused meetings with parents and pertinent parties, the technology exists to help most disabilities to a working level. It all starts with understanding and some open dialog.

Your institution should have other staff who share the responsibility of ensuring equitable educational access for students with disabilities. Attend workshops and ask for examples or case studies of how other instructors have met these needs. Make these people your partners in learning how to serve students with a variety of abilities.

I agree that the first step to making digital learning accessible is to understand the specific needs of the child or children.

Buscar as tecnologias especificas, acredito ser o melhor formato a ser buscado, entre vários existentes! Importante oferecer todo tipo de ferramentas disponíveis, gerando a melhor apresentação aos alunos.

The right digital tools can improve accessibility even in fully in-person teaching scenarios. ShareTheBoard, for example, can save all contents written on a physical board and make them available via an interactive "instant replay." Students who need more time to review content can do so without personal pressure or class disruption.

Many schools rely upon professional technology staff to help vet particular applications for accessibility and privacy concerns. These colleagues may be part of Informational Technology, Instructional Design, or Disability Services programs. Tap their knowledge for recommendations and training on how to use the tools available to you. Seek their assistance with specific challenges.

Some schools and/or school districts are small and do not have the professional technology staff to assist nor the resources to provide various items for students to try out. Inclusive Inc provides a state directory of financing and loan programs that may help students obtain assistive technology devices and services. Additionally, many states have short-term device loan programs for families to tap into. When students are able to borrow assistive tech tools and assess them in their normal school and home environments before any items are purchased, the students may be able to select more appropriate devices to meet their individual needs.

First start by Identifying variety of disabilities to assist in designing the digital learning system. For instance, it is necessary to ensure that text-based and video resources are provided. Designing learning materials with high contrast, legible fonts will assist individuals with visual impairments. Also, Include audio descriptions in videos and multimedia content. Furthermore, ensure that technical and other forms of support are provided for learners who may face challenges in accessing or using digital tools due to their disabilities. Digital instructional designers must ensure that the entire process provides a worthwhile learning experience for the learners by their commitment to inclusivity.

To make my digital learning content effective, I'll follow universal design for learning principles, which means using clear and simple language, organizing content with headings and bullet points, incorporating various media, and ensuring accessibility features for all students, while providing diverse options for assessment and feedback.

In technology education, I think there is still a disconnect between Content (What is written and how it is presented) and content (What the actual subject material is based on). I think that the number of multi-media options can always be streamlined if there is a solid understanding of the student's needs before the unit's Content (what is written and presented).

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework focused on inclusivity and flexibility. It recognizes that students with disabilities, have diverse learning styles, abilities, and preferences. UDL have three key principles: First, it suggests providing multiple means of representation, such as offering content in various formats like text, images, videos, and audio. Second, it promotes multiple means of engagement by giving students choices in how they interact with the material. Lastly, encourages multiple means of expression, allowing students to demonstrate their understanding in ways that suit their strengths, whether through essays, presentations, or creative projects.

Informing students about accessibility features and options of digital tools and content involves creating a learning environment. Orientation and Training: At the beginning of the course, educators can provide an orientation session where they introduce students to the digital learning platform's accessibility features. Inclusive Course Materials: All course materials should be designed with accessibility in mind. Regular Reminders: Periodically reminding students about the availability of accessibility features is important. This can be done through announcements, emails, or within the course materials themselves. Encourage students to explore these features and provide them with guidance on how to activate and use them.

If you receive any communication regarding student disabilities before the term, reach out to let the learner know you want to support them in any way you can. In your syllabi, articulate your commitment to equitable access to education and offer students campus resources in disability services of other areas that may be helpful to them. Encourage students in need of additional support to contact you. Assign all students (not just the ones who have shared their disability status with you) regular check-in notes about their progress in your class. Ask them to identify any unmet needs they may still have, so that you can work together on finding solutions.

Some pre-thought about what types of skills and learning should take place can really help to better understand what kind and how often data needs to be collected.

Your aspirational goal should be a course design that meets all the needs of all your learners, regardless of whatever disabilities they may or may not have. At a minimum, that means complying with standards outlined in the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), so that you include alt text, captioning, sufficient color contrast, and text formatting, as well as alternate formats (visual, audio, textual) whenever possible. Further, rubrics and sample student work also help clarify your expectations. Consider your policies about attendance, deadlines, late work, and revisions. Whatever flexibility you can offer here will result in fewer requested accommodations, as well as deeper support for the success of all learners in your class.

Devices today have quite comprehensive and powerful accessibility features. A good hands-on training and knowledge of using these with students in need is a great start. Secondly, designing our teaching strategies to accommodatee inclusion needs to be a priority.