What is the future of accessibility? Education facilities in Canada have already come so far however, there’s definitely room to improve. In the last five years, AI has dramatically taken over our society as a whole. This learning tool takes data from all over the web and creates quick, informative answers. Although further research is recommended, AI is the future of technology. In fact, the CIDDL (based at the University of Kansas) agrees. Here is a passage they wrote on their page:

“Imagine walking into a classroom where every student has what they need to participate fully. A teacher begins the lesson, and spoken words instantly appear as captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing learners. A student who is blind listens as an AI assistant reads aloud a complex math equation, guiding them step by step through the problem. Another student, who struggles with reading, receives a simplified version of the same passage their peers are using—automatically adapted in real time. Meanwhile, an English learner follows along with live translation that captures both content and tone.” – Philip Garza, CIDDL

What a world to live in. Accessibility in the classroom could be brought to us in the blink of an eye by the power of AI and assistive technology.

I want to share this call for action created by Microsoft. If you watch until the end, you see they’ve already created some pretty cool accessibility resources people with disabilities can use for everyday tasks. The possibilities are endless.

Summary

Over the past six weeks of researching accessibility, although it’s been life-changing for the better, I’ve struggled and felt overwhelmed. Accessibility is a huge topic and covers a wide variety of learning tools and resources. I often didn’t know what I wanted to talk about and how in-depth I should go. Accessibility is important to me for many reasons. I believe every student should have the same opportunities in and outside of the classroom. This project taught me valuable life lessons as a future educator and contributing citizen. Through my research, Shelley Moore has definitely been one of my biggest inspirations. Their knowledge on this topic is fascinating to me, and left me with some of my biggest key takeaways. I can’t wait to continue learning and growing my own personal knowledge on Accessibility in the Classroom, and hope to one day have the UDL classroom of my dreams, where everyone is welcome.

Free Inquiry Post Breakdown

1 – What does Accessibility look like in the Classroom?

2 – Why Accessibility Matters in Education

3 – Introducing Assistive Technology

4 – How does UDL make learning Accessible

5 – Accessible Education Materials (AEM)

6 – Accessibility Outdoors + Physical Education

Digital Artifact

I chose to summarize the topics of “Accessibility in the Classroom” I reflected upon each week, by creating a graphic mind-map in Canva. This graphic shows the focus of each concept I chose, as well as provides examples of a few related activities or examples catered to each focus area. I enjoyed working with Canva throughout this project, and am excited to continue creating engaging material for my future students and classroom.

Thank you for joining me on my free inquiry journey. Understanding the importance of accessibility in the classroom is crucial when setting your students up for success.

Until next time,

Miss Teindl <3