Week 10 Reflection – Inclusion and Accessibility
This week was super interesting and also super confusing. It was a good eye opener about things that I never really think about in my day to day. Contrast, user design, online accessibility, and tech that is inclusive. I have been to websites before where I think “this website sucks and is really hard to use” but I just leave it at that. I am thinking from a personal perspective, not from one where others might have an even harder time using those websites.
It is such an important thing to remember and take into account in life, but especially as we’re transitioning into teaching. We hear so much about UDL, but what does inclusion and accessibility really mean on a day to day schedule? How do we include everyone in our visuals and resources that are being shared?
My breakout room had an interesting conversation about airports, and how people who are deaf or hard of hearing would have a really hard time travelling alone. There are so many auditory cues in airports, and not many alternatives. It kind of feels like its everyone for themselves, and is stressful at the best of times as a fully able bodied person. We talked mostly about hearing loss, but I am sure airports are hard for many different people. This is an article from the National Deaf Children’s Society from the UK about air travel.
When I was in school, the students will high or alternative needs were all in a separate program. We saw them around the school, but they weren’t integrated into our every day classroom. At lunch, they had their own table. It must have felt quite isolating. That being said, I never really saw what technologies they got to use. In my Link2Practice last semester, it was much more integrated. There were some non-verbal students in the class that required full time EA support, and digital learning tech that allowed them to express their needs and feelings. It was super cool to see. Its so great how much tech is available to help students feel confident and included in the class. Also, all the other students included these two and didn’t think twice about it. I think that is a great part of integration – it seems like it might be a huge issue or disruption but it really isn’t, when the right support and technologies are utilized.
Copyright is also something we talked about that is often looked over on lower level use. Things like this blog, school assignments, personal use, etc. people often use whatever they want on the internet. I always think about copyright becoming an issue with music, large scale projects, or main stream media type things. But of course, there are the same laws at all levels. Shutterstock is a pretty classic spot to source stock or royalty free photos for use, and Pexels has free photos.
This week was a great reminder of citing where our information comes from, ensuring contrast is appropriate on our blogs, and taking inclusivity into account.
This image is from Pexels, taken by James Wheeler.
Astrid, thanks for a good reflection. When I last left a school (in the 90’s), “special needs students” were taught in a separate room, much like your experience. However, I got to see the technology as I often wandered by in my ‘management by walking around’ role as the vice principal of a large secondary school. During lunch time, as I continued to wander, I invited those students to walk with me, as I was delighted by their demeanour and delightfulness to be with. Plus, I wanted to send a message to all the other students about all the students who were a part of our school community – seen or not seen. Thanks for bringing that memory to the forefront for me. I still miss Jason!