During Bett 2023, SMART convened a roundtable discussion with educators and leaders from six different countries to discuss accessibility in education. The experiences and perspectives from different parts of the world provide a unique look at successes and challenges in education accessibility today.
So, how are global participants looking at accessibility?
Some participants represented schools that are exclusively for students with special needs and noted that some of the simplest seeming features of classroom technology can be incredibly impactful for schools and students. Simple-to-use features like timers, spinners, clocks, and dice can all play a valuable role in classrooms, helping students to visualize concepts. Accessible technology—such as panels with adjustable height stands, crisp, clear displays, and ones that allow multiple users to interact at the same time—are essential to the classroom.
In classes exclusively for students with special needs and integrated classrooms alike, technology that helps more students share and collaborate is at the top of the list. Helping teachers understand and use all tech features, including those designed specifically for accessibility, is critical. Every participant agreed that teachers are overworked and burnt out; finding time to dedicate to learning and development needs to be supported by school leadership and not simply ‘one more thing’ that teachers must add to their plates.
There was much more agreement than separation amongst the panel participants, and many vital, interwoven themes arose.
Finding the right tech
Finding technology that meets students’ needs and then acquiring funding for that technology rose to the surface as a challenge for almost everyone at the table. The idea of turnover—both of teachers and students— was also a common concern. A big question was: what happens to tech that was purchased to support individual students once that student has changed schools or simply no longer needs it?
In many places in the world, the greater the barriers that a student has, the more funding and options that can be accessed to support them. That doesn’t mean that choosing the right assistive tech is easy. Evaluating what’s needed and what can best support students should include discovery and exploration with the student, as well as their family, aides, and other stakeholders.
Questions might include:
- What are we trying to accomplish?
- What tasks will this help perform?
- Why is technology a good option to support our goals?
- What are the student’s key strengths and limitations?
- What has worked, or what has been tried in the past?
- How will the technology integrate—or not—with the classroom and curriculum experience?
Assessing the right tech for the right students must be done on a case-by-case basis and can also be looked at holistically so that investments can have a positive, lasting impact.
“Always, one of the most challenging parts of my former role was about how to get things funded that you know are valuable but didn’t check a certain box.”
Round Table Participant
ICT Coordinator
Universal design for learning
Talking about accessible education without talking about Universal Design is impossible. Participants noted the importance of technology designed with UDL principles in mind and how it helps to alleviate some of the concerns about investments that won’t see long-term usage.
Further, the idea of differentiating the technology that’s available on a student’s device provides a more inclusive experience for all students. “I don’t know what’s on your screen unless I am actually working on it…” noted one participant. The desire to ensure that all students have what they need to ensure a great learning experience cannot be overshadowed by the importance of inclusivity – when a student feels that they are outside of the norm or not able to learn in the same way as their peers, there could be additional psychological barriers that they have to face – some of which may persist into adulthood.
“Accessibility features are there for everybody, not just the ones who have identified needs. Whether it’s captioning, colour overlay, or whatever it happens to be, everyone is entitled to use those...“
Round Table Participant
Head teacher
While accommodations for the most vulnerable students won’t always benefit others in a direct capacity, inclusive spaces are always critical. Participants agreed that though many spaces are generally becoming more inclusive for learners of all ages, there is a long way to go to ensure truly accessible education for all. And new challenges emerge all the time—participants noted that symptoms of long-COVID are creating new challenges that may limit their ability to learn—and that it is important that these emerging issues are understood as much as possible and addressed to help ensure that learning and access gaps do not widen.
“”...and it might be that you don’t have a diagnosis that says that you work better with a blue overlay on your screen. But if you are playing around and you go ‘Actually, you know what? I prefer that, it works for me’, why not?”
Round Table Participant
Digital Learning Lead
Training
Most schools don’t use technology investments to their full potential, and a lot of this comes down to selecting the right technology in the first place, and providing good, ongoing training and professional development so that teachers can work with the technology—whether it’s specific to assistive tech for a single student or supporting all kids in their classroom.
“[Put] the pedagogy and the teaching and learning at the front and not the technology at the front. Rather than saying how do you use technology? I’d be saying to vendors or educators: ‘Tell me about good teaching and learning.”
Round Table Participant
Digital Learning Lead
Selecting technology for pedagogy first, then selecting software and hardware that supports pedagogy is critical, as is providing a PD wrapper around all of it. It’s not enough to tell teachers HOW to use the tech but helping them understand the WHY will make it truly impactful.
Roundtable participants noted that while this is true, asking the right questions of new teachers and understanding how to use tech should be part of the hiring and interview process, and certainly play a bigger role in teacher education.
Tech isn’t a big TV on the wall, teachers need to be able to create an immersive experience. Helping teachers think about technology as embedded within their teaching practice will help to drive usage. And even if a teacher—new or veteran—isn’t a tech expert today, they should at least be willing to buy into the culture of having a growth mindset, trying new things with tech, and understanding its potential, participants noted.
Equity
While many students are digital natives, we should also remember that not ALL students have exposure to technology in their homes or haven’t seen it used for anything other than entertainment. They may not know how to use it responsibly, and they need to be taught both with and about technology. It’s critical that schools are places of experimentation, where it’s okay to try things out— including exploring what it means to be a good digital citizen and a responsible user of technology for all students.
Scotland’s Digital Literacy Framework for teachers—in draft at the time of writing this report— provides a new way of looking at digital literacy for educators in the country. Along the lines of the ISTE Standards for educators, this emerging framework is being designed to support teachers in using tech to “enhance the delivery of education” in the country, building on the government’s strategy for Digital Learning and Teaching. Participants noted that while frameworks like this are important and necessary guideposts, more global standards would help offer greater equity for teachers and students alike. Whilst frameworks can outline the skills and knowledge required to deliver great teaching and learning using technology, ultimately the local culture will always dictate what everyday practice looks like, down to individual classrooms.
Finally, equity of access was discussed as a challenge faced not only in homes but in schools everywhere. There is potential for this access gap to widen as more students are supplanted by climate change migration or other displacements. Whether it’s down the street or across the continent, not all learners have the same access to technology, and for students who need assistive technology the most, these gaps can be even wider.
It’s very apparent that choosing appropriate technology for both whole classrooms and individual special needs students is a key component of true accessibility for all students. Oftentimes, funding can be the most challenging barrier in purchasing the technology that schools really want or need. All students can benefit from well-designed assistive or whole-class technology. Not all students who need accommodations have received a diagnosis, so purchasing technology with all students in mind should be considered best practice.
Professional training for educators is a critical component of ensuring that technology is truly improving accessibility for students. High-level, ongoing training must be prioritized to equip teachers with the knowledge and tools to use their tech most effectively. This, paired with accessible tools and technology will help to empower every learner and educator.
Did you enjoy what you read? Download your own copy here:
