Date/Location:

November 14, 2024

Description:

This webinar is designed to share key insights from my dissertation, which explores the experiences of middle school students with visual impairments (VI) accessing technologies in inclusive classrooms. As educational systems continue to embrace technology, students with disabilities must receive equitable access to content and curriculum in general education settings.
There is limited research on how students with disabilities, including those with VI, are accessing and using technologies presented to them in general education classrooms. Educational technologies often referred to as “EdTech” can range from instructional videos to complex software that allows students to access information, engage, and learn. Oftentimes such technologies are not accessible in a format that students with VI can seamlessly learn from like their sighted peers (Siu & Presley, 2019). Since the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, barriers to implementing accessible technology in classrooms have become more evident in the VI professional world. Teachers struggle to modify their curriculum to make it inclusive for a minority of students (Rosenblum et al., 2020). In a recent survey conducted by Johnson (2022), 84% of the teachers reported that equity in education cannot be achieved without “accessible learning tools” (p. 1). 
The purpose of this webinar is to equip participants with the skills and knowledge to create “Accessible by Default” digital content, ensuring that students with disabilities including those with visual impairments or blindness are fully included from the outset, rather than retrofitting materials after the fact. Attendees will learn practical strategies for developing lessons that support universal access and discover how simple adjustments can make a significant impact on accessibility.

Speakers:

Anitha Muthukumaran

Learning Outcomes:

• Create lessons that account for universal access. 

• Understand how to choose accessible media by identifying key features that provide an equitable learning experience.

• Explore the basics of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and PDFs (Portable Document Format) and available options to convert inaccessible PDFs into accessible formats.

• Emphasize the five key takeaways from my study to guide participants’ professional practices. 
1. Conducting classroom observations to better understand the accessibility needs of students.
2. Shifting approach from differentiation to Universal Design for Learning (UDL), ensuring inclusion is planned from the beginning.
3. Taking small steps toward improving digital accessibility.
4. Collaborating with and educating other educators who create content for their students.
5. Empowering students by teaching them the digital skills they need to navigate accessible technology in the classroom.

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CEUs: This activity is offered for up to 0.1 CEUs (1 hour of instruction). To register for CEUs:  

Download and complete the following forms.

Save the files names: 241114_CTG_Lastname_Firstname

Send both files to ceus@aacinstitute.org

Upon completion of the two forms and passing the quiz, a CEU certificate will be sent

Note: If any difficulty is encountered in using this form, write to ceus@aacinstitute.org to request an alternative file format.