Accessibility

 Accessibility in the Classroom

Accessibility is super important for many people. As an educator, I have realized that many of my students need to use accessibility in order to learn. With that being said, I took the time to look at the different accessibility used on Chromebooks, because that is the device that is used amongst our entire district. Knowing these accessibility features below allows me to better help my students engage in the content.

Image Source: Personal Photo

Why is Accessibility Important?

Accessibility with technology is super important. Accessibility makes sure that all students, including those with disabilities, have equal access to the educational resources and content. It makes the playing field equal for everyone and prevents physical and mental discrimination. Classrooms are becoming more and more diverse. Not one student is the same. Many students vary in abilities, backgrounds, and have different learning styles. Accessibility supports these differences and helps the needs of all students in the classroom. Accessible technology allows for all students to be able to actively participate, collaborate with their classmates, and engage in the learning materials. After exploring a Chromebook’s accessibility features, I also learned that there are so many different types to fit individual students’ needs. This creates a more personalized learning experience. This is helpful for students who need specific accommodations.

My Personal Experience

I have a little bit of experience with Chromebook’s accessibility features. This is because I teach students with disabilities. We interact with our Chromebook’s everyday, so it is essential that all of my students can equally gain access to the materials. Some of my students read at below grade-level and need text to be read out loud to them. The accessibility features included in Chromebooks allow for text to be read out loud for them if they have to read an online article or complete any research. This is probably the feature that I use the most. With that being said, I still do have have some areas where I need to grow. I am not completely experienced on all of the different types of accessibility and definitely could take some more time to dive into each of the features that a Chromebook provides. I learned that Chromebooks provide accessibility features for students who read Braille. I, personally, have no experience with the Braille accessibility features. I also have never used the magnification tool to help zoom in on the Chromebook screen. I do have students with very low visibility that could benefit from this feature. I will have to spend some time looking into all of the accessibility features even further so that I can better help the needs of all my students.

Instructions on how to turn on a Chromebook’s accessibility features can be found HERE.