Assistive Technology and Accessibility Features in the Classroom

     Assistive technology is an important tool that enables students with disabilities to participate more fully in the education setting and increases their opportunities in learning, social interaction, and communication in the classroom (Parent Center Hub, 2022). Many of the technologies that we use in our classrooms already have accessibility features that make them assistive and beneficial for our students with disabilities. It is important that teachers learn about those accessibility features so they can implement them in their classroom when they see fit depending on their student population and what will work best for their students' disabilities. 

    As there can be many features and many technologies that a teacher uses, it is best to start with the technologies that a teacher already uses in their classroom and that their school provides for them, that way they are not overwhelmed with information right away. Then it is good to look at the disabilities in the classroom and determine what accessibility features would be the most beneficial for the teacher to implement based on those disabilities. Accessibility features may not just be helpful for our students with specific learning disabilities, but could potentially be helpful for any student. For example, using closed captioning for students who have auditory disabilities helps them, but it can also be helpful for someone who is a visual learner and does better reading information rather than listening to information. 

    When determining what to use in the classroom it is best for teachers to start with the simplest option available first, and then work from there as it makes it less overwhelming for the teacher and provides more independence for the student (Eazy Hold, 2016). Promoting independence is an important factor for teachers to consider as we are helping to prepare our students for their futures outside the classroom. There are many assistive technologies and accessibility features that will provide students with the opportunity to gain independence in certain activities (Eazy Hold, 2016). Before deciding on assistive technologies and accessibility features, teachers should assess their students' needs and abilities to determine what they can use to be more successful in the classroom. One way to do this is through observation during school, but another way to do this is with collaboration with other colleagues (Parent Center Hub, 2022) and any therapists or caregivers a student is seeing (Eazy Hold, 2016). Finally another factor to keep in mind is if the student will be able to use the assistive technology in their day to day life outside of the classroom. The teacher can encourage the continuity of the technology with the student and their parents, and can include the parents in how to use it (Eazy Hold, 2016). 

    We want to help provide our students with the best education possible and to help develop them into successful human beings academically, socially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. We do this by learning more about our students as unique individuals and then seeking out ways that we can help support them, and one of these ways are through the use of assistive technologies and accessibility features. It is then very important for us to learn more about our options for these and how we can best use them in our classrooms and for our students. 

References

• Eazy Hold. (2016, August 17). Strategies for Implementing Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Eazy Hold. https://eazyhold.com/blogs/news/strategies-for-implementing-assistive-technology-in-the-classroom 
• Parent Center Hub. (2022, July). Considering Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities. Center for Parent Information & Resources. https://www.parentcenterhub.org/considering-at/