Accessibility and Inclusion

Competent Digital Educators ensure accessibility to learning resources and activities, for all learners, including those with special needs. They consider and respond to learners’ (digital) expectations, abilities, uses and misconceptions, as well as contextual, physical or cognitive constraints to their use of digital technologies.

Typical activities

They provide equitable access to appropriate digital technologies and resources, e.g. ensuring that all students have access to the digital technologies used.

They select and employ digital pedagogical strategies which respond to learners’ digital context, e.g. contextual constraints to their technology use (e.g. availability), competences, expectations, attitudes, misconceptions and misuses.

They employ digital technologies and strategies, e.g. assistive technologies, designed for learners’ in need of special support (e.g. learners with physical or mental constraints; learners with learning disorders).

They consider and respond to potential accessibility issues when selecting, modifying or creating digital resources and to provide alternative or compensatory tools or approaches for learners with special needs.

They employ design principles for increasing accessibility for the resources and digital environments used in teaching.

They continuously monitor and reflect on the suitability of the measures implemented to improve accessibility and adapt strategies accordingly.

When mastering this competence by doing the work in the lab, you should be able to say:

I understand the importance of ensuring equal access to the digital technologies used for all students.

I am aware that digital technologies can hinder or improve accessibility.

I understand how access to digital technology creates divides and how students’ social and economic conditions have an impact on the way technology is used. I ensure that all students have access to the digital technologies I use.

I am aware that compensatory digital technologies can be used for learners’ in need of special support (e.g. learners with physical or mental constraints; learners with learning disorders). I select digital pedagogical strategies that adapt to learners’ digital contexts, e.g. limited usage time, type of device available.

I consider and respond to potential accessibility issues when selecting, modifying or creating digital resources and provide alternative or compensatory tools or approaches for learners with special needs.

I employ digital technologies and strategies, e.g. assistive technologies, to remediate individual leaners’ accessibility problems, e.g. visual or hearing impairments.

In the lab we will also:

During the course we will also: Select and employ digital pedagogical strategies fitted to learners’ digital technology uses, competences, expectations, attitudes, misconceptions and misuses.

We will employ design principles for increasing accessibility for the resources and digital environments used in teaching, e.g. as concerns font, size, colours, language, layout, structure.

We will learn to continuously monitor and reflect on the suitability of the measures implemented to improve accessibility and adapt our strategies accordingly.