Navigating Digital Accessibility for Educators
taught by:
Jan McSorley, Shira Goldberg
co-presented by:
Desiree Simeone, Jennifer Holloway, Debra Fitzgibbons
Session Summary
Participants will gain skills to engage Ed Tech vendors as partners in ensuring the accessibility of digital tools. Highlights include interpreting vendor documentation, running simple accessibility checks on products, and leveraging collaboration to integrate accessibility into organizational procurement workflows.
Description
The exclusion of students with disabilities from digital tools and materials is a complex problem that impacts the quality of their education and the trajectory of their lives. As artificial intelligence accelerates innovation and begins to fundamentally change the way we live and learn, it is imperative that we solve the problem of digital exclusion. Through collaboration, educators have the power to influence the future of technology and to ensure that the needs of students with disabilities are met. This session will equip participants with a framework and strategies to drive systemic change toward more accessible and inclusive digital tools.
Practical Skills
- Define the term, “accessibility” and identify two reasons why it is important to assistive technology users and two examples of how it can support learning for all students.
- Describe at least four simple ways to check if digital tools are accessible, either manually or using browser extensions. This includes testing keyboard navigation, finding skip links, checking captions on videos, evaluating focus indicators, ensuring good color contrast and alternative text for images, and verifying proper heading structure. Participants will also learn how to interpret vendor product documentation to understand a tool’s accessibility features and limitations.
- Learn how to use the Digital Accessibility Improvement Framework for Public Schools by: (1) identifying two ways to collaborate on accessibility efforts, (2) recognizing three key decision-makers who can support inclusive purchasing in your school or district, and (3) exploring two strategies for working with vendors to improve accessibility in the tools you use.