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Student Accessibility with

School Devices and Materials

Presentation to 4J EAs

August 2022

Created by:

- Jordan Gentzkow & Kelley (Wilson) Moriarty

-4J Assistive Technology Specialists

To provide greater viewer accessibility we have included audio recording that summarize each slide. Please click the audio icons located in the upper-left corner if the audio does play automatically. Also, closed-captioning can be enabled in Google Chrome - Preferences - Advanced - Accessibility - Live Caption

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Student Accessibility

Assistive Technology:

Assistive technology device means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability.

Accessible Educational Materials (AEM):

Accessible educational materials (AEM) are print- and technology-based educational materials, including printed and electronic textbooks and related core materials that are designed or enhanced in a way that makes them usable across the widest range of learner variability, regardless of format (e.g., print, digital, graphic, audio, video).

Accessible Formats:

Accessible formats provide the same information in another form to address the barriers text-based materials can present for some learners. Examples of accessible formats include audio, braille, large print, tactile graphics, and digital text conforming with accessibility standards.

Accessible Technologies:

Accessible technologies are the hardware devices and software that provide learners with access to the content in accessible digital materials. These technologies are designed to be flexible and provide supports that benefit everyone - they are universally designed

https://aem.cast.org/get-started/defining-accessibility#:~:text=Accessible%20educational%20materials%20(AEM)%20are

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Student Accessibility

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) refers to the definition of Universal Design that was used in the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, which states: "The term 'universal design' means a concept or philosophy for designing and delivering products and services that are usable by people with the widest range of functional capabilities, which include products and services that are directly accessible (without requiring assistive technologies)...”

https://www.ocali.org/project/learn_about_udl/page/udl_history

How does student accessibility fit into “Learning for All” and Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?

Educational materials and technologies are “accessible” to people with disabilities if they are able to “acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services” as people who do not have disabilities…(Joint Letter US Department of Justice and US Department of Education, June 29, 2010).

https://aem.cast.org/get-started/defining-accessibility

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Student Accessibility

Content that is created by scanning paper documents and converting to a digital format is not accessible if it has not been scanned with optical character recognition (OCR).

THE GOOD NEWS! -This step requires adding only 2 extra button-taps when using copier/scanners located in 4J school resource rooms

Tap:

OCR Compact
OCR (precision or speed)

Watch this to see how: VIDEO

This looks like an accessible PDF but is actually just a screenshot. The text is inaccessible and cannot be read aloud with accessible technology features (e.g. text-to-speech)

Accessible Educational Materials (AEM)

Check out the 4J Assistive Technology Blog for more options on OCR scanning: Adobe Scan, Adobe Acrobat PRO DC, etc:

One crucial aspect of creating Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) relates to how materials, that are sourced from paper formats, are scanned into a digitized format that is accessible with text-to-speech. The document you see in this slide was created by screenshotting content on the web. The text cannot be read aloud with built-in text-to-speech features on a device. It is essentially a photograph. Many staff have paper materials that are scanned or photographed and then uploaded into student learning management systems, such as Canvas, Seesaw, and Google Classroom. For these materials to be accessible with text-to-speech the scanning or photographing must include optical character recognition (OCR). The technology needed to OCR scan educational materials is available in every 4J school. The (networked) school copiers/scanners can do this and it only requires 2 additional taps on the touch screen. Watch the video in the slide to see how.

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MacBook Accessibility

Some of the accessibility features on your MacBook are built-in and other features are provided by Google Read&Write. The videos below are a brief overview of:

How to access the features -Video
How to make changes/customizations to the settings -Video

Accessibility on the MacBook, like most devices, is derived from a toolkit approach. Different accessibility features are available and work best depending on the applications used. The Macbook has a set of built-in accessibility features that provide more consistent access across applications. Read&Write for Google Chrome, which is a district-wide chrome extension purchased by 4J, provides a robust set of features with a visual toolbar, but these are only available within the Google Chrome web browser. Fortunately, so much of what we all do, day-to-day, is web based. Canvas, for example has been chosen as the learning management system for middle and high schools. Canvas, when accessed through Chrome integrates many of the Read&Write accessibility features nicely. So, R&W and Mac accessibility together provide the toolkit students need to learn to use. The videos on this page give some general guidance on how to gain access to the features and make customizations. Also, the last slide in this presentation contains a link to our 4J AT Blog, which houses more information and resources on accessibility tools available on 4J MacBooks.

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MacBook Accessibility Demonstration Videos

Reading Accessibility -video

Writing Accessibility -video

PDF Accessibility

WITH Canvas “Student Annotation” -video
WITHOUT Canvas “Student Annotation” -video

The following videos will demonstrate how your computer’s accessibility features can be used to complete reading and writing tasks in Canvas, Google Docs, web pages, and other applications.

As an option for your students, we have prepared a Canvas module that contains assignments for them to practice the accessibility features we show here.

Search in the Canvas Commons: “Mac Accessibility Training Resources”

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iPad Accessibility

iPad Accessibility Training Tool -Link

We have created an iPad Accessibility Training Tool that teachers can use to help set up their student’s iPads with important accessibility features such as text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and word prediction. This training format is called ThingLink and includes a series of videos that teachers can display on their laptops through the projector. Students can follow along on their iPads while watching the videos on the projector. They will be given opportunities to practice using the tools.

iPad Accessibility Training Tool Shortcuts (click the links below)

Reading

Writing

On this slide you will find shortcuts to content from our “iPad Accessibility Training Tool”. The content includes checklists with embedded videos that will assist students and staff in the set up and use of accessibility features on the iPad. The checklists help to break down the tasks into manageable steps with the videos demonstrating each step. Just click the pink triangular play icons within the checklists to view the videos. The full “iPad Accessibility Training Tool” is linked above the slide video. The video is from the introduction portion of the training tool. It helps orient teachers to the tool with some guidance on how it can be used. Teachers can display the content on their laptops through the projector while students follow along on their iPads. Students will be given opportunities to practice using the tools. It is designed to be engaging and immersive for students to promote interest.

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Contact Info

http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/atseugene4j/mac-accessibility/

Jordan Gentzkow, Assistive Technology Specialist
gentzkow_j@4j.lane.edu

Kelley (Wilson) Moriarty, Assistive Technology Specialist
wilson_ke@4j.lane.edu

If you and/or your students require more support or have questions about student access and assistive technology, please visit our blog page for more instructional videos and resources: