Module 1: Introducing Accessible Materials & Technologies

After this module you should have a clear understanding of what it means to say materials and technologies are "accessible." This will prepare you for the remaining modules, where you will learn how to select, acquire and create accessible materials to meet a variety of user needs and preferences.

This module is composed of a recorded webinar and up to four hours of additional activities. Each level has a time commitment of approximately one hour. Choose how many levels you complete by the amount of time you want to spend developing your skills.

Level 1: Start

Goal: Define “accessible” and explain the importance of accessible materials and technologies to a colleague.
Time Commitment: 2 hours (including the one-hour webinar)

Build Understanding

• Review the following pages on the AEM Center website:
  • Defining Accessibility
  • Access to Learning
• Watch one:
  • Gaining Independence: Bailey's Story (YouTube video)
  • Getting to Know Juna (YouTube video)

Reflect & Take Action

Explain to a colleague the importance of accessible materials and technologies. In your response, consider including:

• Your own personal definition of accessibility
• An example of how functional skills relate to a person's needs for accessible materials and technologies

• How accessible materials and technologies can make a difference to students’ opportunities to learn

Level 2: Reach

Goal: Describe examples of how students with disabilities use accessible materials.
Time Commitment: 3 hours (including the one-hour webinar and the Level 1 activities)

Build Understanding

• Complete the Level 1 activities
• Watch one:
  • Creating Adaptable Classrooms for All Students
  • Using Multiple Formats and Tools
• Read one:
  • Audio Supported Reading
  • The Potential Benefits of Accessible Digital Materials for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Reflect & Take Action

From your experience, consider two students with unique functional access needs. Next, consider a material that each uses or has used for learning. To what extent are those materials accessible to the students? In your assessment, consider the following for each student:

1. What barriers are present in the material?
2. What functional skills are needed to learn from the material?
3. What additional supports may be needed for the student to use the material?

Level 3: Stretch

Goal: Demonstrate features of accessible materials that support access for students with disabilities.
Time Commitment: 4 hours (including the one-hour webinar and the Level 1 & Level 2 activities)

Build Understanding

• Complete the Level 1 & Level 2 activities
• Review Vetting for Accessibility 

Reflect & Take Action

Select a material (e.g., a print or digital textbook, website, app, or simulation) and consider the following questions:

1. In what ways is the content perceivable to the students you described in Level 2? Are there any barriers for perception? If so, what are they, and what are some ways they could be addressed?
2. In what ways are the two students you described in Level 2 able to interact with the content? Are there any barriers for interaction? If so, what are they, and what are some ways they could be addressed?
3. In what ways are the two students you described in Level 2 supported in understanding the content and enjoying a predictable experience? Are there any barriers to understanding? If so, what are they, and what are some ways they could be addressed?