This week we had Kaori Lau and Tracy Humphreys in our class to discuss BCEdAccess and accessible technology. It was great to have a class on this topic as finding ways technology can support students with disabilities in school is very important.

Check out the BCEdAccess Website!

The talk began with an exercise that illustrated the exclusion that people with disabilities often experience when accessibility is not built into the structure/design of experiences and spaces. Kaori and Tracy then presented on the ways that technology can support inclusivity.

The Kaori and Tracy’s talk, and the contributions from the class were helpful for me in considering the ways technology and accessibility work together. Tracy and Kaori also discussed some of the challenges with bringing in accessible technology such as lack of access (funding), lack of support (from families or schools), privacy concerns, resistance to change and the perception of technology as only a distraction.

inclusion should be part of the design, not an after thought.

Tracy and Kaori did offer some possible solutions to these challenges, such as: normalising accessible technology, advocating for funding, make the technology accessible to all, provide training for families and teachers.