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Accessibility in the Digital Classroom
Online and Blended Learning, Curriculum Strategies, Special Needs, Technology | K-12
Schools are places of inclusion. But when it comes to accessibility in online settings, inclusion can easily fall by the wayside simply because teachers aren’t familiar with online accessibility practices. Accessibility might involve something as simple as considering the amount of bandwidth required to view a video or as complex as ensuring students with disabilities have equal access to learning materials. Even if these issues seem intimidating at first, with the right tools and strategies, it might be easier than you think to make the digital elements of your classroom accessible for all students.
In this course, you’ll explore both the foundational elements of online accessibility and the nitty-gritty technical knowledge you need to create an accessible digital classroom. Through the principles of Universal Design for Learning, you’ll learn how to better represent content, create more engaging experiences, and improve outcomes for all learners. In addition, you’ll look at design principles and technical tools that will help you make online learning a reality for learners with a variety of different needs.
Whether you teach fully online or use digital elements in a traditional classroom, this course gives you the knowledge and tools you need to create or modify digital learning materials to be more accessible to all students.
Connections to Practice
This course provides the following classroom connections:
- Techniques to overcome barriers to equity in a digital classroom experience
- Strategies to engage all learners through the practices of UDL
- Technical expertise in a wide variety of areas for the digital classroom (e.g., documents, slides, and multimedia)
- An understanding of assistive technologies to enhance online learning experiences
Course Objectives
In this course, participants will:
- Outline specific learner needs in the online space to identify areas of equity in online instruction.
- Utilize a UDL framework to improve learning experiences for all learners.
- Assess the value of assistive technologies.
- Evaluate online practices and accessibility standards to meet inclusive education expectations (i.e., Section 508).
- Outline choices in naming files, applying titles, and selecting fonts that impact accessibility in digital materials.
- Evaluate the accessibility functions in common online learning resources—documents, Portable Document Format files (PDFs), presentations, multimedia, and (optional) HTML coding—to build a digital classroom that supports all learners.
Interested in School/District PD?
Request a Free ConsultationWhy Partner With Us
- Train your staff in as little as eight hours or delve deeper into complex topics in our longer courses.
- Replace in-person PD days with 100% online, self-paced training teachers can complete virtually.
- Get PD tailored to your school's unique needs with our customizable content and flexible solutions.
- Offer higher education rigor and quality designed to give your teachers targeted, relevant training they can apply immediately.
- Increase buy-in and morale by providing teacher choice while maintaining school/district oversight and strategic alignment.
Interested in School/District PD?
Request a Free ConsultationCourse Design
We intentionally plan and build our course offerings to solve real problems in education. We regularly update our existing catalog and develop new courses based on schools’ needs, trends in K–12 education, and continual feedback from educators. Depending on your needs, you can train your staff in as little as eight hours with our short courses, or delve into complex topics in our longer ones.
Our course writers are content experts with extensive subject matter credentials and classroom experience. They work closely with our development team to build an experience that is relevant, highly practical, and aligned with industry standards. Courses are not just filled with innovative techniques, but also illustrate how to apply these tools in practice. With each course, teachers develop tangible products such as lesson plans or assessments that they can use immediately in their classrooms.
Click below to learn more about our course design and unique features:
