Accessible Education: The Complete Guide

People go into education for one core reason: They want to help others grow. The learner could be a child starting their journey in kindergarten or gearing up to take the next step in high school. They could be a college-age student, eager to carve out their path in life. They could be a working professional looking to take the next step or make a change in their career.

No matter the age of the learners or the type of organisation, education is about helping people make positive changes in their lives.

But despite our best intentions, there are barriers that can limit access to education for some people, including those with disabilities. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 1.3 billion people experience significant disability, representing 16% of the world’s population, or 1 in 6 of us.

Making education inclusive means recognising the unique needs learners have and creating learning experiences that address them.

After all, if we want education to be truly transformative, it must be accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities.

In this guide, we’ll define accessible learning, discuss how to make education accessible and showcase some top-tier examples of accessibility in education.

What Is Accessible Learning?

Accessible learning is the process of designing educational content and courses that provide everybody with access to learning, regardless of their differences. Part of that is connecting people with learning resources that work for them, whether that means offering captions for people with hearing loss or enabling people to use assistive technologies. Accessible learning is a dynamic, ongoing process that aims to democratise education. 

Accessibility in Education: Definition 

At its foundation, addressing the mismatch between what a person’s needs are and what the system offers is what accessible education seeks to do. It’s about understanding individual differences and meeting people where they are.

Disability and Inclusion

A key component of accessible education is inclusion. We all want to feel supported by our community and be able to contribute to the same extent as our peers. In an inclusive learning environment, people with disabilities feel empowered to contribute to their full potential as valued individuals.

Permanent vs. Temporary Disability

Not all disabilities are permanent. There are many different types, including:

• Permanent: A permanent disability is a lasting impairment with significant and enduring effects on daily life, often necessitating long-term accommodation and support. This type of disability may stem from congenital conditions, chronic illnesses or severe injuries.
• Temporary: A temporary disability denotes a short-term limitation resulting from injury, illness or medical condition, typically with the potential for recovery over time. Individuals experiencing temporary disabilities may require temporary adjustments to activities or environments.
• Situational: Situational disabilities may only appear in certain circumstances.An example of a situational disability is anxiety that arises in crowded or noisy environments, affecting an individual’s ability to focus or participate fully in social activities.
• Episodic: An episodic disability is characterised by recurring periods of impairment interspersed with periods of wellness. This type of disability may be a condition such as multiple sclerosis, lupus or certain mental health disorders. 

Equity vs. Equality in Education

Equality is about giving everyone the same tools to reach the same goal. This would be effective if everyone had the same needs and started from the same place, but that’s rarely the case. The reality is that if you give everyone the same tools, only some will be successful.

Equity acknowledges the individual needs, abilities and circumstances people carry with them. It provides alternative or extra tools so that everyone can reach a common goal in their own unique way.

Imagine you’re assigning a series of informational web pages as reading for your anatomy class. If you assign it only as a reading, maybe 60% of the students will be able to fully comprehend the information. Meanwhile, the remaining 40% might struggle because of learning disabilities, technological issues or other factors. Offering supplementary explanations and multiple content formats can help bridge the gap and get all learners on the same page. Dr Sambhavi Chandrashekar has been the global accessibility lead at D2L since 2017. During that time, she has deeply considered making education accessible to everyone, regardless of differences in age, abilities or location.

The IDEA of Accessible Learning

At D2L, we practice inclusive design by involving people with disabilities at every stage of the product process. Our idea is that if we design for people with disabilities from the start, the results will help everybody—and it’s well worth the effort. 

Jarrett Carter, associate vice president for integrative learning design at the University of Maryland Global Campus, echoes that student well-being trumps compliance red tape.

Carter emphasises that while accountability is important, “what’s really important is making sure from the beginning we’re designing as inclusively as we can. We know that there are going to be limitations. We know that it takes time. But the more we can be proactive in designing learning experiences, the less it becomes about [just] compliance.”

Our guiding philosophy is called IDEA. It has four parts: inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility.

Inclusion

We believe that education is incredibly powerful and transformative and that everyone should be able to learn. Every human is different, so achieving inclusion involves recognising diversity, enabling equity and enhancing accessibility. 

We also recognise that inaccessible content is created more out of a lack of awareness than ill intentions. We believe that including users with disabilities in the initial content creation process can help detect any potential limitations of educational programs early on.

Diversity

Everyone brings unique abilities, ages, genders, religions and cultures to the table. The fabric of humanity is so diverse that learning should be designed to cater to that diversity. Our differences should be integral to the design of any educational course.

Equity

As mentioned earlier, equality doesn’t provide equal opportunity across individual differences. But equity does. Equity is about understanding each person’s unique needs and giving them the tools they need to achieve their desired outcomes. 

As part of that, we see technology as a powerful equaliser—not because it provides the same user experience for everyone but because it can provide different experiences for everyone, making it easier to promote equity. 

Accessibility

To design for users of all kinds, we focus on accessibility. This is about providing choices to users. By allowing them to perform tasks in alternative ways, we can anticipate their different needs proactively.

Take this case: You’ve assigned your learners to watch a video. If you don’t provide captions, the video will be inaccessible to a learner who is deaf. It would also be inaccessible to a student who’s recently had ear surgery or who is trying to watch the video in a library or coffee shop. By creating an inclusive learning experience for the student who is deaf, you can have a much broader impact on all students.

Why Accessibility in Education Is Important

Disability doesn’t always fly under the radar. If a learner needs additional accommodation and doesn’t receive it, their performance may suffer as a result. Yet they might be hesitant to ask because they’re anxious about putting themselves in an uncomfortable position. Maybe they didn’t want their instructor to know about their recent operation or progressive hearing loss.

In an ideal world, every learner’s needs would be met from the start, and everybody would have the resources needed to succeed.

Since we’re still working toward that, it’s worth taking a few minutes to discuss why accessible education is important not only for people with disabilities but for everyone.

Why Is Accessibility Important?

The 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet through its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of those goals is to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”

Together with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), an “international human rights convention that promotes, protects, and ensures the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms for people with disabilities,” one thing is clear: Giving people with disabilities access to quality education is imperative to the progress of our planet. Educators worldwide recognise the importance of providing equal access to education.

Accessible Education for Students With Disabilities

Accessible education for students with disabilities is a key part of a supportive learning environment. But to be truly inclusive, we need to go beyond the necessary accommodations and support. We need to create a culture of understanding and acceptance, where students aren’t “othered” for their differences and can readily access accommodations without needing to explicitly ask for them every time.

Dan Casey is the capability development manager at Vision Australia, the leading national provider of personalised technology, services and information for anyone experiencing or supporting those with vision loss.

He ensures his team has the digital accessibility knowledge to perform their roles well. He says, “One of our organisational values is being person-centered, so we encourage our staff to apply this value when thinking about accessibility. That means always designing and preparing accessible resources and documents and implementing accessible strategies for presentations, workshops and meetings.”

Accessibility in High-Pressure Learning Environments

Learning for the sake of learning is great. But the reality is that sometimes learning environments can be high pressure. Whether you’re a high school student being encouraged by your parents or a corporate lawyer striving to fulfil continuing education requirements, the stakes can be high.

In an episode of D2L’s Teach & Learn podcast, Carter reflected on his experience as a learner and how it shaped his views on inclusive learning.

How Accessible Design Benefits All Learners

If you design education for people with permanent disabilities, you’ll be able to meet the needs of others as well, levelling the playing field for everyone.

For example, suppose you offer a lesson in audio file format. In this case, it’s accessible to both a student with vision loss and a student who’s just had their eyes dilated and is temporarily unable to read.

People with permanent disabilities will feel the positive impacts of accessible education, but it’s not beneficial solely for them. It can make a difference for learners, instructors and institutions. Think of:

• a person with a broken arm who can’t type and needs to use talk-to-text solutions
• a working parent who needs captioned videos so they can learn while their child sleeps in their arms
• a busy student who can take advantage of audio files to learn as they run on the treadmill or commute on the bus
• a person in an area underserved by the internet who needs alt text when images don’t properly load

These are just a few examples that show the positive trickle-down impact of accessible education on learners of all kinds, and we’re just scratching the surface. No two individuals are the same, and we can’t put people in boxes or assume a baseline. Rather, we need to be able to appreciate and respond to the uniqueness of every person’s individual needs. 

How to Make Education Accessible

Now that we’ve discussed the importance of accessible education, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty. How do you make learning more accessible? Let’s break accessible education down into its components.

Accessible Technology 

Accessible technology is a key part of accessible education. Some learners use assistive technologies, for example. A person who is blind might use a screen reader, a person with low vision might use a screen magnifier, and a person who is paralysed might use speech input.

Accessible Courses

To ensure compatibility with assistive technologies, a learning management system (LMS) must work with them and conform to accessibility standards. These include global frameworks like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and regional legislation like Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in the US or the Accessible Canada Act in Canada. 

Accessible Materials

Accessible materials can be anything from captioned videos to text-to-speech texts to accessible LMSs. The important thing is that the materials follow certain criteria. 

For example, you might elect to work with an LMS that doesn’t allow you to upload images without an added text description. That way, the material’s default setting is to have the material be available to blind or low-vision learners.

In this process, you’ll need to consider two kinds of accessibility questions:

1. Technical: Does the LMS conform to relevant, accepted and up-to-date standards?
2. Functional: Is the person trying to use a screen reader actually able to use it?

Accessible Design

If it’s your first time working with accessible design, Casey recommends learning from what other educational institutions have done well and where they’ve come up short. Remember your end goal: Accessibility is about making learning easier for learners with disabilities. 

Casey encourages anyone designing educational resources to spend time using the assistive technology themselves. “Try using a screen reader like JAWS to navigate a Word document or complete a learning module, as this will give you an idea of the user experience for using screen readers.” 

In addition, Casey urges educational designers to “consult with end users during the design and development phase, and this includes appropriate accessibility testing.”

Dr Chandrashekar echoes him when she reminds us, “Nothing about us without us.” Making accessibility checks part of the procurement process ensures that tomorrow’s students can learn.

Accessible Pedagogy

Accessible pedagogy involves considering learners’ diverse needs and preferences, including those with disabilities or different learning styles. This process may mean providing alternative formats for course materials, such as audio descriptions for visual content, or offering adjustable font size and colour contrast settings to accommodate individuals with visual impairments. 

Incorporating universal design principles into course design ensures that learning environments are inclusive and accessible to all students, regardless of their background or abilities. The three tenets of Universal Design for Learning are:

1. Multiple means of representation: In other words, provide numerous ways of consuming content. Lessons should be supplied in the form of video, text, slides and so on.
2. Multiple means of action and expression: When it comes time for students to show the knowledge they’ve acquired through assessments, they should also be allowed to express themselves in different formats, whether that’s through a poem, a presentation, a short film or a podcast.
3. Multiple means of engagement: Students should have multiple ways of engaging with instructors and other learners. This could mean an online community for questions or access to online discussion boards, for instance.

Accessible Community

An accessible community creates inclusive learning environments where all students feel valued and supported. Educators can promote accessible communities by encouraging peer interaction, facilitating group discussions that respect diverse perspectives and implementing inclusive language. 

Providing students with opportunities to give back through community service projects and peer mentoring can further strengthen their sense of belonging and connection within the learning environment.

Accessible Culture

Inclusive learning has cultural implications as well. If you’re designing or teaching a global course and mention a brand, make sure it’s truly global. If you mention a sport, for example, avoid throwing out the term “football” without clarification. Or if you’re using certain colloquialisms, think twice and ask yourself if they will be clear to your audience.

The takeaway: Refrain from assuming what baseline access and knowledge students might have.

Examples of Accessibility in Online Learning

Just as accessibility looks different for everyone, it also varies depending on context. While there can be a great deal of overlap between various learning environments, there are differences between accessibility at school and accessibility in the workplace. 

Keep in mind these examples of accessibility and online learning as you design your courses.

Accessibility at School

An accessible learning environment at school might have the following:

• Closed captioning and transcripts: Providing closed captioning for videos and transcripts for audio content ensures that students with hearing loss can effectively access course materials.
• Screen reader compatibility: Ensuring that online learning platforms and course materials are compatible with screen readers enables students with visual impairments to navigate and interact with the content seamlessly.
• Alternative text for images: Including alternative text for images allows students using screen readers to understand the visual content presented in online courses.
• Accessible learning platforms: Using LMSs and online platforms that adhere to web accessibility standards ensures that all students, including those with disabilities, can navigate course materials, submit assignments and participate in discussions.
• Alternative assessment methods: Offering alternative assessment methods, such as oral presentations or projects, in addition to traditional exams accommodates students with disabilities who may have difficulty with written exams or timed assessments.
• Flexible timelines and extensions: Offering flexible timelines and extensions for assignments accommodates students with disabilities who may require additional time or support to complete coursework.

Accessibility at Work

Meanwhile, in the workplace, accessibility could entail the following:

• Accessible communication tools: Workplace communication tools are crucial to day-to-day work and learning. Using screen reader-compatible chat platforms and captioning for video conferencing ensures that employees with disabilities can effectively collaborate with their colleagues during online training sessions and virtual meetings.
• Accessible training materials: Providing online training materials in accessible formats, such as HTML or PDF, ensures that employees with disabilities can participate in training sessions and professional development opportunities.
• Flexible learning schedules: Offering asynchronous online learning opportunities allows employees with disabilities to access training materials and complete coursework at their own pace, accommodating their individual needs and schedules.
• Assistive technology support: Providing support for assistive technologies such as screen readers, magnification software or speech recognition software enables employees with disabilities to learn effectively.

Again, this list is far from comprehensive. Our hope is that it gives you some starting considerations as you dive into the world of accessible education.

Making Education Accessible for All

Education is not just an opportunity—it’s a right everyone deserves access to. People of different backgrounds and abilities bring new perspectives to their schools and workplaces, and the 1.3 billion people with disabilities deserve to have their voices heard. 

Of course, remember that accessibility is a journey, not a destination. It’s a constant work in progress, and there are always improvements to be made.

Now that you’ve got a basic understanding of what makes education accessible, it’s time to do your part and put these theories into practice. What can you do to make your learning environments more accessible?

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