Students of all ages and abilities can only reach their full potential when they are not restricted by their tools and surroundings. The equipment and technology they use both in the classroom and at home significantly impact their educational experience and learning quality. When technology is not accessible, it creates obstacles that can prevent students with special needs from fully and effectively participating.
In this section, we will cover four simple steps to improve inclusivity in the classroom:
Step 1 – Promote. Raising awareness about the significance of technology designed to be inclusive in order to foster more equitable learning environments.
Step 2 – Assess. Assessing your current technology setup to make sure it equips all students with the tools they need to learn in the ways that best meet their needs.
Step 3 – Enable. Enabling teachers, administrators, and students to accomplish more using advanced accessibility features.
Step 4 – Empower. Empowering students to achieve their potential by outfitting your school with inclusive technology that improves learning outcomes for everyone.
Step 1 – Promote Awareness
Improving inclusivity for all pupils requires a shift in focus towards understanding and utilising inclusive technology. This technology can help remove barriers, consolidate spending, and enhance outcomes. Recognising that students learn and express themselves uniquely, schools must move beyond one-size-fits-all models. The pandemic and increasing classroom diversity have highlighted the urgent need to address individual learning differences and preferences.
Many students need more support. SENCOs are key to inclusivity but face significant challenges. Remote and hybrid learning has shown the urgent need to redesign education for better accessibility and equity. To improve outcomes for all students, support is needed to ease the burden on SENCOs. A collective effort is required to inform staff about available solutions, enhancing productivity and potential for all learners. Importantly, inclusive tech benefits all pupils – not just those facing barriers to participation or activities.
ACTION: Ensure all staff familiarise themselves with digital accessibility tools.
SENCOs and school leadership teams can enhance learning outcomes by promoting inclusive technology as a universal tool for all students. For example, demonstrating accessibility tools to entire classes encourages widespread use and reduces stigma.
Useful Resources:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/education/educators/student-centered-learning
Step 2 – Assess Current Technology Use
Inclusive classrooms are essential for promoting equity in education. Research indicates that students who feel a sense of belonging in school tend to excel academically and are generally happier and more confident. This applies to students with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, as well as those with temporary conditions like a broken arm or those who have missed school due to illness. Teachers and SENCOs in the UK support over a million students with diverse accessibility needs, particularly in areas like autism and communication. Removing barriers for all students and using inclusive tools is crucial for their success. Effective accessibility solutions require a thoughtful selection of devices, tools, and outcomes to benefit everyone involved.
Check whether your current devices are designed to provide optimal productivity experiences for pupils of all abilities so that they can make the most of accessibility features. This includes features such as voice typing, anti-reflective screens, facial recognition, and more. Suitable accessibility features will vary depending on which specific needs are to be addressed.
Hearing – Students who are deaf or who have hearing loss will learn better visually. Those who are learning a new language can also benefit from specialised tools that remove barriers and boost independence, such as closed captioning, translation, and live call transcription.
Mental Health – Microsoft has developed ‘Reflect’ and ‘The Feelings Monster’, which can help students manage their mental well-being and optimise the learning process to ultimately improve academic performance.
Neurodiversity – Students who live with cognitive differences, such as ADHD, dyslexia, seizures, autism, etc., would benefit from a variety of settings which help minimise distractions, stay focused and organised, and improve reading, writing, and comprehension.
Learning – There are a variety of reading support tools which can help students with learning and cognitive differences by improving their reading and writing skills, comprehension, grammar, focus, and concentration. Teachers can also use a variety of features to track their student’s performance and provide feedback and encouragement.
Mobility – Check the availability of features to add to your devices that can empower students living with conditions that reduce mobility (including temporary ones, such as a broken arm) to be able to interact with their devices in ways that best fit their needs. For example, quality microphones for speech recognition, voice typing, and voice commands, or touchpads which can have the touch sensitivity adjusted.
ACTION: Assess your school’s accessibility priorities to create a more inclusive learning environment.
Useful Resources:
https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RWFNff
Step 3 – Enable Teachers and Support Staff
To improve outcomes for all students, schools should train staff in order for them to increase awareness and effectively use the accessibility features integrated into both software and hardware on all school devices. These features can include voice prompts, noise cancellation, narration toggles, text size adjustments, and live captions. By utilising these tools, education becomes more equitable and engaging, offering a personalised learning experience for every student.
ACTION: Learn what is possible with accessibility solutions that are built into both software and hardware.
Step 4 – Empower Every Student
Technology is a powerful tool for creating inclusive classrooms, benefiting not only SEND students but also others, such as those learning English as an additional language or those with temporary mobility issues. It enhances learning productivity for all. With remote and hybrid learning now integral to education, schools must ensure inclusive education regardless of location. This requires devices that meet individual needs, and there are many options available to support inclusive classrooms, empowering all learners to reach their potential.
Providing accessibility solutions to all students helps remove the stigma associated with SEND students learning differently, promotes mainstreaming and inclusivity, and supports the social and emotional well-being of all learners. Additional benefits include improved classroom efficiency, achievement of learning goals, time savings for teachers, and reduced IT costs and effort.
ACTION: Empower your school to build a foundation for future success.