When I was in my later teens, I developed a physical disability. With this physical disability, came all sorts of other symptoms: slower time processing, slower handwriting, and bladder impairment affecting my education experience. Having first-hand experience handling uninclusive instructors, I see things others may not, and I hope this will positively influence the way I am able to help.
When reading through the posts for this week, I sat in disbelief that some Laws were real. Often struggling to make it to University classes on time, and dealing with additional barriers when arriving on campus, I found doing my classes online to be extremely beneficial. Having that ripped away because of the majority opinion was a hard pill to swallow. By COVID-19 happening, hopefully, all will realize the benefit online classes had for some learners and instructors will continue to make education accessible for all.
Check this out: https://uvicssd.ca/campaigns-and-advocacy/access4all-campaign/
Here were some of the laws shared with us in this week’s blog posts:
- “Human Rights Law requires education providers to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities…unless undue hardship”
- “All students should have equitable access to learning, opportunities for achievement, and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of their educational programs.”
Within our Interactive Learning Resource, we are to assume that two of the following are present in our group of learners:
- colour blindness
- English language learner (ELL)
- loss of hearing
- single parent who is working full-time and has 2 kids in elementary school
- a person who does not have access to a computer at home, but has a mobile phone with a data plan
By answering the question: ‘How will your interactive learning resource specifically ensure that the needs of all learners can be met?’ I would say that our group could provide videos in black and white with captions, make sure everyone understands before moving on, make sure all extra work can be accessed through handouts, and make sure that all due dates are flexible. More specific details would come when knowing which type of individuals would be present.
A key to understanding is communication, so asking others to come to speak with you if they have any additional barriers would be essential.
To end off, I don’t think just one month should be considered ‘inclusion month’, but every month.
Look at this:
I loved reading one of my fellow classmate’s blog posts. I find it so sad that anyone who needs any extra support or type of accommodation has felt marginalized.
I specifically loved this video they shared. What stood out to me was when the speaker said “The existence of disability forces you to come up with solutions, it does not impair you.”
I encourage you to check out their blog!