Equal Access to the Digital World!

With a nation built on freedom and equality, providing a fair and equal education to all students has been a national, and international, topic of concern for over four decades. In today's classrooms, teachers strive to create a Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) of learning for all students not only because it's best practice, but since Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) all support an individuals right to a Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE), educators legally have to keep searching for ways to effectively and appropriately teach all learning styles and intelligences. 

Fortunately, the digital world is providing more ways to personalize instruction and providing more appropriate approaches to learning for each student's individual needs. The resources that technology provides for students to be successful are unlimited and becoming somewhat of a necessity for many students with disabilities to be successful in the mainstream classroom. Much like elevators and escalators have made buildings more accessible for everyone, disability or no disability, the digital world is making education more accessible for all students, disability or no disability. Thanks to Ronald Mace, the Universal Design model was originally seen in architecture during the civil rights movement time in the 1970's to make buildings more accessible for individuals with disabilities, like elevators and escalators have done, while subtly providing easier access for all individuals. This model was only recently implemented into education and is continuously changing with advancements in technology and the digital world. 

Microsoft alone has over 14 different types of assistive technology that benefit students/individuals with either physical or cognitive disabilities. A few examples are "alternative input devices that allow individuals to control their computer through means other than a standard keyboard or pointing device, braille embossers transfer computer generated text into embossed Braille output, and Text-to-Speech (TTS) or speech synthesizers that receive information going to the screen in the form of letters, numbers, and punctuation marks, and then "speak" it out loud in a computerized voice." (Microsoft Inc., 2014). Google is another company that is leading the way in the digital world and a resource that we will be using a lot of this year. I have provided a link to a video of the Google Glasses that is just an example of a product that Google has released and is helping all individuals make their everyday lives more manageable and fun. Google Glasses

Like all aspects of education, teachers must be sure to be fair and appropriate when implementing any resource or tool into their lessons. Allen Mendler and Richard Curwin (1988) first discuss the idea of treating students "fair but not equal" in their first edition of Discipline with Dignity. This idea of treating students fair but not equal actually supports FAPE and can be applied to the Universal Design of Learning model that now includes technology. If educators can learn and understand how to effectively implement technology into the everyday classroom, while being fair and appropriate towards every student's learning styles, abilities and disabilities, equal access to the digital world will only help in providing students with the education they deserve, while still preparing and teaching them how to be successful individuals.

REFERENCES
Curwin, Richard 2014. Fair Isn't Equal: Seven Classroom Tips. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/fair-isnt-equal-richard-curwin

Microsoft Inc. 2014. Microsoft Accessibility. Types of Assistive Technology Products. Retrieved from http://www.microsoft.com/enable/at/types.aspx


Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund n.d. A Comparison of ADA, IDEA, and Section 504. Retrieved from http://www.dredf.org/advocacy/comparison.html