Assistive Technology in eLearning and Online Teaching - Ontario Ministry of Education

1) Review: Accessibility Rules for Educational Institutions: The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) sets out clear requirements for schools to reduce barriers & ensure equitable access. For us as teachers, that means making sure information, instruction, & tech tools are provided in accessible formats, whether through digital captioning, alternative formats, or physical classroom adjustments.
2) Review: SNOW (Special Needs Ontario Window): SNOW is such a great resource hub. It focuses on inclusive design & flexible digital tools that help students of all abilities access learning. I appreciate how it brings in low-tech options alongside high-tech ones, reminding us that accessibility can be as simple as a format change or as complex as adaptive software.
3) Add a Tool/Strategy: One assistive tool I’d recommend is Read&Write for Google. It supports students with dyslexia, ELL needs, or reading challenges by reading text aloud, providing dictionaries, & even offering word prediction. I’ve used it with ELL students in Taiwan, & it boosted confidence in both reading comprehension & writing tasks.
4) Inquiry: Ontario Human Rights & Accessibility Laws: The Ontario Human Rights Code requires schools to accommodate students with disabilities to the point of undue hardship. The Ontarians with Disabilities Act & AODA go further by requiring public institutions to provide accessible information, adaptive tech, & training for educators. Together, these laws make it clear that AT isn’t optional, it’s a right.
5) Experience: AT on Devices: I tried out the built-in speech-to-text feature on my phone & laptop. It’s surprisingly accurate now, & I can see how it’s life-changing for students who struggle with writing. Adjusting font size & using dark mode are small tweaks, but for students with vision stress, it can mean the difference between frustration & real engagement.
In the late winter / early spring of 2024, at the OCSB, while teaching grade 9 world religions, I had a student who was a "person with albinism", which affected his sight, so he was legally blind, and he used assistive technology with his tablet. It assisted him tremendously, but I had to really keep an eye on him to make sure he wasn't playing a video game about soccer while we were learning. Easy enough, because he sat at the front of the class, but surprisingly enough, his T.A. didn't stop him from playing the video game 😒. Even though he was blind, he loved kicking the soccerball around the hallway with his friends 😕.
6) Apply to E-Learning: In Brightspace (Ontario’s LMS), AT is built right into the platform. Students can adjust font sizes, use text-to-speech, add captions, or use screen readers with the content. In Google Meet or Teams, live captions are a big help, especially for ELL learners or students with hearing challenges.
7) Research on AT: Recent studies show AT boosts both independence & achievement when used consistently. LD@school has a ton of practical examples of AT in action, including low-tech supports like pencil grips & high-tech tools like Kurzweil for literacy. The UDL framework is at the heart of this research, reminding us that what’s necessary for some is often good for all.
8) Implementation & UDL: In my classroom, I’d implement AT by weaving it into daily lessons rather than singling students out. For example, using graphic organizers, text-to-speech, & captioning as standard options for everyone normalizes their use. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) plays the key role here: by planning flexible content & assessment options upfront, we reduce the need for retroactive accommodations & create a classroom where every learner feels supported.

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