Think of the last time you have met the term “accessibility”. What was the context? It may be a discussion on legal requirements or supply of technology. Or maybe it appeared by talking about designing quality online courses. No matter where you have met the term, you probably recognize that accessibility is important in education.
But here is the thing: in education, accessibility is often treated as a simple problem of conformity or reduced to a technical control list (“we must do it, or we will be prosecuted”, seems familiar?). This accessibility approach limits its impact, and honestly, can in fact be counterproductive, because all efforts tend to be short-lived. Accessibility is more than control lists, tests and procedures. This is a continuous and collaborative practice to eliminate obstacles to people with disabilities and to ensure their equitable access to opportunities and its participation in the company. This is why we have never finished!
According to the recent directives of the Ministry of Justice on the title II of Americans with Disability Act (ADA), most educational institutions have prioritized what we call teaching accessible, or ensuring that course equipment, technologies and teaching methods are accessible. This is an important step. However, much fewer institutions focus on teaching accessibility, which means to integrate accessibility as a subject in the program. In this article, we will explore why the two count and how they work together to create a more inclusive education.
Incorporate accessibility into teaching practices
Many educators recognize the importance of making their courses accessible and providing accommodation to support disabled students. But accessibility does not only concern the resources we use, it is also the way we teach. For example, the adoption of an accessible manual is an excellent step, but if the evaluations are based solely on timed examinations and high issues, disabled students can always face barriers. Similarly, offering a zoom class can improve access, but if the slides are not shared in advance, the legends and the ASL interpretation are not provided or that the recordings lack precise legends, the participation is still not really fair.
To make learning really accessible, we have to go beyond the simple supply of accessible materials and technologies. We must be intentional about how we structure learning, as well as how we teach, communicate and support our students. Of course, the adoption of an accessible learning management system or the use of subtitled videos is useful, but if we are counting on teaching methods that involuntarily create obstacles, disabled students can still have trouble getting involved and fully succeeding.
This is why accessible teaching is not only what but also how. This is how we deliver the content, the language we use in the process and the strategies that we implement to support all the learners. But to really integrate accessibility into the culture of education, we cannot stop teaching in an accessible way – we must also teach accessibility, integrate it as a key element of the program.
Incorporate accessibility into the study program
Once we have understood the principles, standards and directives of the accessible design, what is the next step? The answer is: teaching accessibility. This means integrating subjects such as handicap, assistance technology and accessibility principles in the content of courses and work between disciplines.
The reality is that accessibility skills are essential in all areas. Whether in business, health care, design or education, professionals must understand accessibility to create inclusive products, services and experiences. For example, a health professional must ensure that patients can access their independently medical records, including through assistance technology. A marketing team must design a campaign on social networks with a good color contrast, an alt text for images, legends for videos, clear language and Hashtags of camel case. A job manager must ensure that artificial intelligence tools (AI) used for recruitment provide accessible forms and support accommodation requests. So, how do we know what to teach our students accessibility?
At Teach Access, we have developed a framework that describes the main areas of accessibility knowledge and professional skills to guide the integration of programs. This framework gives an overview of the subjects and learning objectives to help students understand what, why and how accessibility. It is supported by various free programs and resources to help educators start to integrate these concepts into their courses. The good news? Integration of accessibility into the courses does not require a full course overhaul. Small intentional changes can have a significant impact.
Do you want to know more? Join us for “the integration of accessibility in our pedagogy and our program of studies at OLC Innovate 2025, where we will explore practical means of integrating accessibility into the design of teaching and curriculum, ensuring that all students obtain their diploma with these essential professional skills. Until then, let me know in the comments if you have engaged in teaching in an accessible manner and / or in the teaching of accessibility.
About the author
Rolando Méndez is the director of education at Teach Access, where he creates tools and strategies to help educators integrate accessibility into their teaching and programs. Designer, manager and facilitator of the bilingual learning experience, Rolando specializes in accessibility education, programs design and the development of labor. With more than 20 years of experience in education, he devoted his career to creating accessible, sustainable and evolving initiatives that promote learning and the application of knowledge. Rolando is a defender passionate about accessibility, equity and inclusion in all areas of education.
