We use the definition of accessibility from the Canadian Government site Making an accessible Canada for persons with disabilities which states:

“Accessibility in Canada is about creating communities, workplaces and services that enable everyone to participate fully in society without barriers.” (Canada, E. and S. D., 2022)

We use the definition of accessible technology as technology which is designed for people who experience disabilities. This technology may be directly accessible or accessible through compatibility with “assistive” technology. (PEAT, 2022)

Appropriately designed accessible technology is designed to meet the needs of people who experience disabilities rather than having them conform to an able-bodied standard.

Canada and all provinces ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2010 offering a framework for translating these fundamental rights into reality. Importantly, ratifying parties are obligated to ensure access to inclusive general education with non-disabled peers (Inclusive Education, 2020).

In March 2018, the Ontario Human Rights Commission published their Policy on accessible education for students with disabilities (2018). In Appendix A they recommended taking all necessary steps to:

• remove barriers in the disability accommodation process

• ensure transparent oversight and accountability for the timely and effective accommodation of students with disabilities

• implement Universal Design for Learning (UDL) across all education systems, while continuing to provide accommodation based on individual needs

• provide effective training and education for education providers on human rights, disability rights and accommodation

• put students with disabilities at the centre of all decision-making processes.

As iPads are a commonly used tool in education, this site focuses on the use of iPads as a form of accessible technology in learning environments. Apple heavily promotes the accessibility of its products and you can see an overview on their website. In Learning with iPad: Reaching All Learners, Apple (2018) affirms their belief that “technology should be accessible to everyone” (p.2) while stressing the versatility of the technology to meet a wide variety of learning needs and provide accessibility to a broad range of needs.

The accessibility features on the iPad can be broadly organized into the following four categories: vision, mobility, hearing and cognitive. In the following sections we will unpack how some of these features apply to an educational context as well as review some critical feedback of Apple's approach.

Accessibility features on the iPad that may be used by people with cognitive disabilities include features to aid with blocking out environmental distractions, multimodal forms of receiving information, insight into how the device is being used as well as the Guided Access feature which focuses the use of the device on a single app at a time.

A study by Isaksson & Björquist (2021) found that for youth with intellectual disabilities, an integration of iPads into existing contexts in ways that enhanced their social engagement rather than as a special focused activity was most effective for a few main reasons. First, it afforded the youth the ability to make informed choices about their use of technology which increased engagement. Secondly, it allowed for the youth to use the iPads in a similar manner to their non-disabled peers.

Even with Apple's focus on a universal design for accessibility, it should be noted that typically these features come at a financial cost. While iPads are commodity hardware, they carry with them a significant cost and depending on a family's financial situation may be prohibitively expensive, creating a barrier to accessibility. In addition, custom assistive technology such as hearing aids or braille displays carry with them additional costs that must be considered depending on the needs of the learners in your educational environment.

In addition, it must be considered whether these devices would be owned/managed by the school or by the family, and if they would be offered for use only within a school environment and during school hours, or whether families and students would be able to take the devices home and make use of them throughout their daily lives both in and outside of school. Certainly, for the technology to offer a meaningful impact, it is our recommendation that this technology would be available to families and students both in and outside of school otherwise the introduction of accessible technology only within the school environment could end up disabling the learner in other contexts when they are not able to access the same tools to meet their needs.

In keeping with the social model of disability, it is important not just to consider the affordances that a particular technology provides, but also the social context. 1:1 device deployments have been found to normalize accessibility by virtue of all learners being provided with the same support tool. (Nieves, 2021) Where possible, providing all learners with the same technology and the option to enable/disable accessibility features as required is in keeping with Universal Design for Learning as specific supports for disabled learners are included for all learners.

Just because a technology is designed to be accessible, does not mean it will be accessible to all users by default, or crucially, offer accessibility in a manner that meets each user's needs. It’s important that the individuals using the technology are active participants in articulating their needs including social, physical and economic as well as their goals or expectations from the technology. Those seeking to introduce accessible technology for learning should always be reminded that disability is not a problem to be solved, and that "technology is most beneficial as a means to an end for independence, and does not equal independence, choices and social mastery. (Roulstone, 2016, p. 113)

In our next section, we will guide you through steps to assess and be responsive to the accessibility needs within your own community with the goal of reducing barriers to accessibility.