Accessible Learning: Where to Start

Why “accessibility” isn't just a technical term

When we talk about accessible learning , we mean an educational approach that allows all students, regardless of ability, language, cultural background, or socioeconomic status—to fully participate , learn, and contribute. According to UNICEF: "Inclusive education is the most effective way to give all children a real opportunity to go to school, learn, and develop life skills." UNICEF In other words: accessibility doesn't just mean "adapting for someone," but designing an environment from the outset that is flexible , diverse , and welcoming . For example, the Stanford Teaching Commons guide encourages us to think about access broadly: digital material, connections, timing, and modalities.

Imagine a classroom where every student can choose how they learn: by listening, reading, or interacting. This is the heart of accessible learning.

Three macro-steps to start accessible learning

Here is a path divided into three concrete steps that every school, class, and teacher can use as a guide.

Step A: Map the context

• Analyze student diversity : abilities, language backgrounds, learning styles, digital access.

• Check the available technical and material resources: devices, internet, support tools.

• Engage teachers, students, and families in a short survey or focus group: what barriers do they encounter? This act of "scanning" revolves around the idea that accessibility is not an afterthought, but a design requirement . The U.S. Department of Education study emphasizes that inclusive practices begin with a shared vision, leadership, and support system.

Step B: Design with accessibility-oriented principles

• Apply the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL): multiple representation, multiple expression, multiple engagement. Provide multiple learning modalities: videos with captions, simplified text, audio descriptions, collaborative activities.

• Adopt assistive technologies and tools (for example: text-to-speech conversion software, machine translation, graphic organization tools).

• Establish classroom norms and ways of interacting that foster a sense of belonging for everyone. Stanford recommends setting norms and commitments as part of inclusive design.

  
  

Step C: Implement, monitor, adapt

• Choose a pilot learning unit to test accessible learning: a specific lesson or project.

• Collect ongoing feedback from students and faculty: what's working? What barriers emerge?

• Analyze the data: participation, completion, quality of interaction, student perception.

• Adapt your design based on your findings and scale the approach to other units or classes. As noted, systematically implementing inclusive practices requires collaboration, ongoing training support, and dedicated resources.

5 ready-to-use ideas to make your lesson more accessible

• Accessible digital materials : Offer slides with high-contrast text, navigable PDF versions, and videos with subtitles in multiple languages.

• Differentiated group activities : for example, different groups working on parts of the lesson and then switching, including students with different learning speeds.

• Assistive technologies : ambient microphone for students with hearing difficulties, speech recognition software for those with writing difficulties.

• Personalized formative feedback : using adaptive quizzes that allow the teacher to immediately identify critical areas and intervene in a targeted manner.

• Engaging families and communities : Conduct a workshop with parents and students on what it means to learn in an accessible way, gathering input to improve learning environments.

Frequent challenges and how to deal with them

• Disparities in technology access : If some students don't have devices or connectivity, consider offline materials, shared devices, or work time at school.

• Insufficient teacher training : organize short, practical training sessions on accessibility and inclusion (e.g., a 30-minute “pill” on assistive technology).

• Resistance to change : Clearly communicate the vision – “accessible learning is for everyone” – and showcase small successes to gain buy-in.

• Material or tool bias : Critically evaluate resources: represented cultures? Accessible languages? Visible diversity?

• Sustainability over time : integrate accessibility as a daily “way of designing” and not as a one-off project.

Every barrier faced is a step toward a more equitable school.

Why it's worth starting now

Investing in accessible education means:

• Improve outcomes for all students, not just those with specific needs.

• Reduce barriers and increase participation, engagement and motivation.

• Building a more cohesive, equitable, and resilient school community in the face of change. As UNICEF highlights, inclusion ensures that every child has the opportunity to develop their potential. UNICEF

Resources and insights

• Overview of Inclusive Teaching Practices – Stanford Teaching Commons: https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/teaching-guides/inclusive-teaching-guide/getting-started-inclusive-teaching/overview-inclusive Teaching Commons

• Applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL) – Learning for Justice: https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/applying-universal-design-for-learning-udl-supports-inclusive-education Learning for Justice

• 5 Tips for Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment – Augusta University Blog: https://www.augusta.edu/online/blog/inclusive-learning-environment Augusta University

• Inclusive Education – UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org/education/inclusive-education UNICEF

• Building and Sustaining Inclusive Educational Practices – US Department of Education PDF: https://www.ed.gov/media/document/inclusive-practices-guidance-109436.pdf US Department of Education

Your next step

You've read, reflected, and maybe taken some notes: now it's your turn to act !

• Choose a lesson or module you'd like to make more accessible and adapt one or two ideas from the plan above.

• Share an “accessibility checklist” you’ve created with colleagues or teams.

• Share in the comments below: What challenges have you identified? What actions have you decided to take?

• Sign up (or ask the administration) for internal training on accessibility and inclusion.

  
  

Every small step counts: together we can make accessible learning not the exception, but the rule. Thank you for your commitment!