How do we optimize accessibility within our students digital experiences? How do we customize their digital environment to maximize learning despite visual, hearing, physical, communication and learning challenges?
5 reasons to use Chrome for optimizing digital accessibility?
1. Cloudbase: Wherever your students are they can log into Chrome and have everything for them at their fingertips. No need to have a committed device or worry about what they can't access at home.
2. Built in Accessibility Settings: Like iOS, Chrome has a lot of embedded accessibility features. You can find directions on turning these features on and off here. Some include:
Make the cursor bigger (so it's more visible on the screen)
Turn on high contrast mode (makes the screen easier to read)
Turn on spoken feedback (describes what is happening on the screen)
Turn on sticky keys (allows shortcut keys to be typed in sequence, without pressing modifier keys at the same time)
Turn on the screen magnifier (enlarges items on the screen)
Automatically click when the cursor stops (click without using your mouse)
Turn on the on-screen keyboard (shows a keyboard that can be clicked with a mouse)
3. Apps and Extension: This is key to customizing accessibility for your students that does not exist in the built in features. Check out my pinterest with my recommended apps and extensions I have tested out and recommend for a variety of needs. These Apps and Extensions include text-to-speech, dictation, screencasts, readability, organization, various fonts, color inverters, ad blockers etc..
4. Google Apps for Education: Documents, spreadsheets, surveys, presentations, maps etc...There are so many amazing and fun ways to integrate these tools into learning. Check out Richard Brynes Google Tutorials or Matt Millers Ditch That Text Book for ideas.
5. Easy to Share and Collaborate: Whether you are sharing a document in google docs, collaborating on a presentation, meeting with a consultant on google hangouts, or collaborating with a class in another country there are so many ways to create collaborative opportunities and open the global classroom to students. Matt Miller, author of Ditch That Text Book has some great ideas for collaboration.
