Looking Backward to Design An Inclusive Future

Looking Backward to Design An Inclusive Future By Christopher Bugaj

Looking Backward to Design An Inclusive Future universal design for learning

The year is 1999. The primary way to interface with a com- puter is with a mouse. Some people with disabilities have trou- ble accessing the computer using a mouse. What’s a solution for many people? Let’s place a touch window over the monitor to allow the person to directly touch the screen. We call this technology touch screens. The year is 2001. The primary way to read text is with your eyes. Some people with disabilities have trouble accessing the text using their eyes. What’s a solution for many? Let’s provide access to software that will read the text aloud so they can use their ears instead (or in addition to) their eyes to access the text. We call this technology text to speech as seen in Image 1. The year is 2002. The primary way to produce text is to type letter by letter on a keyboard using a word processor. Some people with disabilities have trouble accessing the keyboard or spelling the words. What’s a solution for many? Let’s pro- vide these individuals with software that provides contextually guesses at what they are trying to type and decreases the num- ber of keystrokes necessary to produce the word. We call this technology word prediction and word completion as seen in Image 2. The year is 2003. The primary way to produce text is still to type letter by letter on a keyboard using a word processor. Some people with disabilities have trouble accessing the key- board. What’s a solution for many? Let’s provide these individ-

Image 1: Speak Screen Function of iOS

Chris Bugaj, MA CCC‐SLP is a founding member the Assistive Technology Team for Loudoun County Public Schools. Chris hosts The A.T.TIPSCAST (http://attipscast.com); a multi‐award winning podcast featuring strategies to design educational experiences and co-hosts the Talking With Tech (http://www.talkingwithtech.net/) podcast featuring interviews and conversations about augmentative and alternative communication. Chris is the co‐author of The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools (http://bit.ly/chewatamazon) published by the International Society on Technology in Education (ISTE) and has designed and instructed online courses for ISTE on the topics of Assistive Technology and Universal Design for Learning. Chris is also the author of ATEval2Go (http:// bit.ly/ateval2go), an app for iPad that helps professionals in education perform technology assessments for students. Chris has presented over 250 live or digital sessions at local, regional, state, national and international events, including TEDx, all of which are listed at http://bit.ly/bugajpresentations. His latest book The New Assistive Tech: Making Learning Awesome For All (http://bit.ly/thenewat4all), also published by ISTE, is available for order now!

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The year is 2008. The primary way for educators to display content to students is through boards in the front of the room. Some people with disabilities have trouble seeing the display at great distances. Let’s provide these individuals with a device at their seats that simulcasts what is on the board and so they can magnify it based on their needs. We call this technology screen sharing. The year is 2019. Touchscreen technology is the primary way people interface with computing devices. Text to speech is freely available on any computing device. Word prediction and word completion are default functionalities of text messaging and Internet search services. People talk to a variety of devic- es to control functions and produce text. Numerous educators have adopted flexible learning spaces where every student has a choice in where they work and on what they sit. Many school districts have invited Bring Your Own Technology and One-to- One Device initiatives where educators share content to every student no matter where they sit. These are but a few illustrations (there are many more) of a simple, yet powerful, fact. Functionalities of technologies that were derived as solutions for a small population of people with disabilities are now used widely by the masses. Accommodations As Tools for Educational Experience Design In a Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) model, as seen in Image 4, schools determine what interventions (including tech- nologies) are made available to every student. These are called Tier One supports. Tier Two supports might be made available to small groups of students. Tier Three supports are made available based on the needs of the individual student and are frequently listed as accommodations in Individual Education Plans. Accom- modations documented in Individualized Education Programs outline technologies, strategies and other interventions neces- sary to ensure that the student receives a free appropriate public education. Although it might seem like tiered supports are static remaining forever fixed in their spot, this is an illusion brought upon individual snapshots in time. When we examine a histori- cal perspective, the trend is clear. Tier Three supports, over time, often become Tier Two or Tier One. Armed with the knowledge of this historical trend, we can use this known pattern and apply it to the future of instructional design. SEC. 4104 of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 explicit- ly states that the “STATE USE OF FUNDS [for Student Support and Academic Enrichments] Funds shall be used to support“local ed- ucation agencies in providing programs that increase access to personalized, rigorous learning experiences supported by tech- nology by … providing technical assistance to local educational agencies to improve the ability of local educational agencies to use technology, consistent with the principles of universal de- sign for learning, to support the learning needs of all students,

Image 2: Word completion and word prediction while text messaging

uals with software that allows them to speak what they want to type and have the text appear in the document as they speak it. We call this technology speech to text or voice dictation as seen in Image 3. The year is 2005. The primary place most students sit is in the same style chair as most every other student at the same height. Some people with disabilities have trouble sitting in these chairs or working at the standard height. What’s a solution for many? Let’s provide these individuals with flexible seating, such as soft, portable inflatable pillow-like cushions that allows them to wig- gle, squirm and bounce to help them focus. We call this technol- ogy vestibular or balance discs.

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Closing The Gap

Image 3: Voice Typing in Google Docs

including children with disabilities and English learners …” One strategy educators can use to answer this charge is to examine the most frequently used accommodations in Individ- ualized Education Plans. Educational leaders can generate a top three, five or even 10 lists. This list could then be used to help inform decisions about the design of personalized learning ex- periences and the technology used to support them. For any accommodation met through technology that ap- pears on this list, educators could consider the viability of mak- ing the function of that technology available something that is available to all students. For instance, if text to speech appears frequently as accommodations in IEPs, then perhaps that func- tion should be made available to everyone. For any accommodation met through an instructional prac- tice that appears on the list, educators could consider the viabil- ity of making that practice a parameter by which all educational experiences are designed. For example, if preferential seating appears frequently as an accommodation in IEP, then perhaps every student should be given a chance to choose the seating that she or he prefers. The process of examining the most fre- quently used accommodations could be repeated regularly and this information could be used as an evidence based tool to make intentional instructional design decisions. One option for creating a list of accommodations is to anon- ymously extract that data from the system used to manage IEPs. It might be easy enough to pull the accommodations out into a spreadsheet, sort the information or do a search for keywords and collect the number of results. This can be particularly help- ful for accommodations that are meant to provide the same or similar intents but which are worded differently. For instance, speech recognition software and speech-to-text software are likely examples of accommodations that are worded differently but which meaning presents similar intentionality. In some cases, depending on the IEP system used, it might be the case that accommodation data cannot be exported into a spreadsheet for analysis. If this is the case, another option for creating a list of most frequently used accommodations is to

Image 4: MTSS Triangle

manually add them to a shared spreadsheet throughout the course of a year.

The Not-So-Hidden Benefits of Using Accommodations to Design For The Masses Systematic examination of accommodations and intentional- ly using them to design instruction for the masses provides ed- ucators with a methodology for increasing inclusive practices. Beyond the legal requirements, there are additional benefits to this practice and approach. Educators work to provide accommodations in IEPs. The time, energy and effort spent on providing an accommodation for an individual might feel like a burden or drain on resources to some. However, when accommodations are just thought of as tools used to design instruction for everyone, then they become helpful, integral and even necessary. The entire mindset around providing accommodations can change from compliance to one of usefulness. A list of accommodations can be used as a

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rubric for which specific tools and strategies can be incorporat- ed throughout the learning environments and experiences. Ac- commodations, when used as a resource to design instruction, become shortcuts and guides for how to construct and deliv- er lessons. Using accommodations in this way saves educators time, energy and effort. Educators who look at the list of accom- modations and say, “Oh, why don’t I just provide this to all the students?” are exhibiting a mindset primed for inclusion. Migrating supports from Tier Three to Tier One can also be cost effective. Purchasing supports for individuals is often less cost effective per student than purchasing them for the masses. An analysis of the number and cost of tools used to implement a specific accommodation can provide a quantifiable amount. This number can be compared to the cost of providing the sup- port universally. Time spent evaluating the need could also be a factor in this consideration. When a support is available to be tried by any student, more students can try them for longer pe- riods of time and demonstrate evidence of need more expedi- tiously. No one needs to wait, qualify or demonstrate a need to access a Tier One support. Accessing Tier One supports empowers students to take ownership of their own learning including the tools and strate- gies that are most effective to meeting their own needs. Further, as students discover they utilize a Tier One support, they often share that support with peers. Students with disabilities can be- come leaders in how to personalize the learning experience and champions for other students who are also working toward be- coming masters of their own learning. Students with disabilities can become the technology and learning leaders among their peers. Care should also be taken to realize that accommodations are only counted for those who have been identified as need- ing them. There could be an entire population of students who also require them but who have yet to be identified. Further, the practice of provisioning supports based on tiers is not unique to students with disabilities. Providing a support to a greater number of students could assist other minority populations of students as well. Words of Warning Accommodations that become Tier One supports continue to need to be listed as accommodations. Availability does not ne- gate need. The charge of the Individualized Education Plan team is to outline what a student requires to guarantee a free appro- priate public education. Because Tier One supports are variable based on location, the IEP team should be sure to document and specify needs regardless of what is available to all. The practice of strategically and systematically making spe- cific Tier Three supports available to all should not be confused or misinterpreted as being a claim that Tier One supports are all that is needed. There will likely always be a need for Tier Three supports. Student needs vary greatly from individual to indi-

vidual. Certain students will require supports that are uniquely specialized and customized to meet the needs of the individual situation. Providing supports as a Tier One increases the access and availability to supports most students might need. An Intentional Plan For the Future What are currently the most frequently occurring accommo- dations right now? Are there certain accommodations on the rise? Will these accommodations one day also become some- thing adopted by the masses? History says that is likely. A claim could be made that there is a rise in the number of students who have access to augmentative and alternative communication devices and supports that use symbols to assist in the represen- tation of words. Is the use of tools like emojis, avatars, memes and gifs in text messages an indicator that the general public has begun to use alternative, picture/symbol based commu- nication methodologies for general communication? Will this trend continue? As eye control, voice recognition and artificial intelligence technology continues to improve, will the primary way users interface with their devices become a combination of voice and eye gaze? As developers of new technologies and designers of instructional practices, we can look to innovations used by people with disabilities to inform the future. The year is 2029. Every student, regardless of ability, is includ- ed in every environment with peers participating in educational experiences designed around personal needs. Most students have taken charge of their own learning, with educators guid- ing and coaching them along individual journeys of discovery. The multiple forms of technology students use supports their learning, works seamlessly whenever they need it, and is as available as the air they breathe. Students transition from tool- to-tool and place-to-place based on what works best for them to accomplish what they hope to learn. There are still students who require Tier Three supports that are highly specialized and customized to meet specific needs. This number, however, has grown increasingly smaller. Tier Two and Tier One supports have swelled and, in truth, aren’t even thought of as supports to the educators who put them in place and the students who use them. Instead, these tools and strategies have just become standard operating procedure in a world that has become more accessible to everyone. Is this what the future of education looks like to you? What future do you want to see become a reality? What actions will you take to get us there as fast as possible? This new world did not happen by accident. It was designed. The march toward inclusion was intentionally built on the tech- nology used by those people, including students, with disabili- ties that came before. Together we can build a more inclusive fu- ture purposefully designed for everyone based on the historical lessons they’ve taught us.

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Closing The Gap

Additional Resources: Eye tracking on Hololens 2 - https://docs.microsoft.com/en- us/windows/mixed-reality/eye-tracking

Summary: A trend exists in mainstream technology. Innovations that find their way to the masses often start out as tool created to assist individuals with disabilities. Educators can use this fact as a strategy to design more inclusive learning environments and experiences. The most frequently used accommodations can serve as a roadmap for educators to follow for how to design instruction to meet the variable needs of all the students.

Eye Control for Windows 10 - https://www.microsoft.com/ en-us/garage/wall-of-fame/eye-control-windows-10/

TEDx Disability-led Innovations for the Masses - http://Bit.ly/bugajtedx

Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 - https://www.ed.gov/essa

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