Today’s class was centered around “Technology and Inclusion” with guest speaker Chantelle Morvay-Adams from the “BCEdAccess Society.”

BcEdAccess is a volunteer run organization supporting families of students with disabilities and complex learners across BC. Chantelle discussed some of the arguments parents will pose when it comes to using technology in the classroom for children with designations, like “there are no resources to educate parents.” She focused on “ableism” which is the discrimination of peoples with disabilities due to the belief that your abilities are superior. Some examples of ableism when it comes to the accessibility and inclusivity of technology are: questions if someone is “too disabled” to use the technology, holding students with learning disabilities back from using technology because other students may feel jealous, envious.

For a breakout question I talked with some of my peers about “removing the stigma and fostering inclusion using technology in the classroom.” We discussed how it is equally as important to inform the student with the disability why they are using the tech, and also to inform the class why this student is using the tech. Kids are smarter than we often assume and it is important that we are honest and up-front with them about these resources being used in the classroom. For the student with the disability, it is important that teacher’s: read the IEP (can give you an idea of what has work/what doesn’t), engage with the family (send things home, email, arrange a meeting), engage with the student, and navigate the resources that are available to you (ie. who to connect with in your school/district). Some specific apps and programs that are useful for those with disabilities: Google Read&Write, Google Lens, Google Text to Speech.

Chantelle states that technology is a “toy not a tool” and I think this is a great way to explain the importance of technology usage for disabled students (as well as other students). Some other summative points: “tech is not one size fits all,” “build relationships with students and families,” normalize accessible tech in the classroom,” “connect with people who can help you,” and “continue learning about ableism and how it appears in our daily lives.”

I thought this was a fantastic presentation overall and I really appreciated hearing from Chantelle. Especially as a future educator, I know that this information will definitely benefit me in my career. Inclusivity is so important, but learning how to add technology into this equation is a huge step towards success for those students with disabilities. Chantelle provided a link to an article (which I have included accessliving.org/newsroom/blog/ableism-101/ ) about ableism and the efforts we can make to fix it. This article was really helpful to me and I hope it can be helpful for many others too.