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Educational Technology & Learning Differences

Publishers Keep an Eye on Content so All Learners Can Succeed: Accessibility

Educational publishers are important stakeholders in the educational landscape, but you don’t hear much about them, and rarely do you hear what they are doing right. One area where publishers are doing a lot right is accessibility. Accessibility is usually considered within the context of assistive technology, but it’s actually way more than that. Accessibility is a broad term that carries a lot of meaning—ranging from technical requirements for web content to less physical functions such as developing or producing content in a way that enables the purpose of the material to transfer to all learners. Making content accessible to all learners goes hand in hand with assistive technology since the material must be written in a way that the technology can make sense of the content. It’s very confusing to hear a caption for a photo read as part of a story, instead of listening to a description of what the image is.  Sound familiar? As I learned years ago in publishing, content is king or queen! Like Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup, Accessible content and assistive technology go great together. Both have the same educational goals: to ensure that all students have access to the same material, and can work with the content the way they need to learn. Who wants to spend time guessing at what’s in a… | Read More »Publishers Keep an Eye on Content so All Learners Can Succeed: Accessibility

Educational Technology: To Plug or Unplug & Other Questions to Consider When Your Kid Has a Reading Difference

“No more screen time, read a book.” Who hasn’t said that to their kid? However, what do you suggest when your kid can’t easily read for comprehension or pleasure? Go listen to an audiobook. Read an e-book with audio for at least fifteen minutes. Even with the educational technology that is available, my kid doesn’t like to read. Period. It’s a fact, and it may or may not change. Use it Or Lose It Everyone has to read. It’s not a debate. As a parent, I need to encourage our daughter to read.  As such, I feel torn about how hard to push technology when it comes to reading, and I’m not consistent. Sometimes I suggest reading a book or a print product, but who am I fooling. Of the books she owns, none have ever been read. Even the graphic novels. I can tell her that the more she practices, the easier it will become, but that still doesn’t mean she will want to read a book-ever! Listen to an Audio Book or an E-Book Print or words alone are a really tough sell. I get it. Reading the content takes all of her efforts, so there’s not much joy in the task. Therefore, I would argue that the time is now to promote e-books with audio or just… | Read More »Educational Technology: To Plug or Unplug & Other Questions to Consider When Your Kid Has a Reading Difference