Accessibility at School
The PRCVI Outreach Team presents on equity and accessibility to classes from kindergarten to Grade 12. Topics of these presentations range from braille to adaptations to the built environment for travellers with visual impairments. Wherever possible, our outreach team would like to partner with the student(s) with visual impairments in the class as a co-presenter to promote leadership and self-determination skills.
The sections below outline the presentations that the PRCVI outreach team can deliver on-demand. Please be in touch to learn more or to collaborate on a new in-class presentation.
- Learning About Braille
- HTML + BRL - Braille as a Code
- Access and Inclusion - Addressing Barriers to Accessibility at School
Learning About Braille
Intended Audience: Kindergarten - Grade Three classes.
Duration: 45 - 60 minutes
Description: An introductory presentation on braille as a writing system that is equivalent to print in terms of function and importance. Students learn about the life of Louis Braille and have an opportunity to experiment by writing on a Perkins braillewriter. Students can also make a braille keepsake, such as a bookmark!
While the entire class will have the opportunity to learn more about braille, this presentation is an opportunity for the student in the class who reads/writes in braille to take on a leadership role by sharing their expertise with their classmates.
Resources:
HTML + BRL - Braille as a Code
Intended Audience: Grades Four - Seven classes
Duration: 45 - 60 minutes
Description: While braille is most correctly described as a writing system, it has many elements that resemble markup languages like HTML. With many students learning to code in the elementary years, the PRCVI Outreach Team has developed a presentation that explains braille through its parallels with HTML.
This presentation also addresses braille in the community and invites students to evaluate the effectiveness of environmental adaptations made with/for users with visual impairments. Students have an opportunity to design a product of their own with accessibility in mind. At right is an example of an accessible images made in a Grade Four class.
Access and Inclusion - Addressing Barriers to Accessibility at School
Intended Audience: Grades Six - Twelve classes
Duration: 60 - 90 minutes
Description: Many learners want to know how they can be a part of making their schools and communities more accessible for all. This workshop is focused on accessibility across both information/communication and environmental domains with special emphasis on access for those with visual impairments.
Students work through a series of accessibility scenarios, collaboratively brainstorming potential solutions. The workshop concludes with a focus on accessibility challenges that students have identified in their own school community.
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