Our Vision
The importance of accessibility in literacy education cannot be overstated, as it ensures that all learners, regardless of their abilities, age, or challenges, benefit from inclusive designs and digital tools that foster meaningful engagement and learning opportunities. We recognize the educational disparity that exists for our students and many other students in Canada. Every student, regardless of age, culture, background and ability, brings a unique perspective to the classroom. Teachers then face the challenge of designing lessons to meet the needs of a diverse set of individuals. Students who experience a mismatch between their learning needs and learning spaces can face significant, ever-changing problems that may seem impossible to solve.
“If we knew how to, and if we had easy-to-use tools, we’d all make our content more accessible, more inclusive, more adaptable, and more configurable to individual learner needs.”
Inclusive Learning Design Handbook
We believe the key to addressing this mismatch involves adopting a multimodal approach and creating open educational resources (OER) that offer choice, consider unique perspectives, and address a variety of diverse student needs. We followed inclusive design for learning principles to allow us to design educational materials with marginalized learners in mind. Our multimedia learning materials utilize audio, graphics, animation, and text that work together to enhance learning. By following the principles of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, we used a critical eye and an understanding of how various media influence learning in their own unique ways. Through the use of enhanced, interactive features, our digital media lessons can allow educators to transform passive lessons into engaging learning experiences.