Participate 3.1.1 Access to the Digital Community Quest

Digital learning is becoming easier for students, but there are still some barriers. After analyzing several sources, the barriers that I determined were affecting connectivity were age, cost, education, service unavailable, and disabilities (because of the lack of accommodations).

I believe there are some steps we can take to increase accessibility.

1. Recognize Barriers to Problem Solve Solutions: Just being aware of problems is important to being able to problem solve solutions.

2. Spread the word of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI): This initiative has strategies, guidelines, resources to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities.

3. Screen websites for accessibility: Before using a website, as teachers we must screen them to make sure it meets all of our students’ needs.

4. Ensuring proper software is available: The WAI has developed ATAG which is primarily for developers of authoring tools, so that people with disabilities can create web content, and help authors create more accessible web content. 

5. Take advantage of government programs that provide low income accessibility. Connect Home is a platform for collaboration between local governments, public housing agencies, Internet service providers, philanthropic foundations, nonprofit organizations, and other relevant stakeholders that will produce local solutions for narrowing the digital divide. http://connecthome.hud.gov/

Sources

"National Broadband Map." National Telecommunications & Information Administration, 2016. Web. 28 Feb. 2016. <https://www.ntia.doc.gov/>.

"Introduction to Web Accessibility." Introduction to Web Accessibility. 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.

"Home Broadband 2015." Pew Research Center Internet Science Tech RSS. 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.

Link to Poster: https://www.canva.com/design/DABsJXxZJXY/NQwLdZ3WIRgq-u0VMkwF2g/view?&utm_content=DABsJXxZJXY&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton