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What's Your Role?

Only have 15 minutes to learn about accessible materials and technologies? Each resource has been selected to help you get up to speed quickly and focuses on the information you need to get started with accessible materials and technologies based on your role. 

I'm a family member or caregiver

I’m looking for ways that I can support my child who needs reading supports.  
Learn about the many accessibility features that are built into the programs and devices that schools commonly provide to students and/or you already have at home. Start with Personalizing the Reading Experience.

I believe my child needs accessible materials and I’m looking for information to share with school staff.
Learn questions that a decision-making team can ask when considering a student’s need for accessible materials. Start with Decision-making & Accessible Formats

I’m a user of accessible materials

I have been provided with accessible materials and I need to know how to use them.
Learn how to customize your device(s) to help you enjoy the best reading experience with the accessible materials you’ve been provided. Start with Personalizing the Reading Experience.

I experience barriers in writing that keep me from demonstrating what I truly know.
Become a better writer with support for every stage of the writing process. Start with Personalizing the Writing Experience.

I want to share my work in an accessible way.
Learn how to create accessible content you can share with your peers and community. Start with Creating Accessible Documents.

I’m a college student or career seeker who needs accessible formats.
It's important that you understand the determination process in higher education and workforce settings. Start with Determining a Learner's Need.

I work in K–12 education

I’m a teacher who creates instructional materials for my general education curriculum.
Learn how to make your documents, slide decks, videos, and more accessible for all learners. Start with Accessible Documents or Accessible Video

I’m a teacher who is selecting an app to support student learning, assessment, or collaboration during instruction. 
Learn about features that indicate the accessibility of tools. Start with Vetting for Accessibility

I’m a special educator who needs to know the process for determining if a student needs accessible formats of materials.
Learn about three possible outcomes when a team considers a student’s need for accessible formats. Start with Determining a Learner's Need.

I’m an SEA Special Education Director and I need to understand SEA and LEA responsibilities related to NIMAS in IDEA.
Learn about required and strongly suggested actions. Start with NIMAS for SEAs and LEAs

I’m working with a State or district team to improve our system for providing accessible materials and technologies for all students. 
Learn about best practices to include in any provision system, such as team coordination, guidelines, training, data collection and use, and resource allocation. Start with our Quality Indicators with Critical Components for Providing Accessible Materials and Technologies for K-12

I'm an educator who is interested in creating a more accessible learning environment that engages and challenges all students.
Learn how to apply the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework and how to incorporate AEM to design flexible instruction and learning experiences for students. Visit the IRIS Center’s module Universal Design for Learning: Designing Learning Experiences That Engage and Challenge All Students.

I work in early learning contexts

I’m creating video stories for children in my preschool class. 
Learn how to add closed captions to video, which can support early literacy. Start with Accessible Video

I’m working with my Early Learning/Early Intervention team to improve the accessibility of the activities, manipulatives, books, games and other materials used in our early childhood programs. 
Learn about best practices to include in any system, such as team coordination, guidelines, training, data collection and use, and resource allocation. Start with our Quality Indicators with Critical Components for Providing Accessible Materials and Technologies in Early Childhood Programs.

I work in higher education

I’m a faculty member looking for information on how to make my syllabus accessible. 
Learn how to make all of your documents accessible, including your syllabus. Start with Accessible Documents

I’m working with my university system or campus to improve our system for providing accessible materials and technologies for all students.
Learn about best practices to include in any provision system, such as team coordination, guidelines, training, data collection and use, and resource allocation. Start with our Quality Indicators with Critical Components for Providing Accessible Materials and Technologies for Higher Education.

I’m a Disability Services Coordinator looking for information on how to acquire accessible formats of postsecondary materials. 
Learn about the decision-making process for determining a student’s need for accessible formats, followed by processes for selecting and acquiring those materials. Start with Decision-making & Accessible Formats.

I’m an instructional designer for a pre-service mathematics course. How do I make sure that the math notation I insert in digital materials is accessible?
Learn about the multiple options for creating math notation: typing it, speaking it, and even drawing it. Start with Teaching with Accessible Math.

I'm a pre-service teacher educator

I teach content methods courses and want to prepare new teachers to create accessible content for all learners. 
Learn how to create your own accessible content and model these practices for our future teachers. Start with Designing for Accessibility with POUR.

I prepare special education teachers to facilitate IEP meetings. What resources do you have for determining if a student with a disability needs accessible formats of materials?
Learn about our updated decision-making process, which includes new terms and definitions. Start with Decision-Making & Accessible Formats.

I teach a literacy course for pre-service teachers. What tools should I be preparing my students to use?
Learn about tools that facilitate access to reading and writing. Start with Personalizing the Reading Experience or Personalizing the Writing Experience

I work in workforce development

Our job training center is creating a website to inform career seekers about employment opportunities. 
Learn how to make sure that your website is programmatically accessible. Start with Accessible Websites

I assist career seekers who need training materials in accessible formats. 
Learn about accessible media producers. Start with Acquiring Accessible Formats.

I’m working with my job training agency or program to improve our system for providing accessible materials and technologies for all career seekers.
Learn about best practices to include in any provision system, such as team coordination, guidelines, training, data collection and use, and resource allocation. Start with our Quality Indicators with Critical Components for Providing Accessible Materials and Technologies for Workforce Development.

I'm responsible for purchasing and/or vetting digital resources

I’m on a procurement committee that is responsible for vetting digital materials for a new curriculum or a new technology platform.
Learn about what to look for when reviewing digital materials and technologies. Start with Vetting for Accessibility

I’m responsible for updating procurement policies and purchasing agreements. 
Learn about accessibility requirements and best practices for communicating those to vendors. Start with Communicating Accessibility Requirements.   

I'm a publisher or developer

I’m a publisher or developer looking for accessibility best practices in the design of digital learning materials and technologies.
Learn about the best practices for accessibility testing and documentation to improve communication with purchasers. Start with Communicating Accessibility Requirements.  

I’m a publisher or conversion vendor looking for guidance on how to create NIMAS files. 
Learn about the NIMAS specification and review exemplars illustrating best practices for creating NIMAS filesets, including those sourced from digital materials. Start with NIMAS for Producers.

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