Theoretically, education is a social right of citizens, guaranteed by the constitution, but, in practice, it is not always possible to turn this into reality. After all, the Brazilian educational scenario is surrounded by geographical and socioeconomic challenges that make it difficult to follow traditional models of education, especially when we consider that 24% of the population has some degree of disability (according to the 2010 Census by IBGE).

This reality emphasizes the urgency of inclusion and the need to design and adopt methods and strategies capable of ensuring that people with disabilities or difficulties in certain skills do not have their learning or school development compromised. For this, the management of technology in schools is fundamental.

We, from the CodeBit team, have prepared this informative article to present, in a clear way, how technologies can bypass obstacles and promote access to education. Continue reading and check it out:

The urgency of accessibility in education

Anyone who has some type of disability (physical, intellectual, visual, or hearing) has the right to equal opportunities. But for this to truly apply in practice, it is necessary to promote means for this equity to be achieved from the first social interaction groups, such as, for example, the school environment, where a child establishes their first interactions outside the family environment.

To ensure that all students can equally have safety, autonomy, intellectual development, and even leisure, it is up to schools to invest in actions that welcome people with disabilities appropriately and that minimize the impacts caused by their different conditions.

Indeed, accessibility in the educational environment is the key to promoting childhood equality and, in this scenario, technological resources can be great allies.

The role of technology in promoting accessibility

Without a doubt, supporting children and adolescents who require special care to develop intellectually is not an easy task. But, the good news is that there are some modern tools capable of significantly assisting in education and in expanding equality among students. Check out some of them that we list below:

Audiobooks

Textbooks are true drivers of imagination and, consequently, of education. They act as actual pedagogical resources in classrooms and help educators reinforce lessons and reflections important for daily life.

When we take into account the need for accessibility, audiobooks become excellent options, as they allow visually impaired individuals to follow the descriptions and plots presented in the pages. In this way, technology operates as a playful activity, actively contributing to the promotion of equal conditions.

Software and applications

There are countless software programs and applications that make daily life easier for people with disabilities, such as Liane TTS - a program that analyzes text and translates it into compiled text in the format of diphones (.pho) for voice processing and synthesis by the mbrola system (a voice synthesizer based on the concatenation of phones).

Thus, visually impaired individuals can establish faster communication and, consequently, learn more easily.

Moreover, other programs like DosVox and Virtual Vision ensure more autonomy for visually impaired users, who can follow the rhythm of other students more comfortably.

In the case of students with Down syndrome, the Jeripe software is also an excellent option to stimulate logical reasoning and contributes to inclusion through interactive games.

Adaptive equipment

Last but not least, it is certain that adapting equipment and environments is fundamental to promoting accessibility in education and meeting the needs of those who have reduced mobility due to some type of physical disability.

In this sense, the school structure must feature access ramps, audible elevators, well-signposted tactile paving, and adapted pedagogical materials. Therefore, to ensure constitutional social rights for all citizens and promote equal opportunity conditions, it is essential to invest in accessibility in education.

As seen throughout this article, technology can act as a powerful ally and allow people with different limitations to be included in daily school life, develop intellectual and social skills, and contribute to the formation of a more inclusive and plural society.

And you, did you enjoy reflecting, along with us, on the importance of technology for accessibility in education?

If this article was interesting to you, keep an eye on the CodeBit blog and don't miss any updates about the tech and social universe.

A big hug, and see you in the next post!