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In my future classroom, I want every child to feel included and able to learn in their own way. I’d make sure lessons have lots of variety including songs, movement, visuals, and hands-on activities so kids with different learning styles can all connect. For accessibility with technology, I’d use things like iPads with text to speech apps or interactive learning games that let kids adjust the volume, visuals, or pace to match their needs. I’d also set up the classroom so it’s easy to move around, with flexible seating and quiet corners for kids who need space to calm down or focus. Little changes like these can make a big difference in making sure all students feel welcome.

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In my future classroom, one way I would make learning more accessible is by using technology to give students multiple ways to interact with content. For example, I’d record lessons and upload them with captions so students who need extra time, have hearing challenges, or just want to review can go back and rewatch. I think this helps level the playing field and gives everyone a chance to understand the material at their own pace.

Another thing I’d focus on is making the classroom space itself more flexible. That could mean having different seating arrangements so students with mobility needs or attention challenges feel comfortable. I’d also use visuals like diagrams, color coded notes, and charts to support learners who benefit from seeing information in different formats. This way, it’s not just me talking at the front of the room, students can connect with the material in more ways.

Finally, I’d try to build accessibility into how I assess learning. Instead of only giving a written test, I’d offer students choices in how they show what they know, like a project, a presentation, or a traditional essay. I think this not only makes the classroom more inclusive but also lets students play to their strengths and be creative.

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I think it is so important to make classrooms accessible for all students! I would like to do the following:

1. Flexible seating- I would love to be able to have flexible seating to help students keep their focus on the learning. Unfortunately, these options tend to be very costly and take up lots of space in an already-full classroom. But I would love to be able to do this one day!

2. Text to Speech- My district's ELA curriculum actually has this feature. I occasionally use this to help struggling readers, but I need to use it more.

3. Visible Timer- I use a visible timer that is magnetic up on my whiteboard, but I think it would be nice for the students to use visible timers on YouTube to add a technology aspect, as well as to make it engaging for the students.

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I think Google Earth is a. Extremely underrated piece of technology. I would begin by teaching students what google earth is and what they are looking at. I would like to assign them at home tasks such as finding the street they live on. I would also like for them to explore and pick one place they would like to visit using google earth. I think this sounds very fun, and it would simultaneously be teaching them how to utilize this software.

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Three solutions I plan to implement in learning spaces in the future:

1. Ensuring all technological resources (websites, documents and resources, apps and software) meet accessibility standards for things like color contrast, typography (like text size, the limited use of italics, etc.), audio accessibility with clarity of voice over or other audio components, subtitles, and alt text for images.

2. Designing learning materials that combine audio, visual, text, and hands-on components as much as possible - both for the delivery of content and as options for ways that students engage and perform in class.

3. Considering neurodiversity in learning design in many ways. Some prime examples are: managing cognitive load of materials like slides and handouts; including multimedia intentionally; minimizing additional cognitive noise in materials and in the learning space; intentionally building in breaks and opportunities for physical movement into lessons.

My GIF represents my current perspective of accessibility: to provide a variety of great and equitable options for learners to engage with material and produce their own outputs. This approach is not prescriptive, but is rather about trying to open as many doors and create as many pathways to the learning as possible, while allowing learners to take the path(s) that meet their needs.

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1. Keeping a running google orchestra calendar going with pertinent dates including concerts, dress rehearsals, trips, or concert opportunities!

2. By nature, music classes are all-inclusive, and everyone who wants to be included should! I have seem supports in the form of larger screens in place of sheet music for visually impaired students. I have also seen modifications to the instruments themselves (braces that can keep the bow secured to the string) for students without finer motor control.

3. I think giving the students online resources with made-in-class demonstrations of essential learning topics could be helpful to students on multiple levels, both a project to learn and teach a skill, present that digitally, and pass it on for future students to use or improve upon.

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1. I would like to enhance seating flexibility in my classroom by incorporating additional options such as yoga ball chairs, bean bags, and an adjustable-height desk. These additions would support increased student focus and engagement by allowing for movement and comfort, while also improving accessibility for students with physical disabilities by offering seating that can be tailored to individual needs.

2. I incorporate a variety of instructional strategies to present content, including direct instruction, group activities, class discussions, and independent work. To support time management and provide structure, I’d like to integrate a visual timer. This will allow me to say, for example, “Okay, students, you have 10 minutes to work in your table groups to complete this activity,” while displaying a countdown. The visual timer will give students a clear and concrete sense of how much time they have remaining.

3. I also plan to integrate Screen-Casify and Rewordify into the lecture portion of my instruction. I will use Screen-Casify's live screen captions to provide real-time subtitles during lectures, supporting accessibility and reinforcing student comprehension. Additionally, I intend to use Rewordify to simplify and clarify complex language in textbook chapters, worksheets, lecture notes, and PowerPoint slides, making content more accessible to all learners.

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It is extremely important to focus on access in your classroom, especially when students come in every day with different resources.

1. The first thing that I would do to provide a more accessible classroom is working on my CANVAS page. I want to make it as accessible as possible with all assignments uploaded onto it. This allows students the ability to go back for review, easy organization, and the choice between physical copy vs. digital.

2. The second idea that I have would be seating and classroom grouping. I am trying to focus on making sure that classroom seats are more equitable to allow equal opportunity for all students. Using teacher knowledge of students to our advantage would be beneficial.

3. I would really like to implement some kind of standing desk/ flexible seating situation in the future. I think that this would allow for students to be able to move around more allowing for higher engagement. I also think that some students need that physical movement, and they are not able to get it by sitting still in a chair for a significant amount of time.

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To make my future classroom more accessible, I’d first record and upload class lessons so students can review content for better comprehension or catch up when absent. Second, I would use live captioning tools during class discussions/instruction so students can visually see complex words I’m saying like “electromagnetism”, which would help diverse learners and support them becoming familiar with complex words. This could lead to less stress during tests because the students have seen the word be used many times. Lastly, if I had a lot more time, I would provide multiple formats for learning materials such as audio, visual, and text-based materials to support diverse learning needs.

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As a 4-H agent, my thoughts and views on how to make our program more accessible is a little different. I still work in classrooms, but they're not my own and I am only in the classroom for an hour with each of my 4-H clubs. However, there are definitely ways I could utilize these ideas and make our county 4-H program more accessible for all.

1. The majority of our programming and activities are sent out on paper. My thoughts would be to create videos and provide examples of some of the contests and events we offer such as the speech and demonstration contests. Having a quality example to play for the students would help them understand what we are looking for and also help boost their confidence to those that may be afraid to present in front of their peers. Seeing a peer on a video present and give an example I feel would help students succeed and want to participate more. I would also play closed captioning on the video for students that would benefit by reading and following along with captions.

2. I would push for my 4-Hers to participate in our online project portfolios. The students are able to complete a portfolio in whatever project area that interests them the most. Our county currently does not have a large participation in the online portfolios, but making a push with these would definitely help increase students' knowledge with technology. The portfolios are website based, and the students can be creative as long as they follow the required format and have the required materials on their website. This will give them opportunity to not only advance in technology, but also creativity.

3. When we meet our 4-H clubs for the first time, we send out a sheet that we call "for more information" that allows us to know what our 4-Hers are interested in. This sheet gets sent home and we require it to be returned with a parent signature. On this form, I would like to include a spot for preferred communication. We struggle a lot getting our information out to all of our 4-Hers and usually spend lots of time trying to accommodate all aspects. Streamlining this by knowing exactly what the parents of our 4-Hers would prefer would save us time and communicate more effectively.

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1. An easy fix in my classroom is that I have 2 separate rooms. one way I intend to make it more accessible is to utilize separation for a quiet room, and a room, where talking and working as a group is admitted.

2. Another way to advance the classroom is to allow student headphones and the book in digital format so it can be read to them and be seen visualize with captions as it is read to them.

3. Also, in my classroom I am trying to offer flex seating. Students have a variety of choices to sit or stand when working educationally. I provide them with bean bags, swivel chairs, regular desks, standing desks, cushions, tabletop stands, lap workstations, and whiteboards to work on during that period.

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1. I would love for the students to learn about how to create videos and the etiquette of using them. I would show them how lighting, such as a lamp or a window, can change the way a video looks and why certain setups should be avoided.

2. I would create resources for them and teach them how to recognize whether the person teaching ASL online is actually a Deaf/experienced hearing signer or a new learner. There are many new signers who believe that once they have learned some ASL, they can teach it—but they are not qualified.

3. I would also teach students that even if a Deaf teacher has her back turned, it is still rude to speak without signing. Doing so creates an inaccessible situation.

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If I had unlimited funds and time, I would do the following for my classroom:

1. A variety of different seating options. I currently have rows of desks and I can't stand it. A few grouped tables, some comfy solo chairs, some college style risers with swivel desks, anything to create a better environment for the types of energies my students bring to the room.

2. At least two screens showing what I'm doing on the board. Having one Promethean makes it difficult for everyone to see what I'm writing on the board during lessons. Alternatively, if I had time to pre-record all of the lessons and let kids with hearing or vision problems watch on their Chromebook while I taught the others the same lesson, that could work well.

3. An AI-powered technology that allowed students to study and take quizzes via software. Our curriculum does not always word things in an obvious way. If a student could ask for clarification, or partially explain and have the AI prompt for more detail in order to solve a problem, that would be amazing.

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 Jonas Small- ETEC class: Week 4 (Design Thinking)

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 Jonas Small- ETEC class: Week 4 (Design Thinking)

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In a classroom making sure that your class is accessible to all is vital. The reason why it is accessible to all is because there are barriers for certain students that might not be for the majority of the class. These barriers can be things that we take advantage of in our day to day lives.

1. One way to make sure your class is more accessible is to have clear and wide pathways. This will help students who may struggle walking or if they are in a wheelchair.

2. Another one can be adjustable lighting. With adjustable lighting can help students or people who have a vision impairment.

3. Lastly, having an immersive reader application for students or having an ample amount of disposable headphones to help play passages for students who might have a hard time with reading fluency or reading comprehension.

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I love a good tech gadget, and I like to use technology in my personal life to make things easier, more efficient and automated. I don’t have a student with this need right now, but I like the idea of using The small round lights that you push to turn off and on to allow them to select options or allow me to indicate Blocks on a visual schedule for example. In the past I have had visually impaired students who needed a visual schedule and a large visual schedule on a board with these lights would be a fun and accessible way to use technology. I have used translators in the past unfortunately I have a Spanish-speaking teaching assistant right now, but I have quite a few ELL students which I’ve never had, so translation software is super helpful. And right now I have set up my second classroom, which means I’ve had opportunities to create an accessible classroom environment, and I’ve had to make adjustments when something doesn’t work. One of the most important adjustments to make the classroom accessible is to have your school adjust the height of your smart board. I have a very tiny student and several who are in wheelchairs and having the board adjusted downward allows them to be able to participate by using the stylus on the board just like their classmates and I do. A lower board also puts it at a better height for students in wheelchairs.

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1. Sound Canceling Wired Headsets: (Wired because of RCS rule on bluetooth technology for students) This will help students who need an oral presentation of the textbook (read aloud) and help with eliminating distraction.

2. Art Stations: For note taking students who are more in tune with drawing their ideas into the notes are as the notes themselves.  Example: A social class triangle for Ancient Egyptian society as well as making it three dimensional to represent the Pyramids with notes on both parts of the TN Standards.

3. Standing Desks: I would have more or all standing desks for my classroom.  I have one as of right now and it works wonders for some students.  I had a student that had a lot of energy and on days when that energy was abundant, I would instruct him to go to the standing desk.  He could move a bit more plus he was at the back of the classroom so he was not as much of a distraction to the other students. I also spent less time correcting him and could focus more on the other students.

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1. I would create a digital classroom that would require my students to become equipped with using technology. Something other than their cellphones, because what I'm noticing in my classroom this semester is that my students are unaware of the other software programs on their computers. For example, I gave the students a "Venn Diagram" assignment associated with the "Responses to Stress". The students had an option to use Canva, word doc., PowerPoint doc., Google Slide, etc. to create their Venn Diagram. Through observation I noticed a high percentage of students did not know what or how to find a Word, PowerPoint, or Google slides. Many of students have never heard of a Google doc. However, at the beginning of year a create lessons involving these different programs to enhance student knowledge and skills moving forward throughout the school year.

2. I will use more digital assignments to create a level of comfort and awareness as the students learn to navigate through products online. Also, one thing I would incorporate along with creating a digital working space is a training period to teach the students how to access the different digital products available to them.

3. Lastly, I would take a poll to see which students who have online access away from the classroom. This would give me an indication of how to create digital assignments that do not require online access and are not limited to a selection of students (ones with online access). This creates a digital equitable environment inside/outside of the classroom engaging the students in the newly taught skills and acquired knowledge. Also, this takes pressure away from the parents financially having to purchase internet, and myself of having to use personal funds to purchase classroom materials.

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1. Incorporate games that teach students about AI, how it actually works, where does it get its information from, and how to get to the original sources to avoid plagiarism. I would then make them practice using AI in ethical ways and show them how AI can help them versus how it can get them in trouble. We will also discuss what is AI and what are ways we have actually been using AI before ChatGPT. A google search for example relies on AI, the same way that a GPS uses AI to bring us to the right destination.

2. I will increase the quantity of online assignments to be completed in class and switch homework to a paper option. While in class, students can get help from the teacher and/or from their peers to get on the right website and turn in assignments. I believe that creating a variety of assignments as opposed to requiring them to do the same thing over and over (a quiz or an essay on canvas), will increase their cognitive skills when dealing with technology and make them more versatile users and learners. One thing that is often ignored when we talk about the equity gap is the cognitive gap it accidentally triggers. When students aren't in school when they are younger, their brain doesn't learn how to learn and arriving in high school, they don't know how to process new information. The same thing happens with technology. Children who are not exposed to technology when they are young may not be able to learn how to use technology at the same pace as a student who had access to an iPad from birth.

3. Finally, I will send out paper surveys at the beginning of the year to get a sense of what students have access to at home and what the parents' preferred way of communication is. Instead of assuming that parents are just ignoring our parent square messages, we may get an idea of who can actually access parent square and who cannot.