[NABS-L] Accessibility of Learning Management Systems for K-12 students and parents

[Elizabeth Mohnke]

Hello,

I am starting to get tired of seeing all the emails you keep sending to this email list asking people to help you out with your class assignments. I am not sure if this is the purpose of this email list.

Additionally, I do not agree with your premise that all blind parents can no longer be actively involved in their child's learning simply because of the transition to online educational platforms. Perhaps it may be challenging for some blind parents to adopt to this new way of learning. . But I suspect that some blind parents have no problem with it.

Simply because one blind person may struggle with something does not necessarily mean that all blind people struggle with the same thing. Each blind person is different in the same way that every sighted person is different. And simply because a blind person struggles with something in their life, it does not necessarily mean that they struggle with something because of their blindness.

Warm regards,
Elizabeth 

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Cricket X. Bidleman via NABS-L
Sent: Monday, November 8, 2021 2:19 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Cricket X. Bidleman <cricketbidleman at gmail.com>
Subject: [NABS-L] Accessibility of Learning Management Systems for K-12 students and parents

Dear all,

My journalism projects continue, and so do my incessant emails. I realize that this might not apply to you, and for that I apologize.
However, as we all know, a lot of disability advocacy surrounds making connections and using those connections.

So my canvas project didn’t work out, but I think I’ve figured out a good angle for this story about learning management systems, which I am not limiting to Canvas. Could be Schoology, Moodle, Blackboard, or whatever else that classifies as a learning management system.
Disabled parents are facing huge hurdles to connecting with their children through participating in education. As an example, my parents were integral to my learning of multiplication tables, to my understanding of shapes and graphs, etc. Learning management systems and inaccessibility make it much harder for parents. Add the fact that disabled parents cannot effectively teach their children, both disabled and non-disabled, how to use technology that they don’t have sufficient access to. This is not good. This is not an angle that stories have been written from, but I think it might be a good one because it dips into that emotional sphere that can be really effective in gaining readership, and in advocacy work. Obviously, since this is a feature story, I will be objective, but looking into the long-term future, this article has potential to help organizations like this one.

So basically, if you have any useful contacts, I would appreciate being connected with them.  I know this is a strange approach, and I’d love to hear your thoughts, but I really think I can make it work.
Love it? Hate it? Let me know.

Best,
cricket


--
Cricket X. Bidleman, B.A (she/her/hers)
M.A Candidate | Stanford Journalism Class of 2022 Accessibility Consultant | Stanford University Computer Science

_______________________________________________
NABS-L mailing list
NABS-L at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NABS-L:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/lizmohnke%40hotmail.com