Research and Practice Brief: Digital Accessibility and Accessible Educational Materials

In this CIDDL Research and Practice Brief, Philip Garza sits down with Cynthia Curry, Project Director of the National Center on Accessible Digital Educational Materials and Instruction (NCADEMI) at Utah State University. Cynthia shares what digital accessibility really means for students with disabilities, why teacher and administrator preparation programs need to embed it into existing curricula, and how schools can build systems that ensure students have equitable access to educational materials from the start. Topics covered include the most pressing accessibility challenges facing schools today, what educators and leaders need to know about accessible educational materials and assistive technology, how emerging AI tools are raising the stakes for procurement decisions, and the practical resources NCADEMI offers for preparation programs and districts ready to act. NCADEMI’s primary resource hub is available at https://ncademi.org. Key resources include: https://ncademi.learn.usu.edu/courses.... Nine core accessibility skills applicable to anyone creating digital content, with additional tool guides being added regularly. https://ncademi.org/provide/directory/. Approximately 50 products with publicly available accessibility information, accompanied by guidance on how to interpret accessibility conformance reports and what questions to ask vendors. If you are interested in learning more, please check out these other resources: https://ncademi.org/audiences/prep-pr... https://ncademi.org/create/basics/ https://ncademi.org/sustain/roadmap/ https://ncademi.org/provide/edtech/pr... https://ncademi.org/sustain/quality-i... Learn more about CIDDL and additional resources: https://ciddl.org The contents of this website were developed under a cooperative agreement with the US Department of Education, # H327F250003. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the US Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Tina Diamond, Ph.D., Project Officer.