The tools offered by google for teaching and learning that we have discussed the past couple of months are google classroom, google Expedition, google suite for education, and google Chromebook.  This week we will focus our discussion on the accessibility for google tools for teaching and learning.  

Accessibility for students with disabilities is critical for any website, product, or service as a good percentage of Americans have a disability.  According to an article by Oblinger and Ruby, 20 percent of the U.S. population have some sort of disability.  Google for Education focuses on creating their products with accessibility to allow every learner to take advantage of these products and services that they offer.

Below is a link for the G Suite user guide to accessibility.  Each of the products offered under the G Suite for Education has a guide on how to use their products to make accessibility and usability better and easier.  For example, the guides offer how to use screen readers for each product, how-to setup keyboard shortcuts for each product, changing text, images, and video sizes, and many other services.   
https://www.google.com/accessibility/products-features/

Below is an official blog about how Google is using AI to improve products for people with impaired speech:

https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/accessibility/

Below is the link to the main website for Google Accessibility if you would like to learn more.

https://www.google.com/accessibility/

Looking forward to your opinions and input on Google Accessibility.

Billy

So far, the tools that I have discussed and shared are google classroom, google Expedition, and google suite for education.  The next tool I will discuss, and share, is the google Chromebook. Google Chromebooks come in all kinds of sizes, shapes, and prices.  They are durable for the use in school and can withstand the wear and tear of everyday use.  

One of the benefits of having Chromebooks within a school is that the students can use their personal profiles from their google accounts.  Regardless where they login, they will be able to access their information.  This can include accessing emails, classroom assignments, grades, drive information, or other information from the classroom, library or at home.  If the student can take the device home, all the same security policies apply at home as well.  These devices can be shared throughout the classroom from one student to another, providing additional online resources for learning and collaborating.  Currently there are several school districts utilizing google Chromebooks in their institution.  

The link below has an article on the use of Google Chromebooks in the Huntsville Independent School District.  They have over 6,300 students in 9 different campuses, ranging from ages 3-18.  They currently have approximately 800 Chromebooks and are continuing to purchase more.  With Google Chromebooks and with G Suite for Education, this school district has given more resources to the teacher and student, making learning more effective and efficient.  

https://edu.google.com/why-google/case-studies/huntsville-independent-school-district/?modal_active=none

Looking forward for additional comments on Google Chromebooks for teaching and learning.

Billy