Technology Accessibility: A Social Justice Concern for K-12 Instructional Technology and Teacher Education
Abstract: Discussions about equity and social justice in the field of instructional technology have primarily focused on the under-representation of women, people of color, and people from lower socioeconomic groups (Calabrese Barton et. al, 2017; Vossoughi et. al, 2016); however, people with disabilities remain absent from conversations about equity. The presentation will share the findings from a review of the literature pertaining to technology accessibility in K-12 that uncovered a gap in K-12 instructional technology practice—suggesting that technology accessibility is an overlooked social justice concern in the field of instructional technology. This presentation will argue that technology accessibility is a social justice issue that needs to be incorporated into the discourse of the field of instructional technology through pre-service teacher training. Specific recommendations for how the identified gap in practice can be bridged by incorporating technology accessibility into pre-service teacher training curriculum will also be provided.