Chromebook Accessibility Features

How Chromebooks Can Meet the Needs of All Learners

It has become common practice for schools to provide their students with access to devices so that they can engage with technology as they learn. For many school districts, Chromebooks have become a cost-effective method of meeting this goal. Thanks to their creator Google, Chromebooks are equipped with accessibility features to support all types of learners in the classroom. To make things easier for the user, Google has categorized their accessibility features into four categories: Display and Vision, Cognitive and spoken feedback, Audio and captions, and Motor and dexterity. With a little research, educators are sure to find what they need to make sure that all of their learners have the access they need to successfully use their Chromebook.

Based on my experience in the classroom, I decided to do a deep dive into the accessibility features that Chromebook has for students with cognitive needs. Coming from a district that has 1:1 Chromebook access for each student, and four years in the classroom where I taught and supported a handful of students with cognitive disabilities, mainly intellectual disabilities, I wanted to see what supports I could offer to my students when asking them to complete work on their Chromebook. Based on this research, I believe that the reading mode, on-screen keyboard, select-to-speak, adjustable mouse cursor, and dictation features would be great resources for this demographic of students. 

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All five of the accessibility features are both easy to access and use. The Reading Mode feature allows users to adjust aspects of the text to allow for a more personalized reading experience. Users can alter letter and sentence spacing, typeface and font size, and reduce distractions such as images and videos on their screen. With the On-Screen Keyboard, users can access their keyboard in a manner that better suits them instead of using the traditional keyboard included on their device. For users with difficultly reading independently, the select-to-speech feature allows users to hear both full pages or selected words and paragraphs read aloud to them. The dictation feature allows users to dictate their ideas and searches to their device if they find the use of the keyboard too difficult. Finally, by adjusting the mouse cursor size, users can better see and utilize their cursor when working on their Chromebook.

Each and every learner is different, and accessibility features, such as those included on Google's Chromebook, help to ensure that all students have the tools and resources they need to successfully use technology in the classroom. That being said, these features are not one-size-fits-all when it comes to assisting students with disabilities. Just because Google has categorized these features as ones that will best assist students with cognitive needs, that does not mean that every student with a cognitive disability will find these features and supports necessary. In the same regard, just because a feature has been categorized as assisting students with needs besides cognitive disabilities, that does not mean that this demographic of students does not find them necessary as well. It is the job of the educator to find out what features, if any, will help their students successfully navigate their device in the classroom.